Episode Summary
In this episode of The Expat Files, Johnny Mueller dives into the peculiarities of Spanish-language television in Latin America, focusing on dubbed Western cartoons and the confusion caused by name translations. He highlights the confusion caused by name translations, such as the Flintstones being dubbed as 'Pica Piedras' and Fred Flintstone being called 'Pedro' or 'Peter Rockhitter.' Johnny also comments on the delayed introduction of Western shows like Judge Judy and Dancing with the Stars, noting the poor quality of local copies. He concludes by mentioning a recent trend where Latin media has started incorporating gringos into their content, which he attributes to a mix of mistake and opportunity.
Johnny then discusses a Latin American talk show that has a clueless gringo DJ who knows only about 20 words of Spanish. This DJ is a source of humor for the audience, as his attempts at speaking Spanish lead to comedic misunderstandings. Johnny notes that this is a reversal of typical classist jokes, where the gringo becomes the butt of the joke instead of the Latin American 'compostino' farmer. He also shares a story about expat gringos and their experiences at Latina birthday parties, highlighting the cultural differences and the often boring nature of these events. The segment ends with a humorous anecdote about a gringo friend's wife's relatives and their sudden disinterest in the Kardashians.
In the next segment, Johnny discusses the cultural and linguistic quirks of Spanish-speaking countries, particularly focusing on the dubbing of American TV shows and the perception of gay individuals in media. He mentions how the voices of characters in dubbed shows are often exaggerated, especially when the original actor is perceived as gay, with women being preferred for the dubbing to avoid overly feminine inflections. Johnny also touches on the differences in how major email services like Yahoo tailor their content based on the user's location, offering different versions of their homepage depending on the language and country. He concludes by mentioning an upcoming Expat Wisdom seminar and shifts to an interview with Dave, who is in the process of obtaining residency and citizenship in Central America and Paraguay.
In the final segment, Johnny discusses the opportunities for expats, particularly gringos, in Paraguay. He compares Paraguay to other Latin American countries like Nicaragua, Honduras, Bolivia, and Ecuador, noting that Paraguay is more laid back and has a lower population density. He highlights the potential for business ventures, such as amusement parks, due to the growing middle class. Johnny also addresses the internet infrastructure in Paraguay, noting it is decent but not up to first-world standards, and mentions the availability of internet cafes for expats seeking a low profile. He then compares Central America and South America, suggesting Central America is a better starting point for expats due to its smaller size and ease of access. Finally, he touches on crime and security, comparing crime rates to U.S. cities and emphasizing the importance of being smart and cautious.
Topics
Cultural adaptation of Western media in Latin America, Language and name translation peculiarities, Media production quality in Latin America, Incorporation of gringos into Latin media, Latin American talk shows, Cultural differences, Expatriate experiences, Humor and comedy, Classist jokes, Dubbing of American TV shows in Latin America, Cultural and linguistic quirks in Spanish-speaking countries, Email services and localization
Chapters
00:00:00 Opening 00:01:05 Introduction to the Topic of Dubbed Western Cartoons in Latin America 00:01:28 Discussion of the Dubbed Version of the Flintstones 00:02:46 Comment on the Delayed Introduction of Western Shows and Poor Adaptations 00:05:09 Mention of a Recent Trend Involving Gringos in Latin Media 00:06:13 The Clueless Gringo DJ on the Show 00:07:32 The DJ's Comedic Misunderstandings 00:08:48 The Trend of Clueless Gringos in Latin Media 00:10:59 The Impact of Dubbing on Viewer Perception of TV Shows 00:12:09 Political Incorrectness and Dubbing of Gay Actors 00:13:55 Language and Localization in Email Services 00:16:21 Opportunities for Gringos in Paraguay 00:17:05 Potential Business Opportunities in Paraguay 00:17:31 Population and Geography of Paraguay 00:18:03 Internet Infrastructure in Paraguay 00:19:21 Residency and Passport Applications in Latin America 00:20:32 Crime and Security in Paraguay 00:22:13 Common Misconceptions About Safety in Latin America 00:23:43 Residency Process in Paraguay
Transcript
Automatically transcribed from the original recording; names and wording may contain errors.
[00:14] Hello there all you expat wannabes, I'm Johnny Mueller and you're listening to The Expat Files, living in Latin America. The show that tells you just what it's like to live, work, play and or retire down here in Latin America. It's a mix of the good, the bad, the ugly and the great and it's all right here so let's get started. Okay today before we get into part two of our interview with Dave who's planting a couple flags and getting his residency in both Guatemala and Paraguay, first I thought I'd mention a few things on the lighter side that I think are going to make you laugh. Now like I've been saying in the past few years, one of the best ways to learn your Spanish is to watch Spanish language television. Now you're certainly not going to get brain overload, that's for sure when you watch it but you'll get a lot of exposure to Latin American accents.
[01:01] Not only that, it's a way to get up to speed on street talk and slang. Anyway here's something that's really going to make you scratch your head and I still can't figure it out yet myself and I've been down here a long time. I'll probably never figure it out. One thing's for sure, when you turn on Spanish television you're going to see a lot of first world cartoon programs that are dubbed in Spanish. For example, one of the most famous cartoons that you see running everywhere down here are the Flintstones. Here's the weird part. Down here where it's dubbed in Spanish, they're called the pica piedras, which means, translated to English, rock hitters or rock pounders. Okay fair enough, that kind of makes sense right? Flintstones rock pounders. But get this, down here in Spanish our leading man Fred Flintstone, his name is not Fred.
[01:49] Why? Who knows? I mean the word Fred, Fredrico or Freddy, is used down here all the time but yet he's called Pedro, Pedro, that's Peter. So what's going on with that? And get this, his sidekick Barney Rubble is called Pablo, which is Paul in English. Not only that, Barney's last name, which should be Rubble, or the Spanish equivalent of Rubble anyway, is Marmole, which in English is Marble, like a marble countertop. So his name is Paul Marble. And Fred? Peter Rockhitter. Yet their wives Wilma and Betty keep their same first names in Spanish, Wilma, which is Vilma, and Betty, Betty.
[02:36] Now don't worry, I'm not going to go into pebbles and bam-bam and all that, but I just wanted to point out with those examples that English programs get dubbed into Spanish, obviously without much thought or planning, which is a typical Latin way of doing things. I mean come on, they don't call it the third world for nothing, you know. Obviously Latin producers are real blackheads or maybe just stoned. Yep all puns intended. So if that's not a bit crazy, you know what they call Peter Pan down here? Not Pedro Pan, they call him Peter Pan. Which always confuses young Latin kids at first, because pan in Spanish is bread, so he's Peter Bread. Why not at least change the pan or bread part, you know? Duh. See how crazy this gets?
[03:23] There's no logic to it at all. Now I've mentioned many times that there's a big lag time for every first world thing that comes down to Latin America. So unless it's a first world person doing it, or a first world franchise, you can count on any copy being a bad copy. For example, would you believe that one of the new hit shows that's just arrived down here is the Latin version of Judge Judy? Now the lag time on that was only about 30 years, right? And of course another big hit that just arrived, that all time snoozer, Dancing with the Stars. And what's that, a 10 year lag time? But I have to admit, for once they've got the first world version beat. These people can really dance. Now I gotta tell you, there's one brand new show syndicated down here on Latin television,
[04:10] that's pretty much an exact bad copy of a Johnny Carson or Jimmy Kimmel or David Letterman show. The sets are copied exactly, including the fake glittering Manhattan skyline, which in this case, get this, is substituted with the Miami skyline, because that's every Latin's dream destination of course. I mean come on, there's nothing more gringo wannabe than that. Anyway, there are a lot of very bad Latin copies of Letterman and Leno's old Tonight show. And any time I flick through the channels I wanna gag, because for one thing, 90% of the guests are soap opera stars. I guess that kinda makes sense for Latin America, because there is no Hollywood analog down here. So, Airhead soap opera celebrities have become their version of Hollywood stars.
[05:00] But you know, as luck would have it, one very strange thing happened recently, and it signals a trend that down here, you're gonna see a lot more of. And believe it or not, for the first time, it involves gringos. Knowing how Latin media works and the idiot copycat morons that run it, I believe it was a mistake at first that turned into gold for them. Here's how it started. On one of these popular, but very bad Tonight show clones, there's a lady host and I think her name's Kira Karen or something like that. And as usual, 90% of her guests are brain dead soap opera stars, with IQs hovering at room temperature like George Bush. Anyway, here's the kicker. You know, where there's supposed to be a Tonight show orchestra or a band leader
[05:47] like in the old days of Johnny Carson, Doc Severnson, or Paul Shaper with Letterman, you know. Well, these bad Latin talk show copies have their band leader sections too, but because of low budgets, in the case of this talk show, they've got no band but a single DJ, doing all the intros and exits and grooving away on his turntable. But this guy's no ordinary DJ, not by a long shot. He's a 100% pure gringo DJ that knows about 20 words of Spanish. In other words, they've got themselves a clueless gringo on the show. A big cool American big city black guy with a rack of gold teeth, no less. And you know, with all those Conan and Kimmel and Letterman type shows, between guests there's
[06:34] always that little banter between the band leader and the host, right? Well, of course that stuff goes on too in this Latin Tonight show clone. But since this guy knows virtually no Spanish, all the Latin viewers think it's funnier than hell, and everybody in the studio audience, the host, and the technician just crack up every time this guy talks. Because you know, when he speaks in English they don't get it, and when he speaks in Spanish, he screws up royally trying to put words together like any clueless gringo with that tiny vocabulary. For example, the host will ask his opinion on something, and he'll try to fake it mixing English and Spanish words together, and you know how that comes out. For example, the other day, when I flicked it on for a few seconds, the woman host asked him in very broken English, because she doesn't know much English either.
[07:23] If he liked the outfit she was wearing in, he fumbled badly with his Spanish and told her she looked like a chupacabra, which brought the house down for about 5 minutes and I can see why. And now, this guy, this American DJ that knows 20 or 30 words of Spanish, is the hit of the whole show. In fact, it's obvious the show would be nothing without this guy. And it's apparent that this show is like no other, and the host has hitched her wagon to him. Why? Because suddenly the syndication numbers are huge. So analyzing it for once you can see the tables are turned. It's the clueless gringo getting the laughs, instead of the clueless latin compostino farmer with a cowboy hat, and his machete, who are the usual classist comic foils on
[08:09] stupid shows like that. In Latin America, the universal joke is always to make fun of the poor, short brown, dark compostino hayseed. In fact, there's a barefoot idiot compostino foil in every TV show. So now I think for the first time, the latin funny bone has discovered the clueless gringo. So anyway, I just know this is going to be a trend because it's such a success on this show. So while you gringo wannabes up there who have DJ skills, keep that in mind. Since all 1700 television stations in Latin America have talk shows that just might need a token clueless gringo. And the less Spanish you know, the better. Oh and you want to know some more secrets of latin media? Well this was a new one on me.
[08:56] A gringo friend of mine invited me to his house for his latina wife's birthday party. And let me tell you for gringos these are extremely boring events. So my gringo friend wanted me to share in his misery. And remember birthday parties down here are beyond special. Latins are absolutely nuts about them. And you know there is an expat gringo saying down here, it goes like this. If you want to remember your latina wife or girlfriend's birthday for all eternity, all you have to do is forget it once. Now as fate would have it, my gringo friend, like expat Eddie, always seems to have a lot of latin company around the house. Why? Because he's got a nice big beautiful spread and a pool that everyone else uses but him.
[09:43] And who are these frequent and sometimes constant latino visitors? They're almost always his wife's relatives. Which makes sense because 99% of expat gringos don't have any of their own stateside relatives down here. So in this case it's his wife's relatives mainly her three teenage sisters who are hanging around all the time. Now being a gringo who loves sports. He's got Sky TV and 6 million channels with a 60 inch flat screen TV in the living room. Or it could be 70 or 80, who knows, it's huge. Anyway after dinner the whole gang was sitting around the TV and the girls were flicking through the channels and they landed on e-entertainment television in Spanish where the Kardashians were exhibiting their mighty brain power.
[10:30] Just then, the girl on the couch with the remote, ooh not that. Nobody watches that anymore. Then she started surfing the channels. And then my friend turned to me and said in English, which they couldn't understand, he said, you know, they used to be in love with the Kardashians, they've been watching it for years. They were addicted. Then all of a sudden, a couple of months ago they just quit watching. And Johnny, I'll give you a million bucks if you can figure out why. Then I said, for a million bucks I'll give it a try. Was it because they were torn by its profound subliminal social and cultural life messages, maybe? To which my gringle friend replied, Johnny, close but no cigar. Anyway, my friend said they were addicted for three or four years and then when this season
[11:15] started, the girls were outraged when the Kardashians came on with all new voices. Now, my friend said he never picked up on it, but starting this season they got brand new people to dub in the voices. And the girls in the family just could not handle putting the new voices to the old faces. And I said, you're right, I never would have guessed in a million years. I guess it would be like some fan of a show like CSI or whatever up in the States. Suddenly tuning in to find all his favorite characters had different voices. Man, that would be strange, huh? And then my friend said, you know, it's worse than that because down here they show a lot of reruns out of sequence and on different stations. So imagine having one of your favorite actor or actresses voice jump back and forth from
[12:02] week to week or even day to day. So anyway, like I said, a gringle could live down here a couple of decades and never pick up on that. And while I'm at it, let's get really politically incorrect here. Like I said, there's a lot of US TV shows that are down here that are dubbed in Spanish. For example, on the Home and Health channel and stuff, they have those wedding dress shows and makeover shows and pick the next model shows. Now this might come as a shock to you, but a lot of those hosts, designers, makeup people, etc. are gay. Come on, you all know it's true and they make no effort to change the way they are. Why should they? And if you happen to catch these programs on Latin TV, you'll notice that the Spanish person that's doing the dubbing for that gringo gay person is throwing heavy feminine inflections
[12:51] into the voice. And in thinking about it, it does make sense. I mean, you can't have some roughneck cowboy biker doing the voice now, can you? Then again, maybe you could and that would really be funny, wouldn't it? Funny to us, but we're not that lowbrow Latin audience that they're going for, are we? But here's the kicker. I know quite a few people in the media business down here who work for Latin stations. And a very good source told me, a source inside that world of translation, that when US programming is brought down to Latin America and is translated, then dubbed. And when there are obvious gay people in acting roles or presenters of shows and such, more often than not, they'll have a woman do the voice. Because males who translate voices in the studio just exaggerate the feminine voice
[13:39] thing way too much. So they prefer women to do the voices of gay actors. So there you have it. Some Latin cocktail party gossip you can use. Some useless but weird facts that you'll never find in International Living magazine. And finally, since we've been talking about quirks and oddities in the Spanish language, there's something interesting about those big email services like Yahoo. For example, if you happen to click on the Yahoo homepage from anywhere in Latin America, that homepage will come up in Spanish, but it won't be the same homepage you get when you pull it up in English. You'll get different stories altogether. News and events and such that are happening in the Spanish world. Along with a mix of international news.
[14:25] Anyway, big email services like Yahoo know by your IP address what country you're in. So when you pull up the homepage, it's going to be in that language. Now, of course, you can switch to any language you want instantly. You just go to a little pop-up box and click on English or Dutch or French or German, et cetera, et cetera. But here's something I didn't know. I just found out and you probably didn't know either. If the homepage is in English or Dutch or French or whatever, and you want to switch to Spanish, you actually have a choice. You can switch to traditional high Spanish as in Spanish from Spain or Mexican Spanish. Or get this, United States Spanish. Now, I never knew there was such a thing as United States Spanish.
[15:12] Did you? That's a totally new one on me. I thought, you know, Spanish was Spanish, but I guess with anywhere from 13 to 20% of the US population being of Latin American descent and millions more illegals piling in every year, English and Spanish are bound to get shaken, not stirred, together. That's the shape of things to come, so you better get used to it. Now, I've said about that. Now, let's get back to part two of that interview with Dave, one of my newest friends who attended my most recent Expat Wisdom seminar in Central America. And by the way, in about two weeks, my next one starts and there's still time to sign up. So just go to www.expatwisdom.com, go to the top of the page where it says Latin Seminar, click on it and you'll get all the information.
[15:59] There's still time to get on board, so check it out. Believe me, you won't regret it. Anyway, Dave is in the process of getting both residency and citizenship in Central America, Guatemala, to be precise, and South America, Paraguay, the only landlocked country on the continent. Okay, Dave's back and let's continue with the interview. You know, Dave, the word on Paraguay is that it's wide open for gringos to come down and use that gringo advantage and start up businesses. Because, for example, if you take the case of Nicaragua, Honduras, Bolivia, or Ecuador, for example, you might consider those places 20 or 30 years behind the first world curve. Like it was back in the states in the 80s and the 90s when life moved much slower. That said, from what I know, Paraguay is even more laid back.
[16:48] You could say it was a bit more like life was like in the states back in the 60s and 70s. So, Dave, as for you, are you down there for the obvious business opportunities, especially for gringos or are you just using it as one of your diversified flags? At this point, it's just a flag. However, there are a lot of opportunities. People I've spoken with want some foreigner to come down and make an amusement park because the middle class is definitely growing there and people are looking for places to spend their money. But really, there's just not a lot to do there. And you know, unless you've seen it yourself, you don't realize how big that country is and how few people are in it. Well, the towns are pretty small. The country is roughly the size of California with about seven million people.
[17:37] Wow, that's almost a tenth of the population density that California has. And there's only three major cities, the capital of Cincyon, Ciudad de Leste on the border of Brazil, and another city in the south on the border of Argentina called Encarnacion. So then, Dave, the question everybody wants to know, what about the internet? What about gringos coming down wanting to start an internet business? The internet there is decent. It's not quite up to the US standards and certainly not to Asian standards. I've never had any major problems. Your average hotels, not going to have the best Wi-Fi, but it's suitable and you can always go to internet cafes if you need a better connection. Yeah, tell me about it. They're everywhere down here in Latin America and yet up in the first world,
[18:27] internet cafes are almost non-existent. But I'll tell you, if you use internet cafes down here, you can have a very low profile if that's what you want. And smart expats know that having a low profile is the only way to go. By the way, just a little tip here. In Latin America anyway, if you have a good lawyer and in SA Corporation, you don't have to have your name on anything. And of course, that's one of the things our legal specialists talk about at the seminar, but you knew that, right? And that includes your internet and your internet cable service. It can be in his name, his corporate name, or your corporate name if you have an SA Corporation. And speaking of cable, what about internet cable service down there, Dave? The cable connection is decent. It's not quite up to first world speeds. I knew that, Dave, but I wanted to hear it from you first.
[19:16] It's all part of that lag time effect, right? But let's get back to the main point. You applied for a residency leading to passport in a couple of different Latin countries, right? Yeah, that's correct. I recently applied for a temporary residency in Guatemala a couple weeks ago. So Dave, you picked a country in Central America and a country in South America to get your residencies leading up to passport. Can you compare and contrast a bit the difference between South America and Central America? Yeah, well, I've got a lot more experience in Central America. I've been to, let's see, Panama, Guatemala, and Nicaragua are the countries I've been to several times. And as far as comparing it with South America, Central America, you've got
[20:02] the smaller countries. And so it's easier to get your boots on the ground and see what it's all about. Whereas South America, of course, the countries are much larger. It'd take you a while to find the right place. But I'd say people who are interested in Latin America, a good first step would be to check out Central America just because it's convenient and it's smaller. And that would be a great stepping off point for those who are interested in life in Latin America, I think. Okay, then, Dave, what about crime and security issues? The actual crime rates are not much different than some cities such as New Orleans, St. Louis, Baltimore. In fact, I carry a sheet around me that compares homicides and other crimes with Latin American countries, and they match up with several major cities in the US. It's just a matter of being smart. There's bad neighborhoods, stay out of the bad neighborhoods.
[20:53] And the locals really exaggerate things, I think, because they really care about visitors and they don't want anything to happen. So they're going to be extremely cautious and tell you, you know, be careful with your cell phone and whatnot. And there is some petty crime, but I've never experienced anything. I'm kind of brave and a little reckless sometimes, I have to admit, but I've only had one incident in Nicaragua. And I've never been hassled or robbed. Otherwise, I've been to so called dangerous, sketchy neighborhoods. And as long as you keep your wits about you, I think you'll be fine. Now, I like to mention right here, Dave, that I've known you a while now. And you're a laid back guy who's just as comfortable in $100 a night hotel as you are in a $10 a night job. Well, maybe not just as comfortable,
[21:42] but at least you'll try them both. And as we all know, in those $10 a night backpacker style hotels, they're almost always in a bad part of town. And still, I know occasionally you don't mind doing it, especially if you arrive in a town you've never been in before. It's late, or you just want to do some boots on the ground exploring. So I can vouch for Dave on that score, and I know he gets around just fine in any neighborhood, even some of the bad ones. But he does the right things by dressing down and not looking like a clueless gringo. We know the type, right? We see him all the time. Smartphone in hand, GPSing the nearest McDonald's location to get that happy meal. That's definitely not you, Dave. Yeah, exactly. It's got to keep your wits about you and not do things that are totally obvious that make you a mark.
[22:31] And you know, it's funny, Dave. People who don't know much about Latin America, people who haven't been down here or only been down here maybe once. You hear him sometimes talk about the military and the cops and roadblocks on the street, but outside of Mexico anyway, the cops and the police just don't hassle gringos. All they're really doing is checking for your driver's license and papers at those roadblocks. And it turns out, you know, even the cops and the military like gringos. Again, Mexico accepted. Anyway, you know what I mean, Dave? There's always a misconception about that. And I think that's because Americans are not used to seeing a bunch of cops at a roadblock. You just don't see that up in the States. But down here, it's common. And you know, even in the worst neighborhoods down here, you can drive through as long as your windows are up. What surprises me is that in these bad neighborhoods,
[23:17] locals are the ones that keep their car windows rolled down. So if there's any targeting, it's going to be them, not you. Yeah, exactly. I've had the same experience driving through so-called dangerous neighborhoods and the way people make it out in the States, especially people who've never been there make it seem like, you know, machine gun fire is going to open up as soon as you set foot in there or drive in there. But yeah, just like you said, that's just not the case. Okay, Dave, but let's go back to the process that you had to go through to get your residency in Paraguay. Why don't we go through that step by step, okay? Okay, well, the first step is you have to get all the right papers in the US, and you have to get them legalized at a Paraguayan consulate. The trickiest one to get is the FBI report. You have to submit fingerprints on a fingerprint card,
[24:05] and it takes time to get it. In order to apply for the residency, I can't remember the exact time frame, but I think it can't be older than 30 days. Some relatively short time frame. It has to be a fresh report. And for those of you who don't know what he's talking about, he's talking about an FBI report that you get on yourself to show you're not a criminal or a felon and you've got no pending charges against you. And you have to have that report and get down there and have an appointment with the person that's going to take you through the process. And you also need a birth certificate and that has to be legalized by the Paraguayan consulate. A process that takes about five days and also any marriage or divorce certificates if that applies must be legalized and any name change
[24:52] certificates must be legalized too. So once you have all those documents, then you go down and with the person you're working with and get them submitted. And Dave, do you need an FBI report for your dog too? Just kidding. I can hear him a bit in the background. No problem though. So anyway, you have to send those authenticated documents to the nearest Paraguayan consulate and you're under a time constraint. And you've got to submit them to the consulate that's in your geographical area, right? Yeah, exactly. In my case, in the West Coast, it's LA. And I assume in the East Coast, it's going to be New York. And I understand with most all Latin countries, you can get your documents authenticated at their consulates by mail. You just look up the information
[25:38] on their website and they'll tell you how to do it. It can be done by mail. I did it personally and had them send them back to me just because I don't live very far away from one. But just a little tip here for you listeners. What you might not realize is that Latin American consulates in the United States are staffed by lazy ass government employees with very bad third world habits. Though they should be shining examples sent from the home country. These are generally patronage jobs staffed by friends and family, basically political dunderheads. So you'll find you have to really be on top of it because there are tons of errors on their websites. In fact, I just spoke to a person who was trying to get some documents authenticated from the Guatemalan consulate in
[26:25] Chicago and she tried to email and call the number that she found on the website only to discover that the website hadn't been updated in five years and that person no longer worked there. How's that for a snapshot of governmental laziness and inefficiency? But then again, that's part of what makes living in Latin America so desirable. Meaning any attempt at being a big brother state like the US is simply out of the question and hooray for that. Yeah, I exactly had the same problem with Los Angeles, Guatemalan consulate. None of the phone numbers worked. The fax number didn't work. I couldn't find a phone number for that place. Though what I liked about Guatemalan consulate though was that it took 10 minutes to get everything legalized. It was quick and easy, but just trying to contact
[27:12] them is the hard part. But back to Paraguay and how you got residents there. You used a facilitator that wasn't Paraguayan, right? He was born in Germany and he's lived in Paraguay for over 20 years. There's quite a number of Germans that live there. Dave, we'll have to finish this off next show. So see you then. You've been listening to the expat files living in Latin America, coming to you twice a week from somewhere south of the border. Email me the expat files at gmail.com and don't forget to check out expatwisdom.com to sign up for your free reports on Latin America. See you next time. Nos vemos.