Cultura: Saludos y despedidas en países hispanohablantes

In Spanish speaking countries, men and woman greet each other with “besitos” meaning they touch cheek to cheek and make a kissing sound with their lips. It doesn’t matter if they are good friends or if they are meeting for the first time, the cheek kissing is a universal form of greeting. It is also not uncommon for two men to hug and shake hands as a greeting.  Note, that if you are meeting the person in a professional capacity it is always a handshake.

Greetings like “good morning” or “good afternoon” are incredibly important in Spanish. The tradition of greeting another person is an important way of showing respect. In fact, in some parts of Latin America, you are expected to greet every person individually, even if they are in a group. That means that if you are walking along and pass a group of five people, you have to say, “Good morning,” to each person!