Episode Summary
In this episode of The Expat Files, Johnny Mueller provides an honest and unfiltered look at expat life in Latin America, contrasting it with the idealized portrayals found in travel magazines and websites. He outlines the show's focus on expat experiences, including work, living, and retirement, and sets the stage for a discussion on expat life in the region. He mentions that while many expats come to Latin America to start businesses, others come with significant financial resources and invest in the region, even from third-world countries. He also highlights the unique business environments in Latin American cities, where certain industries are concentrated in specific areas, often in older, more dangerous parts of town, which can offer better deals but require caution.
Johnny discusses the availability of Western brands like Milwaukee Tool in Latin American cities, noting that while these brands are expensive and widely available, they often come with shorter warranties compared to those offered by major retailers like Sears or Walmart. He highlights the presence of expats from third-world countries in Latin America, particularly in retail sectors like clothing stores, and comments on the cultural challenges these expats face, including language barriers and cultural differences. He further touches on the term 'adabes' used by Latin Americans to refer to people of Middle Eastern descent, and the underlying prejudice against them, despite the economic necessity of business relationships.
Johnny also discusses the prejudices and stereotypes faced by Middle Easterners, referred to as 'adabis,' and Orientals in Latin America. He highlights how these groups are often viewed with suspicion and distrust, despite their economic contributions. He contrasts this with the lack of negative stereotypes associated with these groups in Latin America, unlike the First World's portrayal of them as terrorists or extremists. He shares an anecdote about a Korean family who successfully built a large radio empire in Latin America, despite cultural and linguistic barriers.
He recounts a story about a Korean immigrant who built a radio empire in Latin America, despite his poor Spanish skills. His daughters were instructed to marry into Latin families for the sake of business, and they ended up marrying lazy, entitled Latin men who lived off their wives' money. These men had luxurious offices, mistresses, and no real jobs. Johnny highlights the cultural norms in Latin America, where affairs are common, and women from wealthy families often face difficult choices when their husbands are unfaithful. He also notes that while divorce is possible, it's not as straightforward as in the first world, and women often tolerate infidelity due to cultural and economic factors.
Johnny discusses the cultural differences in emotional expression between Latin men and first-world men. He highlights that Latin men are often more prone to crying and are skilled at using emotional displays, such as 'crocodile tears,' to manipulate situations, especially in relationships. He contrasts this with first-world men, who typically only cry in extreme situations like the death of a loved one, passing a kidney stone, or being physically harmed. He shares a story about expat Eddie, who witnessed a situation where a Latin man attempted to flirt with his girlfriend while she was at a modeling agency, showcasing the common behavior of Latin men in such scenarios.
The podcast segment recounts a story about Eddie's girlfriend encountering a series of incidents involving sexual harassment and inappropriate behavior in Latin America. She is insulted by a man who calls her a 'mujeriego' (a term for a woman chaser or two-timer). She confronts her boyfriend, who claims the woman was trying to pick him up, and the man later openly insults her in front of his girlfriend. The situation escalates when she is followed by multiple government-licensed Range Rovers, which turn out to be following her because she is being pursued by a government minister. The minister's bodyguard attempts to proposition her, but she refuses and instead suggests contacting the minister's wife for permission. The story highlights the prevalence of machismo and sexual harassment in Latin America, particularly among wealthy and powerful men.
In the closing portion of the episode, Johnny Mueller wraps up the episode with a humorous remark about the cultural influence of Bill Clinton in Latin America. He then invites listeners to email him with questions or comments about Latin America, reiterates the email address, and signs off with a friendly goodbye in Spanish.
Topics
Expat Life in Latin America, Starting Businesses in Latin America, Investment Opportunities for Expats, Business Concentration in Latin American Cities, Safety and Caution in Older Neighborhoods, Availability of Western brands in Latin America, Warranty differences between local and first-world retailers, Expats from third-world countries in Latin America, Cultural and language barriers for expats, Prejudice against Middle Eastern expats in Latin America, Prejudices against Middle Easterners and Orientals in Latin America, Cultural and economic contributions of Middle Easterners and Orientals
Chapters
00:00:00 Opening 00:00:44 Expats Starting Businesses in Latin America 00:01:24 Third-World Expats Investing in Latin America 00:02:04 Concentration of Specialty Businesses in Latin American Cities 00:04:38 Availability of Western Brands in Latin America 00:05:07 Warranty Differences Between Local and First-World Retailers 00:06:21 Expats from Third-World Countries in Latin America 00:08:57 Prejudice Against Middle Eastern Expats in Latin America 00:09:13 Prejudices Against Middle Easterners and Orientals in Latin America 00:09:49 The Economic Role of Middle Easterners in Latin America 00:12:38 Success Stories of Non-Western Entrepreneurs in Latin America 00:13:59 The Korean Immigrant's Radio Empire and Poor Spanish Skills 00:14:27 The Luxury Lifestyle of the Latin Husbands 00:17:03 The Reality of Latin Affairs and Mistresses 00:18:46 Introduction to the topic of emotional expression in Latin men 00:18:50 Comparison of emotional expression between Latin and first-world men 00:18:54 Discussion of the three specific situations where first-world men might cry 00:18:58 Explanation of the cultural context of emotional manipulation in Latin men 00:19:03 Introduction to the story about expat Eddie and the modeling agency 00:23:08 The Insult and the Two-Timer Claim 00:24:37 The Government-Linked Harassment 00:27:25 Humorous Cultural Observation on Bill Clinton's Influence in Latin America 00:27:45 Podcast Outreach and Audience Engagement 00:27:55 Podcast Sign-Off and Closing Remarks
Transcript
Automatically transcribed from the original recording; names and wording may contain errors.
[00:03] Hi everybody, I'm Johnny Mueller and you're listening to the expat files living in Latin America. The show that tells you what it's really like to live, work, play and or retire in Latin America. I tell it just like it is, not the version they give you in those glossy travel magazines or the picture they paint for you in those international traveler websites where they're only trying to sell you something. What's it really like for expats living in Latin America? Well if you stick around a while you'll find out. So, let's get started. Today I want to skip around a bit on my topics, but I'm sure what I've got to say is going to be of interest to some of you out there. So here's a few little tidbits about Latin America that I bet you haven't heard talked about before. First, let's talk about foreigners who come down to Latin America to start businesses. Because that's what most expats do, they come down here specifically, the majority anyway,
[00:52] to start businesses. While the rest of them just come down here thinking they're going to retire. Though rarely do they follow through with that plan, they usually end up doing some kind of business because they find it so easy compared to what it takes up in the first world. In fact some expats I know say it's infinitely more easy to do it down here, even for those of us who are trying to do it on a shoestring budget. But let's talk about the other end of the spectrum. There are some expats that come down with loads of money, they hit the ground running, and before you know it there are really big movers and shakers down here. And believe it or not, some of the people that come down here with big wads of money ready to invest are expats not from the first world at all but from the third world. Third world expats from other parts of the world coming down to Latin America to invest. Now let me give you an example of this. Once you're down in Latin America for a while, let's say you're six months in one particular
[01:41] city that you like. Well after a bit of exploring and getting a feel for the business climate in the place, you'll get that after about six months believe me. You'll discover there are certain sections of every Latin American city, big or small, where certain kinds of specialty businesses have located. And how so many of them end up in one place I'll never know. But that's what you see in every medium to large sized city down here. Take for example used car parts or mechanics. If you want to get tires or shocks or some transmission worked on for your car, you just ask any guy on the street and he'll give you a range of avenues and streets where you'll find storefront after storefront businesses who deal almost exclusively with that kind of stuff. Same thing goes if you're in the plumbing, the jewelry, or the baking business. You name it, wholesaler retail, there's always a certain section of town, usually in the
[02:28] oldest parts of the town, where you'll find all that kind of stuff concentrated in a few block area. And that goes for electrical and electronic supply stuff too. Somehow over the years, all the shops that supply a certain kind of industry, like even pneumatic tool equipment and air compressors for example, well they always seem to end up in one little particular section of town. Which really makes it easy on us, the consumer. But like I said, these are in heavily populated, concentrated areas, old areas of town. Which means those are also probably the more dangerous areas of town too. So if you're opening an upscale pizza parlor let's say, and you're looking for parts for that Italian espresso machine, it's best to take someone along with you on the trip. Guys personally, I don't like walking around some of the dangerous older parts of town alone.
[03:14] And though if you keep a low profile you almost never get bothered. You know what they say, there's safety in numbers. And like I said, if you're looking for industrial or specialty parts, you traditionally find a lot of that stuff in an older, junkier, a little bit more dangerous section of town. By the way, these areas are usually quite dingy, dirty and full of litter too. And every now and then you might see a wine over two passed out in a doorway. Just like downtown Cleveland. But if you're looking for the best deals, this is where you're going to find them. Sure you'll be able to find a local hardware store in your neighborhood that'll sell you a paint sprayer and an air compressor for example. But your local hardware guy is only going to have maybe one or two on hand and not much variety at all. But in those older, dirtier, kind of dilapidated sections of town, you'll have 20 or 30 different brands to pick from.
[03:59] And if you pull out some cash and make a lowball offer, you can always make a deal with these guys. And here's the funny thing, when you walk into one of these dingy little places, it always looks like no one's even dusted the shelves or cleaned the place for 30 years. And even the machines, for example if you're looking at compressors, the floor models will be dingy too and loaded with dust. Even though they're brand new and haven't been fired up once. But you see, this is where you want to go if you want to buy a specific brand of an item. Let's say you're fond of Milwaukee Tool and you want to buy a Milwaukee Tool, circular saw or a router. Well believe it or not, in every medium in big city in Latin America, you'll be able to find Milwaukee Tool even though it's an odd brand. And a very expensive brand too. All the big tool manufacturers, Stanley, Bosch, Wiyobi, Black & Decker, Skill, you name it, they're down here.
[04:45] And they have all the parts and do service on those things down here too. They even have all the small gas engine brands like you see on lawnmowers and weed whackers. Like Honda, Bricks & Stratton, Tecumseh, and 1001 no name Chinese brands too. But the thing is, if you buy a product like that at one of these specialty stores, it seems like they almost never give you a year warranty like you get if you buy a product like that from Sears or Walmart. They give you 30, 60, or 90 days, which scares you off right away and you're thinking, with such a short warranty, what kind of people are you dealing with? But that's the way it is and how it's always been down here. And even if you do have a warranty, they'll often find ways to get around it. But not Sears or Walmart or Office Depot, or Ace Hardware or any of the first world franchises that came down here in open chain stores.
[05:30] That's one of the great things about buying from Sears or Walmart or Office Depot. They stand by their guarantee just like they do up in the first world. That is if you have the receipt. If you don't, you're SOL. Even though in places like Walmart, you're in the computer because you're a member and everything's backed up. You still have to have that receipt or you won't get warranty service. And these other mom and pop retail and wholesale guys, in these areas of town I've been talking about, well they'll stick by their 30, 60, and 90 day guarantees too, but almost anything will last that long as long as you don't drop it down a flight of stairs. Now another thing you'll notice in medium to large Latin American cities, and when I talk about medium sized Latin American cities, I would say those are cities with about 200,000 to a million people. My idea of a big Latin American city is anything over a million.
[06:17] Anyway, another thing you'll notice in medium to large sized cities is that there are obvious pockets of businesses owned by foreigners. And I mean expats, but not expats like you and me, running the usual expat style tourist businesses like bed and breakfast, bars and restaurants, and gelato shops and stuff. I'm talking about little pockets and enclaves of expats coming from third world countries like China or the Middle East, Indonesia or India. For example, you'll see an awful lot of clothing stores in Latin America that are concentrated in certain little areas like I talked about that seem to be exclusively owned and operated by Orientals. Orientals, by the way, that don't speak much Spanish at all. Not to mention there's an awful lot of retail clothing stores in concentrated areas in older sections of town again that are owned and operated by people from Middle Eastern descent.
[07:06] And they too don't speak very good Spanish at all. In fact, first world expats like me can barely understand them. And they don't speak English either, so you wonder how the hell they did it. And in fact, when you go into their stores, you often see the owner operator at the cash register, obviously an Oriental or Middle Eastern guy or gal, while all the helpers, attendants and floor walkers in the store are local Latins. They're the ones that deal with the customers directly, not the Chinese or Middle Eastern owner with their bad Spanish. Now given that situation, it always makes me wonder, and in fact it makes every expat wonder how in the hell these guys could come all the way from China or Vietnam or Indonesia or any other third world country a half a world away, land in Latin America, which has to be for them triple the culture shock that you and I will ever experience, obviously
[07:52] not knowing a word of Spanish or anything about the Spanish culture for that matter. Because if you're from India, Indonesia, China or the Middle East for example, not only have you probably never run into a single Latin American person in your whole life, because well Latin Americans just don't go to those countries, they go to the United States because they can sneak in, and to Europe because Spain gives them a no hassle visa for 90 days. I mean, I've never heard in my whole life a single Latin American say, hey, you know what I want to do? I really want to move to China, or I'm really thinking about immigrating to Egypt or Turkey. Now Egypt, there's the land of opportunity. Yeah, right, maybe in another universe, but not in this reality. Anyway, what I'm saying is expats coming from third world countries to Latin America, like China or the Middle East for example.
[08:38] And by the way, Latin Americans call all people of Middle Eastern descent, adabes, which is Spanish for Arab. They lump them all into that category, whether you're from Egypt, Syria, Palestine, Turkey Iraq, Iran, Saudi Arabia, you're an adaby. Just like we first worlders tend to label every oriental as a Chinese. And while I'm mentioning that, here's something else that's politically incorrect. Home grown Latin American guys and gals don't much like people of the Arab race, mothers don't like their daughters going out with them, and Latin men don't like doing business or partnering up with them, though of course they do all the time because business is all about money. But behind closed doors and at parties, you often do hear outspoken prejudice against a class of people they call adabis. I've not only been told, but I've overheard a number of times, Latin businessmen telling
[09:24] me that adabis, as they call them, are sneaky businessmen and not to be trusted. And though there are more Middle Eastern people in Latin American than you might think, you almost never see them at regular Latin American parties and get-togethers. Your everyday Latin person doesn't have them as friends or acquaintances. And they're not looking to be friends with them either. And the same thing goes with Orientals too. Though here's another part of the story I'm sure you've never heard. Down here in Latin America, the so-called adabis are of course involved in all kinds of businesses, with the exception of farming and agriculture. That's one area they haven't penetrated at all yet. Maybe they just don't have any interest or aren't any good at it, who knows. But the thing is, even though the average Latin American on the street admits that Middle Easterners are very good businessmen, Latin Americans never ever seem to be concerned
[10:11] the way First World people are in the United States and Europe about that dark side of the so-called adabi culture, you know, the terrorist and fundamentalist connection that the First World has been so uptight about for the last 10 or 15 years, especially since 9-11. And that seems rather odd to me and a lot of other First World expats. A lot of us wonder in the back of our minds when we run into Middle Easterners on the street or in business, specifically the ones that aren't Westernized, that are still culturally and religiously connected to their homeland. And that's obvious by the way they dress and talk and follow the Quran and all that. But you see, down here in Latin America, you just don't hear Latin Americans ever talking about Arabs as if they were undesirables or terrorists or even connected to anything that might be subversive in any way. Latins have their own kind of prejudices against them.
[10:59] They might not want to do business with them or want their sons or daughters to date or marry them, but they don't think of them at all as troublemakers or members of cells or terrorist organizations. There's none of those negative stereotypes working against them down here. That kind of stuff doesn't even cross a Latin person's mind. Even though if you pay attention to the First World Press and the media up there, there's a lot of talk of Middle Eastern terrorist cells being organized and operated down here in Latin America. Supposedly, they're just biding their time and waiting for the moment when they get that call to action from Al-Qaeda or whoever in the Middle East and then they head over the US Mexican border and spring into action. I'm sure you've all heard versions of that story 10 or 20 times already, haven't you? But if you ask any Latin American, he or she will tell you that Arabs are just very good
[11:45] capitalist businessmen who like to keep themselves. And that's the same way Latins feel about people from India, the Chinese, the South Koreans and any Orientals living in Latin America. But still, us expats wonder how they do it, how they get started when it's such a culture clash and how they become successes so fast when they're not much liked or accepted by the locals and the only time they ever get a chance to marry into a Latin family is when they have a position in money because it's all about the money down here. Let me just put it like this, Middle Easterners, Chinese and people from India do not, I repeat do not, have the gringo advantage. You talk to any Latin American female and she'll tell you that she would not like to have an adobe or an Oriental boyfriend because she thinks those races are unattractive and too culturally different than a person from a Latin culture could ever get used to.
[12:34] But they sure do make it in business and sometimes they make it very big. For example, some years back, I had a syndicated English language morning radio show in Central America that was part of a huge chain of Latin American radio stations. In fact, it was part of 40 or 50 radio stations owned by one guy. And when I was first recruited to do that radio show, I had a meeting with the boss and the three principal directors of that chain of stations who just happened to be the boss's three adult daughters who were college educated at some of the finest first world private schools, because obviously their dad had the money to send them anywhere he wanted. Now the funny thing about this guy and his three daughters who owned all these radio stations was that they were 100% Korean. And when I went to that meeting, I had a nice long conversation in English with the owner's
[13:22] daughters who were running things, who spoke English well because they were quite educated. And of course their father was at that meeting too and he didn't say a word during that whole hour. He just smiled and nodded his head a lot. And later on, one of the daughters who was to become the program director, she told me her dad didn't say anything because he didn't speak English and in fact he didn't speak Spanish very well at all either. And here's a guy who owned 40 or 50 radio stations in Latin America, all broadcasting in Spanish except one, which was the one that I was on, the only English language radio station that he owned. And you gotta wonder, in fact I still wonder, how did that guy do it? Coming from South Korea 30 or 40 years ago, not knowing a lick of Spanish and creating this huge radio empire. And his daughter told me, after 30 or 40 years, his Spanish still sucks.
[14:11] So much so that he can't read a contract in Spanish. Even though over the years he's had to sign hundreds of them. Instead he has his wife, or one of his daughters, translate contracts into Korean for him. And that's something that to this day I'll never understand. But the other half of that story is this, every day when I drive to work at that radio station, and it was in a big tower of about 30 stories with underground parking, anyway in that underground parking lot, there was an elevator that went directly up to the radio station's suite of offices. And right in front of that elevator were four reserved parking places for the management. One for the big boss, the Korean dad, and three other reserved parking places, each with a brand new Mercedes Benz SUV in that space.
[14:57] And each one of these $60,000 SUVs belonged to the husbands of the daughters of the big boss. Each of whom had been given plum management jobs once they'd married into the Korean family. And I found out after working at that station for a while, that each one of these husbands was a lazy ass good for nothing entitled Latin guy from well placed, formerly wealthy Latin families that had fallen on hard economic times. And each one of these guys married into that Korean family not because they wanted to, not for love, no way. Like the song says, what's love got to do with it? Because like I said, Latins are just not attracted to Orientals and they'll come right out and tell you so. But anyway, these sons of aristocrats, who'd fallen on hard times, married these girls
[15:42] strictly for the money, and the Korean daughters I found out later, through radio stations Scuttlebutt and the like, of course. Behind the scenes at radio stations we have our own kind of soap operas, if you know what I mean. Anyway, these daughters of the Korean boss were instructed in no uncertain terms, through subtle hints by their rich mom and dad of course, that they were supposed to keep their eye out for a latin husband from a good solid well placed family. Not necessarily rich, but from a latin family with a good aristocratic name. Because obviously that would be good not only for the family, but for the business in the long run. So that's just what his daughters did. They each ended up with a well placed latin guy with a solid well placed old world Spanish legacy in the family. But in reality they were just lazy ass SOBs living off their wife's money.
[16:28] Nice work if you can get it, and they got it. And it was also well known around the radio station that these three guys, although they had penthouse offices at the radio station tower, they didn't actually have a job to do. But they still had a luxury office, a secretary, flat screen TV, and a key to the executive washroom. And each of them had a not so secret mistress or two, that would show up once in a while, dressed to kill. And how did that news get out around the radio station? Well, secretaries do talk now, don't they? And latin guys, no matter how rich or poor, do have their mistresses. And that's a fact of life. So all you expat want to be female is up there in the first world, who are thinking of coming down to find your own Antonio Bandettis. And you know about that latin propensity to have mistresses, but you're thinking that
[17:14] the more educated a latin guy is, the more faithful and rational he might be. Well you're wrong. The latin gene for men having multiple mistresses, exists in every level of society, from the richest to the poorest. And it's the wealthier latins that hide it the best because they can sequester their mistresses in luxury private apartments. Whereas the poorer latin guy has to hook up with his mistress at the cantina. So what about the daughters of wealthy Orientals and Adebes down here in Latin America? The girls that stand to inherit a lot from their parents. What about these girls who end up hooking up with latin guys? And by the way these are about the only Arabs and Chinese that actually do end up marrying latin guys. These girls from wealthy families. Well I can tell you this. Every Oriental and Latin girl in that position, married to a latin guy, eventually has to
[18:02] realize that her latin husband is having an affair. But this is not the first world. Where when that's the case and women find their husbands are having affairs, they just file for divorce and the court awards them half of everything. Down here in Latin America things just don't work like that. Not normally, but you see, when a girl from a rich or wealthy family marries a latin guy below her family's economic standards, she can still survive quite nicely if she divorces the guy. After all, it's her side of the family that has the money, not his. But this is Latin America where affairs and mistresses are such a common thing that women, more often than not, don't exactly accept it, but they give the guy a second, a third, even a fourth chance sometimes before they finally throw in the towel or throw him out. Because like I think I said in one of my past shows a long long time ago, latin men are
[18:50] very good liars and very good criers. Unlike all the first world guys I know, who can't even remember the last time they cried. And as expat Eddie says, there are only three good reasons for a first world guy to turn on the tears. First world straight guys that is. If you're gay, well all bets are off. One, if someone very close to you dies like your mom or your dad. Two, if you're passing a kidney stone. And three, if you get kicked or punched squarely in the balls. And of course some guys will cry if you take away their internet. And you know on those first three points, most first world people will agree completely with expat Eddie. However, down here in Latin America, these latin guys learn from a very young age how to turn on the crocodile tears at will. And since most of them are so dishonest to their women and often get caught red handed
[19:36] making explicit advances, frequently towards their wife or girlfriend's best friend, relative or sister, and you wouldn't believe how much of that goes on. Well as you might imagine, one of the only ways out of something like that when you've been caught red handed is to pour on the tears. Because many women, especially latin american women, fall for that trick. Or at least they soften up a bit. And I've been told this little tale from many of my own latin american friends. Who to a man has been caught by his girlfriend or wife screwing around. And who to a man has poured on those crocodile tears when all else fails. I'm telling ya, these latin guys could win oscars for the way they can pour it on when they get caught. And as for the latin women, what other choice do they have? These latin guys are pretty much their only dating and mating pool. Which I'm sure you've figured out is part of the gringo advantage for us.
[20:23] But more about that later. I mean some of these latin guys are absolutely unbelievable liars, when it comes to love and romance of course. Now listen to this, the other day I was talking to expat Eddie and he told me this story. He said, a week ago or so, he drove his girlfriend to a modeling agency for a casting. They were casting for about five models for a Colgate toothpaste commercial. So Eddie dropped his girlfriend off in front of the modeling agency and parked his car about a half a block away, waiting for her to fill out the forms and get the pictures taken and all that. He figured it'd be about a half an hour, 45 minutes. So he parked about a half a block away, facing the door of the modeling agency. And from where he was parked he could see all the girls walking up to the door, pressing the buzzer and being let in, the same girls that were going for the casting for that Colgate toothpaste spot.
[21:09] And by the way, down here they don't say Colgate, they say Colgate. Anyway, some of the other girls that were walking in were being dropped off by their boyfriends in various kinds of cars, some junky and some kind of nice. And as you can imagine, some of these girls were very hot models, so their boyfriends were wealthier upscale guys with nice cars like BMWs. Good looking girls have a way of attracting guys with nice cars, money and position. That's a no brainer, right? Anyway, so parked along the street in front of this modeling agency were guys in their nice cars letting their girlfriends out. And a few of the guys stuck around in their cars like Eddie waiting for their girlfriends and the rest of them just dropped the girls and left. Before Eddie's girlfriend got out of his car, they both saw a guy with a red BMW pulled up at the door dropping off his very beautiful girlfriend for her chance at that casting.
[21:56] So anyway, after that girl hit the buzzer, the door opened and she went into the modeling agency, Eddie's girlfriend got out of the car and started walking towards that door, which was about a half a block away because Eddie was parked the ways down the street. Anyway, Eddie noticed that she walked over to the car, the red BMW, and said something to the guy through the window. Then she went over to the modeling agency door, hit the buzzer and they let her in. Now after about a half hour passed, Eddie decided he wasn't going to stick around. He had some things to do. And as he left, he passed right by that red BMW with a guy in it who was still parked on the street near the modeling agency. Obviously, waiting for his girlfriend to come out. And about a half an hour later, Eddie got a phone call from his girlfriend saying she didn't know how long she was going to be there, they were still waiting for the photographer to show up and it could still be an hour or two.
[22:42] So Eddie advised her to just take a taxi home. And about three hours later, when she arrived back at Eddie's house, she had a story to tell that just might never happen in the first world, but of course it happens all the time down here in Latin America and it went like this. When she got out of the car, the guy in the BMW called her over to his window. He told her how beautiful she looked and that he wanted her phone number so they can go out on a date. And she said, yeah right, you're trying to pick me up when you're here with your own girlfriend. And she insulted him a bit and called him a mujeriego, which basically means woman chaser or two-timer in Spanish. So anyway, Eddie's girlfriend when she got into the modeling agency went up to this guy's girlfriend and said, you know what, your boyfriend's a two-timer, he just put the make on me and asked me for my phone number and for a date. And I told him to stick it. And a girl got up, walked outside and confronted her boyfriend and guess what her boyfriend
[23:32] said? Typical Latin American comeback and she bought it, here's what he said. He said that girl, Eddie's girlfriend, walked up to her car, told him that she wanted a date with him and asked him for his phone number, which of course never happens except in the movies. Girls don't walk up to complete strangers and ask for a phone number, unless maybe he's Brad Pitt. And this guy was closer to Jack Black than Brad Pitt, but this girl bought it. Her boyfriend was completely innocent and Eddie's girlfriend was pursuing him. Yeah, right. And he swore on his mother's grave that she was trying to pick him up and Eddie's girlfriend said he was very nearly in tears. And guess what? When the casting was over and all the girls walked out, the guy who was sitting there in his BMW got out of his car, called Eddie's girlfriend a bitch in front of his girlfriend to drive home the point, got back in his car, slammed it in first and hit the gas and squealed
[24:22] away in a patch of rubber. Which was a real adult thing to do, don't you think? But his girlfriend bought it. Now imagine a guy like that flirting right under the nose of his girlfriend and how many times a day he gets away with that very same thing. But that's Latin America, especially in the wealthier classes. The ones that have nice cars and a little money pull that stuff all the time. But that wasn't the end of that day's sexual harassment for Eddie's girlfriend. Get this. She had to walk two blocks to a busier street to get a taxi. And when she finally did get the cab, the cab driver before he took off said, listen lady you see that car behind us, I think they're following you. And she looked back and it wasn't the guy with the red BMW, but a dark late model Range Rover with blacked out windows. But that wasn't the only car that was following closely behind. Behind that one was another identical Range Rover.
[25:09] And they were following that taxi very closely, in fact tailgating him. And the taxi driver said to her, well at least they're not Narcos because they've got government plates. And they did. They had government license plates. And Eddie's girlfriend said she had no idea who these people were. She just figured the usual. They were a bunch of government jerks tailgating because they're in a hurry. Anyway, after about a 15 minute ride, the taxi got to Eddie's subdivision. And it's a guarded subdivision so you have to register with the guard before he'll open the gate. So the taxi pulled up to the guard station and the two Range Rovers pulled up right behind and a guy jumped out of one of those Range Rovers. It turns out he was a well dressed bodyguard in charge of that little VIP caravan. And he walked up to the taxi, knocked on the window, handed Eddie's girlfriend a business
[25:54] card and he said, my boss thinks you're very beautiful and he'd like to meet you. And she looked at the business card and the guy they were chauffeuring around was a well known government cabinet minister, who naturally had a wife, a family and kids. They all do. But he wanted a date with Eddie's girlfriend. And he was going around picking up beautiful women the usual way Latin guys with power and money and nice cars do. They have their bodyguards do it. And many times the beautiful girl obliges. Because for so many of them it's much better to be the mistress of a wealthy, powerful macho jerk like that than to have to ride the bus each day and fend off the throngs of common everyday wolves that she's sure to encounter there. And believe me, these wealthy guys and government jerks play that game to the fullest. So anyway, at that point Eddie's girlfriend said to the bodyguard, I don't take business
[26:40] cards from people I don't know. I don't like to talk to strange men. And then the bodyguard pointed out, well my boss is no strange guy. He's a VIP in government, blah blah blah. And then Eddie's girlfriend smiled and said to the guy, okay look, I'll tell you what, you write the phone number of his wife down in the back of this business card and I'll call her and ask her if it's okay with her if I have a date with her husband. You tell that to your boss. Then she rolled up the window and the taxi driver dropped her off at Eddie's house. But you see that's a typical macho move that you see down here in Latin America all the time. These macho guys are just dogs and a lot of girls fall for it. Especially very beautiful ones stuck in bad neighborhoods. Ones that are from the lower socioeconomic classes. They've got beauty and the guys got money and power. Talk about beauty and the beast. Seems like down here, every latin guy with a decent car and a few bucks has taken a page
[27:30] or two out of Bill Clinton's diary. You've been listening to The Expat Files, living in Latin America, coming to you each week from somewhere south of the border. And don't forget you can email me on anything at all about Latin America, The Expat Files at gmail.com. Once again, The Expat Files at gmail.com. See you next time. Nos vemos.