Hugo Chavez: What King Juan Carlos Really Said
Just the point of view of a Latina mestiza:
In Spanish, as in other languages, words and phrases often carry subtext. And as we joke amongst ourselves, in Spanish, we have ‘five versions of yes that mean no,’ and ‘three versions of no, that mean yes.’
So, when a person with the diplomatic skills of a man like King Juan Carlos unleashes an epithet; it carries far more nails and broken glass flying than just the words alone.
Viz: The King’s words to Chavez were, “¿Por que no te callas?” which can certainly be translated as “Why don’t you shut up?” likely from callarse, meaning ‘to hold one’s tongue,’ ‘to be suddenly made silent,’ and yes, ‘to shut up.’
But, more so, in Spanish, as in English, such a phrase carries the intent of a warning snarl. Not with aim to kill. Yet. It is the equivalent of the claws unsheathed and poised… but it is not the powerful downward slash. Yet.
“Por que no te callas?” has several subtexts: One is: ‘Basta, Enough! with your blather.’ Others are, ‘What do you know, you who have never suffered/ experienced?’ … and ‘Stop trying to wear an honor you have never earned nor paid for.’
Moreover, amongst many Spanish-speaking people, (and there are many versions of Spanish) this phrase also refers to the condition of being el gordo, obese. “Por que no te callas?”is then also meant as a double entendre, meaning, not just ‘Close your mouth,’ but also something like this: ‘Look at you, why don’t you stop eating so much… for surely the grease has drowned your brain.’
Amongst many Spaniards/ Spanish blood people, there are some acceptable gestures to show public displeasure when people violate not a genteel protocol, but a protocol of character. That King Juan Carlos vacated the room leaving Chavez to speak to the air, is the equivalent of ‘invisibilizing’ a person. It is on par with the far less elegant spitting to the side, or giving the kiss of betrayal, or passing a note with a black dot in the middle.
King Juan Carlos was not vacating the room out of exasperation or pique, but to show the displeasure of the Spanish Delegation with Chavez’s grandstanding and lack of ability to conduct himself as a person at the table, instead of a pindejo dancing on the table.
On this day, in the world of the mysteries of Spanish character and protocol, King Juan Carlos doesn’t exist as an anachronism, but as an exemplar.
See in Spanish here at Barcepundit: http://barcepundit.blogspot.com/
See Joe Gandelman’s excellent article on Chavez/King Juan Carlos, with updates here:
http://themoderatevoice.com/places/europe/16049/spanish-king-juan-carlos-tells-hugo-chavez-to-shut-up/
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Dr. Estes,
I know that Hugo Chavez comes across as a bit of an ill-mannered ruffian, but he also gets a lot of bad press from the USA and it is said, even if it is only he who says it, that the USA constantly is working to overthrow him, and constantly says nasty things about him.
I for one took some pleasure and some humor when Chavez called Bush the devil and did his comic routine at the UN. At that time, I understand he got a several minute standing ovation. In this instance, what he said seems to be under the breath of a majority of Americans.
I wonder though if he should not be treated as the Left treats him; as nothing short of the leader of the Bolavarian (sic) Revolution? Is it not true that he has inspired other latin countries to reject cutting business deals with the USA, as a rejection of the failed “liberal trade policies that appeared to benefit only the the World Bank, American business, and the elite of those countries while not lifting the majority poor out of their livelong poverty?
I know from talking to my Colombian friends that Chavez is a controversial figure, but is he not also the hope of many a poor latino in many latin countries?
From my perch, it would seem so, but you sit higher up in the tree, have sharp eyes, and may be can see further than my 59 year old eyes can…..
…..I know you can see the benefit of politeness in discoarse, but is there any thing else to see?
Let me also take this opportunity to say, I have always known you from your books and tapes, and even saw you, break with polite protocol, to challenge a politician in mid speech who failed to attribute justly the role of women in the subject of his presentation. I am glad to have found you here and look forward to your columns. Thank you,
Spirasol
discoarse…yes, that’s an apt description of Chavez’s speech, indeed.
Clarissa, just to specify, traditional Spanish (the kind Spaniards speak) doesn’t hold the “callate gordo” connotation in “¿Por qué no te callas?”, it’s simply “Why don’t you shut up?” As to King Juan Carlos leaving the room, I would think that’s a universal diplomatic snub, not just a Spanish/Latino one, but I could be wrong. Chiles president decided to pile on Spain (they all hate us, except when accepting the millions in aid and favorable trade agreements we give them) and the King had had it with the whole affair by then.
Spirasol, Chavez had had a long time where he had liberally insulted Aznar, the ex-prime minister, repeatedly calling him a fascist (which is a very strong insult to a Spaniard). Zapatero was speaking (“tenÃa la palabra” it was his turn to speak) merely to demand respect for the ex-president, who is his opponent but still his countryman, and Chavez was constantly interrupting him. He was being an ass and richly deserved to be told to shut up. If anything it doesn’t happen often enough. He has the diplomatic skills of a rhinoceros and is in no place to complain when someone gives him a tiny taste of the medicine he seems so eager to mete out.
Yes, thank you Lynx, I could perhaps have been more clear “Moreover, amongst many Spanish-speaking people world-wide, (and there are many versions of Spanish…) this phrase also refers to the condition of being el gordo, obese.” ….to say instead something like, ‘in some parts of the world, this phrase in Spanish can also mean….” And thank you always for your first-person perspective from Spain. That’s valuable.
dr.e
Dear spirasol, thank you for your thoughtful words, and welcome to themoderatevoice.com!
My view is: In this particular case on this particular day, Presidente Chavez seemed, calculatedly or not, to cherish repetitive insulting… thus, placing the limelight on Hugo Chavez rather than serious issues of finding cooperative support in repairing 500 years of ‘us vs. them’ exploitation in so many places in the world, including Central and South America.
Just my .02… Having lived for substantial periods in Central America and South America, having seen ‘the five families’ empiric kind of governance that”s caused such mayhem and utter devastation on the poor and indigenous (as well as seeing ‘the invisible forces’ from other governments behind the ones who held ‘Conquest powers,’)….. it seems that when Presidente Chavez hurls insults, many of the monied who would now help his country cooperatively through investments and resources, instead find him brash or unstable…. and pass him by.
dr.e
And spirasol, I put this here so the other comment wouldn’t run 20 yards longer. Your memory serves.
Long ago: Senator Tom Hayden addressing 2000 people one night, ‘teaching’ them through his long slide show, about how America came to be, but leaving out 99% of those who actually built America. I was a keynoter at the same conference and after watching his show and while he was still speaking, I sat there saying to myself, ‘You must say something. You must… you must,’ til finally I rose with my knees knocking, to confront the vacancy.
My comment back then was not only about women; my comment was about all the groups left out that night during Sen. Hayden’s worldview of ‘How America was Built.’ His slide show featured all the moguls and none of those who lived and died on the rock piles, underground, railroads, factories, skyscrapers that ‘made America great.’
Much of America could not have been built, granted, without mogul-money… but neither could it have been built without the blood and bones, the muscle and gristle of those whose hauling and hammering and building skills, whose profound artisans’ skills far outdistanced those with soft hands.
You’re accurate. I broke protocol. Sen. Hayden apologized to me after, adding that ‘other times’ he included the groups I mentioned. Apology accepted in honor of the living and the dead, so to speak. Apology accepted because there’s a clause in all good people’s contracts on earth, I think; something about ‘some imperfections will be required in order to learn.’
dr.e
Thank you, Dr. E. and Lynx for your responses. They were interesting and add to the discussion, but, perhaps I didn’t express myself well enough. I was trying to delineate a separation between the personality
and social skills of a politician and the actual acts of the politician while in office.
I myself have tried to understand the seeming
belligerence of a Chavez, his unrelenting effort to speak (his) truth to power, his public goading of those officials who disagree with him, and his befriending of the leaders of countries who appears to be enemies of the USA. Did he have a terrible upbringing? Is it lack of education, a military career, or that he was never sent to charm school? My best guess is that he does suffer from a lowered self esteem, one which makes him envious of other leaders, and, in turn, he may see himself as greater than he is. But it also appears to be so by design………..as we don’t hear so much from his allies about such complaints. The marriage of these elements seems complete in the body of the person he is. And to be clear, he doesn’t call the poor or people of color bad names, he has no human rights violations I’m aware of. He does not torture, period. He has not invaded or occupied any other sovereign nation. What he does do is act something like an adolescent to taunt likely rivals, including Aznar, who was solidly behind The USA, globalization, big business, and the Iraq war. Does he appear a bit like a teenage bully throwing spitballs at weaker kids? —well not really, at least not from Chavez’s perspective, who might say he represents the downtrodden who he perceives as having been picked on for centuries and now…….now we would deprive him of getting his just desserts…..to make fun of those latin countries who like to sit in the vest pocket of the most powerful nation of all time, and who from time to time are willing to do a favor for their benefactor.
And just when you think you have classified him correctly as flawed politician, a striving adolescent, we read from Rick Rockwell (Blog: Ivory Towerz): “Say what you will about Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez, but the man and his public relations folks know how to play hardball.†And Rockwell goes on to insinuate that Chavez seems to be applying the art of Sun Tzu to media relations: “One defends when his strength is inadequate, he attacks when it is abundant.â€
…….and from here we can dip into history, uh, in general, I mean (I don’t wish to expose my ignorance) to consider the personalities of leaders, their public discourse, and what did those leaders accomplish. Where would Chavez………….or Bush, or John Bolton or Idi Amin line up in time and history? While Europe loves Clinton, most American progressives would say Clinton sold the left down the river, and he did with a great deal of empathy, tenderness, and understanding.
After 9-11 I understand the diplomatic line with Musharraf was you’ll either work with us, accept our gratuities or we will bomb you into the stone age. And I think there are hundreds if not thousands of diplomatic dialogues where the delivery is tender and polite, but the consequences lethal and the threat not imagined. I believe Saddam and his sons were handed such a reasonably nuanced ultimatum. Leave town by sundown or we’ll blow you to smithereens, and a few hundreds of thousands of innocents with you.
There are those who argue that, his personality aside, Chavez is a great man and a great leader, not just for Venezuela but for all of South America. This translated article comes from La Monde and has much good to say of Chavez and his accomplishments: http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/080307G.shtml If you have never read of his good deeds, here is an opportunity.
Lastly, with a little humor in mind, would we not all get a good laugh if we could not get Bush to act like the Cowboy he pretends to be and Chavez to play the adolescent bully slayer. Would the production make Jerry Springer proud? Of coarse it would have to be for fun (signed contracts) and with actors, lest we stir up another war.
Okay sorry for going on for too long, and I hope this makes clear what I started to comment upon.
–Spirasol
Dear spirasol, Yes, I think your current comment makes clear. You’ve clearly also given much thought to these matters of differentiation… which is not always the usual in discourse online… and also given much for others reading here to think about. Thank you for the link that others may follow your line of thought.
dr.e