One of my takeaways from Huatulco is sincerity! The local people will usually give a little nod as a hello, acknowledge you with eye contact, or say buen día with a small, honest smile. You don’t get the impression that they’re trying to make someone’s day brighter, trying to act as if everything is good, just honesty.
In parts language, I’d say they don’t seem to have people-pleasing parts or perfectionistic parts when exchanging greetings. A priest I know would also say they don’t wear those specific masks in public.
As a vacationer, I rode that wave and met the energy as I got acculturated to my environment. I took a break from smiling out of expectation or greeting because “that’s what we do”. I followed the norms of making genuine eye contact, exchanging an acknowledging nod of “I see you, you matter,” and moving along. There were small smiles, but it never felt expected.
My point is that it felt very real and not performative. I know that in the Midwest, we usually exchange greetings and smiles when walking past one another (sometimes). In other parts of Mexico, it is definitely customary to exchange greetings. The expectation usually feels as if everything is good, and we do our best to appear happy.
This vacationer was happy to just be, be acknowledged, adapt to my environment, and be able to gratefully return a small greeting without expectation. I am thankful for the opportunity to travel and to be able to briefly immerse myself in the culture!
