Business Plus

Some say, Latin America has a triple B rating

Business, Beaches and Beauties!

Latin America is more than a business destination. It is a place to be experienced and enjoyed. It fills the eyes, ears and heart of the visitors with a unique sensation. It has all the ingredients for fun: pleasant climate, beautiful beaches and wonderful people. Latino businessmen value personal relationships and are friendly, warm and hospitable. Business meetings in the offices are supplemented by invitation to family barbecues, beaches, bars, restaurants and ....

One should keep extra days and nights during visit for the businessplus experience.

Enjoy the videos and music to which links have been given in this section

People

• Latin Americans are friendly, fun-loving and emotional. Weekend, holidays, vacations and beaches are sacred and they dont like pleasure to be disturbed by business, although they like pleasure to be added to business.

• Persons are generally more important than systems and rules. This is why establishing personal relationship and rapport is more necessary in Latin America. This can be done over lunch, dinner and in bars and cafes.

• Dont get upset if you are called as "Hindoo" or " Indio". These words used by the Spanish colonisers have stayed. We are educating them that there are other religions in India and advising them to call us as "Indianos" to distinguish from the native Indios.

• In general, Latin Americans regard India as a land of civilisation, culture, yoga, philosophy and religions. There are thousands of followers of sai baba, radhaswami, brahmakumaris, harekrishna and others. Some of these are businessmen and political leaders and professionals, besides common people.

• In recent years, there is a positive change in the mindset of Latin Americans about India. Business and political leaders have started realising the importance of India as a IT power, globally competitive producer of pharma and other products as well as a large and growing market.

• Besides people of European origin and native Indians, many countries have other ethnic groups such as Japanese (Sao Paulo has a million), Lebanese (all over Latin America) Africans ( Brasil has the largest black population outside Africa), Korean, Chinese and Jewish. There are some cities, which have significant business communities with people of Italian and German origin. Blumenau, the knitwear centre of Brasil is known for OctoberFest. There are more people of Italian origin in Sao Paulo than in Rome or Milan

• People prefer to use titles before their names such as"Doctor". An engineer is addressed as "Ingeneiro" and professionals addressed as " Licenciado" (means- the person has been to college). Even people in general are referred in formal speeches as "ciudadano" (means- citizen).

• People have generally three parts in their name: example- Maria (first name) Vazquez (paternal) Laredo (maternal). This person will be called as Maria Vazquez.

• Latin Americans use body touch in interaction and to express closeness. While men shake hands, women offer cheeks for light kiss on the cheeks. In some cases it is one cheek, generally twice but if it is three times (Brasil) she is not married.

• Indians should speak English slowly with Latin Americans and should avoid complicated and long sentences.

• In Latin America, there is obviously no premium on punctuality. People are more relaxed. Dont get upset if business meetings are not held in time. Dinner and parties start after 10 pm and go till morning.

• As in India, businessmen in Latin America also find ways around rules and regulations and find shortcuts. In Brasil, it is known as " Jeitinho " meaning way of doing things.

• The following website gives an overview of Brasilian culture, uniqueness, entertainment and more.......http://www.brazilbrazil.com/

• This website gives links to sites on culture, music... of many latin America Countries http://cda.mrs.umn.edu/~ummlaasa/culture.html

• Cafe means more than coffee in Latin America. It is part of culture, social interaction, politics, livelihood for millions of cofee- growers and legends. "A cafecito story " by Julia Alvarez of Dominican Republic is a fascinating short novel based on her real life.

• There are so many varieties of cafe in cafterias,depending on strength, amount of milk and quantity. A small cup is affectionately called as "cafecito" in Spanish and "cafezinho" in portuguese. The affection extends to the girl serving cafe and she is called as Amorcito or Amorzinho.

• In Brasil, cafe com leite means someone with the skin colour of coffee with milk. That description applies to people from India. Some have more milk and others less and others pure coffee( black) or milk ( blonde).

• best coffee comes from Colombia, while Brazil is the largest producer.

• Cafe is vital livelihood in some central american countries, where the coffee prices affect the economy and the livelihood of millions.

• If you thought Chileans are somewhat less Latino in their approach to fun, try the cafe con piernas.. which means coffee with legs. It is a Chilean invention, not found elsewhere in Latin America. Downtown santiago has plenty of these Cafes, which are clean and decent and not seedy. Young women, with minimum dress, serve cafe and rejuvenate the spirits of men. More ... www.cafeconpiernas.cl

• In Argentina and southern Brazil local herbal tea called as Mate is popular. They have a special vessel like hookah to savour the tea leisurely.

• Latin America has delicious local dishes, besides international and mixed cuisine. SaoPaulo has the largest number of international restaurants in Latin America. Italian, Chinese and Continental restaurants are the most popular.

• Churascaria Rodizio restaurants are a typical and unforgettable Brasilian experience.These are large barbecue places with varieties of meat served unlimited in skewers. One needs to work out a strong appetite before the service starts. Put the button on the table on red side, when you need a break from the non-stop serving of meat and turn it to green for resumption of service. Strong drinks( caipirinha - typical Brasilian drink is ideal)and company of friends helpful. Forget about going to work after the sumptuous food!. Besides so much meat, there is a large salad buffet. Beginners tend to fill themselves with the salad and run out of space for the meat ! Price is fixed between 10 and 30 dollars. Sao paulo has more of these. Rio does not have so many, although the other cities have.

• Feijoada is a typical dish of Brasil, cooked overnight with all parts of the meat including tail, eyes, tongue and balls with a heavy gravy. This was what the slaves ate in the colonial period, cooking the left-overs after the masters ate. Restaurants serve this during weekend and one day(wednesdays) during midday. Forget about work , after the heavy meal !

• Pao de Queijo (cheese bread) is also a typical Brasilian one. Small and round, one can consume dozens!

• Por Kilo Restaurants is another Brasilian invention. It is self service restaurant, where you choose meat, fish and salad and pay by the kilo. These are found in all the cities.This is for a quick bite , not for entertaining clients. price ranges from 2 dollars to 8 dollars per kilo

• Bahian food from the north east of Brasil is like Indian food, hot and spicy..but not enough for someone from Andhra Pradesh. Jorge Amado's novel " Dona Flor and her two husbands" enlightens the readers about Bahian cooking and has even some recipes. The Hollywood film " Woman on top " is about Bahian food.

• Habibs is the second largest fast food chain in Brasil. They serve Lebanese food.

• Beef steak in Argentina is the best and inexpensive and goes with the Argentinian red wine..

• Sea food and salmon are plenty in Chile.

• Ceviche is a delicious and healthy fish dish of Peru. It is like a soup.

• Taco, tequila, enchillada, mole and tamale are well known mexican items.

• Arepas in Venezuela are like the Indian roti. Areparias are fast food joints serving Arepa rolls with meat and cheese.

• In some big cities, there are Indian retaurants. Contacts given in the country pages under basic information. In some places, Hare Krishna people run vegetarian restaurants. The Indian embassies can guide you.

Drinks

• Caipirinha is a typical Brasilian drink. strong with lemon and sugar.Made from Cachasa, cane-liquor.Not advisable before a serious negoitaion involving prices and terms !

• Garota de Ipanema ( girl from Ipanema ) is a legendary bar in Rio de Janeiro. Sitting in the corner table there, Vinicius de Moraes wrote the famous song " the girl from ipanema" , watching the tall and tanned blonde walking to the beach. Address: Rua Vinícius de Moraes, 39
  Phone: 021/2267-5757 http://www.ipanema.com/rio/nite/e/nite.htm

• Brasilians are fond of draft beer and call it as choppe ( pronounced schhope). There are chopperias at each street corner. one of the popular brands is Brahma. That gives the Indian a starting point for spiritual conversation.

• Argentinian red wine is a secret to be discovered and relished with the delicious red meat. Malbec is the signature wine.

• Chilean wines are world famous. One can visit the vineyards around santiago.

• Pisco sour is a light cocktail drink of Peru and Chile. Dont ever tell the Peruvian, it is a Chilean drink. You might lose the business.

• Caribbean Rum, particularly from Cuba and Jamaica are famous.

• The national drink of Venezuela is Black Label. when you are with your clients, order a bottle ... not pegs ! Venezuela is a unique country, where there there are mini bars in the rest rooms of golf clubs. Players cannot wait to finish the shower before the drink. Black label is also a popular drink in the beaches. No wonder, per capita consumption of Black label is the highest in Venezuela.

• In the beaches of Brasil, kiosks sell chilled tender coconut water. They also serve CocoLoco, with alcohol added to coconut water. Loco means crazy.

Football

watch here video of Ronaldinho Nike tricks

• Maracana stadium in Rio is worth a visit. It is the largest in the world.

• Venezuela, Dominican Republic and Cuba are more into baseball, although football is also popular.

Beaches

• Latin America has some enchanting beaches and interesting beach culture.

• In Rio, beach is part of everyday life. Cariocas ( as the inhabitants of Rio are known) go for walk, cycling, jogging, beach volley ball or a drink in the beachbars in Copacabana or the Ipanema beach. The typical copacabana beach game is footvalley in which volley ball is played without using the hands ! only legs! Barra de Tijucas is another long beach in Rio worth visiting. http://www.ipanema.com/citytour/copa.htm

Heard of the bossanova song " the girl from Ipanema?" by Frank Sinatra...

Ipanema Beach

Here is the sugarloaf mountain and the beach - Rio

• Brasil has hundreds of beautiful beaches all over its long coast. The one nearest to Sao Paulo city is Guaruja about 90 kms. Buzios Beaches about 100 kms to the north of Rio are upscale and chic !

• In the north east of Brasil, there are pretty beaches around Salvador, Recife and Fortaleza.

• Mar del Plata is the famous beach resort in Argentina 400km from Buenos Aires.

  Punte del Este in Uruguay is the Riveira of South America, where the rich and famous have residences.

• Los Roques in Venezuela has some pristine and scenic island beaches. One has to take a plane (20 minutes) and get on to a catamaran package to visit the different beaches. http://www.los-roques.net/.

• Moroccoy, about 200 kms from Caracas has some spectacular island beaches , which have to be reached by boats,which take 20-40 minutes.

Cayo Sombrero beach in Morroccoy, 150 kms from Caracas. Author's favourite.

• Margarita island in Venezuela is a popular resort destination for Europeans.

• The Caribbean has some fantastic beaches. Tourism is the main income in most caribbean countries.

• There are many cruise lines touching various caribbean islands.

• Bonair island near Curacao is a paradise for diving and snorkelling.

• Aruba, Curacao and St Maarten have pretty beaches, attracting cruise ships.

• Cancun in Mexico has fabulous resorts http://www.cancun.info/

• Argentina is the golfers' paradise. Buenos Aires has around 100 courses and there are a total of 280 courses in the country.

• http://www.golfinargentina.com/

• http://www.aag.com.ar/

• Next is Bogota which has around 20 courses.Many of them are pretty against the backdrop of Andean mountain and are undulating. The ball goes ten yards more because of the altitude. The country club has 36 holes.List of courses given in the following website in spanish http://www.federacioncolombianadegolf.com/noticia.php?nt=89

• Dominican Republic has some interesting golf courses.. The Dog's Teeth (seven holes curving into the caribbean sea) and Dye Fore courses in la Romana resort area are among the best in the world. http://www.dominicanrepublic.com/Tourism/english/sports/golf_courses.htm

  The author has played in this Teeth of the Dog course in Sept 2004

Gavea Golf course , Rio

Author in Los Leones club March 2006

Author at varadero Course in Sept 2006

Skiing

This is Valle Nevado ski resort, near Santiago where the author has skiied in August 2003

Night Life

In Latin America there is no hypocrisy or stigma attached to a night- out. The Latin Americans say that it is as natural as the night following the day. One can talk about it, seek advice and invite your local contacts to go with you and they will be happy to accompany.

Well known Night spots:

• Rio - Copacabana area, beach front and also within a few blocks from the beach. http://www.ipanema.com/rio/nite/e/home.htm

• Sao Paulo-NovaFariaLima,Pinheiros http://www.frommers.com/destinations/Sao Paulo/2851010030.html

• Bogota -Zona Rosa http://www.world66.com/southamerica/colombia/bogota/nightlife

• Buenos Aires - Recoleta http://www.allaboutar.com/en_nightlife.htm

• Caracas - near Hotel melia

• Mexico City - Zona Rosa

• Santiago - calle Florida

• Lima - Miraflores

• For more, check out internet and local newspapers and magazines.

Books

The author reads Latin American poems, fiction, biographies and autobiographies and books on politics, economics and business.Following are the authors and books he has enjoyed reading. He has started writting reviews of the books since he started his Latin American affairs Blog in 2005. These are hyperlinked below.

• Jorge Amado of Brasil. His works bring out the Brasilian and Latin American character. he has written dozens of novels. Teresa batista. Dona Flor and her two husbands, gabriela, clove and cinnamon are some of the fascinating ones

• Gabriel Garcia Marquez of Colombia is a nobel prize winner. He is one of those into " magical realism"- one hundred years of solitude, Love at the time of cholera are his best novels

• Mario Vargas Llosa of Peru- Aunt Julia and the script writer, Don Rigoberto's diary, Feast of the goats, Conversation in the Cathedral

• Isabel Allende of Chile - House of spirits, The Infinity plan

• Julia Alvarez of Dominican Republic - Butterflies, A cafecito story, Saving the world

• Laura Restrepo of Colombia- the dark bride, The angel of Galileo, The island of passion.

• Alvaro Mutis - Adventures and misadventures of Maqroll

• Octavio Paz the nobel prize winner of Mexico has written poems on India (Tale of two gardens) and his book " In the light of India", was the introduction to India for many Latin Americans.

• Pablo Neruda of Chile is one of the most famous poets of Latin America. He has visited India.

• Luis sepulveda of Chile- The old man who liked to read love stories

• Miguel angel asturias of Guatemala is a nobel prize winner - The President

• Paulo Coelho of Brasil is a world famous author. But his themes are not Brasilian. mostly about spain and outside Brasil. - Zaheer , Veronica wants to die,

• Carlos Fuentes of Mexico- crystal frontier, Eagle's throne, The Campaign

• Mario Bencastro of El Salvador - A shot in the cathedral

• Roberto Bolano, Chilean - Distant Star

• Jorge Luis Borges, the most famous Argetinian writer- collection of fiction and essays.

Biographies/Autobiographies the author enjoyed

• Che Guevara

• Pablo Neruda

• Borges

• Cheddy Jagan of Guyana

• Gabriel Garcia Marquez

• " Evita- the real life of Eva Peron" written by Nicholas Fraser and Marysa Navarro.

Books on politics and economics

• Latin America's political economy of the possible - Beyond good revolutionaries and Free Marketeers" by Javier Santiso

• Authoritarianism in Latin America-dictators, despots and tyrants.
  by Paul H. Lewis

• Doing business in the New Latin America
  a guide to cultures, practices and opportunities
  
  by Thomas Becker- 2004

Films

• Latin America does not produce many films, although TV soap operas are numerous and popular. Mexico produces the largest number of films. Some interesting films (available in english or with English subtitles) are:

• Motor cyclist's diary - Argentinian - real life adventure of Che Guevara travelling in a motor cycle in South America. This brings out the Latino character and the socio economic realities of Latin America.

• El Embajador de la India (the ambassador of India) - a hilarious Colombian film based on a real-life story of a Colombian pretending to be the Indian ambassador.

• Frida - mexican- real life story of Frida married to Diego Rivera, the famous mexican artist.

• Su Excellencia ( your excellency ) - a comedy about diplomats by the Mexican actor Cantinflas. He has made a number of other comedies.

• La Libertadora del libertador - colombian - the name says it.. the lady liberator, who liberated the liberator ( simon Bolivar )of South America - available in spanish.

• Bossa Nova- Brasilian - full of football and Rio de janeiro

• City of god - Brasilian - violence in the slums of Brasil... close to reality

• Like water for chocolate - mexican - about mexican cuisine and traditions

• Central station - Brasilian - about life in north east of Brasil.

• Woman on top- hollywood - about Bahian food and bossanova music

• Buena Vista Club - a documentary film in English on Cuban music

• Yo soy Bolivar (I am Bolivar) a Colombian film, satirical about the one who claims to be like Bolivar these days.