Manners
When speaking to the elderly, or to strangers, Cubans speak more formally as a sign of respect. They shake hands upon both greeting and saying farewell to someone. Men often exchange friendly hugs (abrazos) and it is also common for both men and women to greet friends and family with a hug and a kiss on the cheek. Informalities like addressing a stranger with 'mi corazón' (my heart), 'mi vida' (my life), or 'cariño' (dear) are common. "Mi amor" (my love) is used, even between strangers, when at least one of them is a woman (for example when being served in a shop).
Read more about this topic: Cuban Spanish
Famous quotes containing the word manners:
“Report of fashions in proud Italy,
Whose manners still our tardy-apish nation
Limps after in base imitation.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
“I have always been of the mind that in a democracy manners are the only effective weapons against the bowie-knife.”
—James Russell Lowell (1819–91)
“Good manners are made up of petty sacrifices.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)