Newsletter May 2007

The Forum for National Consensus, a government-led council of business and citizens’ groups, has launched a campaign to encourage timeliness among Peruvians under the slogan “la hora sin demora,” which translates into “time without delay.” Peruvians are known for their chronic tardiness, coining the term “hora peruana,” or “Peruvian time,” which usually means 60 minutes later than the scheduled time. Of course, if a certain appointment is extra important, people make an effort to be just 30 minutes late. The concept of “mañana” is also typical in Peru, which translates into “tomorrow”, but in reality means in some indefinite time in the future.

The government is trying to spread the notion of punctuality, highlighting its benefits. Alan Garcia, President of Peru, is an avid supporter of the campaign, stressing that tardiness affects the country’s productivity, deters foreign investors and reflects a negative attitude about work. “It’s a horrible, dreadful and harmful custom,” he says. Garcia adds that tardiness is bad mannered, and that “To be punctual is to respect your neighbor. When we lose time, Peru loses time.” Garcia has asked government institutions, bussinesses and schools to stop tolerating any tardiness.

Former president Alejandro Toledo was known for always being late, sometines showing up two hours late to events. He even showed up 45 minutes late to President Garcia’s inaugurational ceremony while dozens of foreign leaders and dignataries waited in Congress. “Cabana time” people joked, referring to his native village in the Andes, Cabana. To be fair to former president Toledo, his presidential term was arguably one of the best in comparison to others.  

A ceremony was planned on March 1, 2007 in Lima’s central plaza to inaugurate “la hora sin demora” campaign in Peru. The Peruvian navy was to send a signal exactly at noon, signaling sirens and church bells to go off, and thus alerting everyone to synchronize with the official time in Lima. Unfortunately, although the bells did ring on time, President Garcia (who loves to talk at great lenghts) hadn’t finished his speech before noon. Archbishop Juan Luis Cipriani, the highest figure of the Roman Catholic Church in Peru, was seen arriving late for the 11:00 ceremony.

It’s certainly going to be difficult for many Peruvians to replace their “hora peruana” with “la hora sin demora.” Carla Salazar, from the Associated Press, says the invitation to the 11 A.M. ceremony was delivered to them at 1:30 P.M., or at about 9:00 A.M. “Cabana time.”

Fortunately those traveling to South America  with Peru For Less can rest assured that we do not operate on “Cabana time.” Visit our testimonials and see for yourself that Peru For Less operates exclusively on “La Hora Sin Demora!”.

Source: BBC News, Seattle Times

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PAST NEWSLETTERS:

• Newsletter December 2007
• Newsletter November 2007
• Newsletter October 2007
• Newsletter September 2007
• Newsletter August 2007
• Newsletter July 2007
• Newsletter June 2007
• Newsletter May 2007
• Newsletter April 2007
• Newsletter March 2007
• Newsletter February 2007
• Newslette January 2007