LA TERCERA LLAMADA

English-speaking people here have told us that Mexicans have a propensity for arriving late--to events, home-repair jobs, etc.  El sr J and I have a compulsion propensity for arriving early.  You may think of this as a virtue, but it's not necessarily:  for example, when we stand on a busy sidewalk for 20 minutes because we've arrived 10 minutes early to look at a house and the Mexican showing it arrives 10 minutes late.

We went to the symphony again on Friday at 8:30:

We were there at 8:15, even though we knew it would not really begin at 8:30.  At some point after 8:30 (thankfully, neither of us wears a watch or carries a cell phone, so we don't know exactly how much after) the disembodied announcer says, "Primera Llamada," First Call.  At this point there are only a couple of musicians on the stage (most seem to be out front smoking cigarettes), and only a few dozen people in the audience. About five minutes later, the voice announces, "Segunda Llamada."  Now everybody starts streaming in, both on stage and in the audience.  Then, a few minutes later, "ESTA ES LA TERCERA LLAMADA, TERCERA LLAMADA, COMENZAMOS."  And almost everybody is in now.

Almost.  After the orchestra plays the first short piece, the doors open and 20 or so people enter and look for their seats, causing other people in their row to have to stand to let them pass.  When the conductor re-emerges, he turns his head to check if everyone has found a seat before he begins the second piece.  Very annoying, I say.

We try not to deal in cultural stereotypes or "national characteristics," but here's a pattern of behavior that gives some support to the idea that there is a "Mexican time" that is different from what the clock says.  I just wonder how people who consistently arrive late feel inside.  Do they make excuses for themselves, or would they feel the same way arriving early as I would arriving late (stomach cramps, heart palpitations).