Free Spanish Lesson #25 – Provecho.

In the United States as well as in Latin America, it is impolite to eat in front of someone else who is not eating. But, what should you do if you if you stop by someone’s house while they are eating?

If this happens to me personally, I usually say something like, “I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt your dinner”, or “Sorry to bother you during dinner time.”

This type of interruption doesn’t seem to happen as much in the U.S. as in Latin America. This seems to be because just about everyone in the U.S. has a telephone and people frequently call each other before stopping by.

In many Latin American regions, especially the lower-income pueblos, a very small percent of the population owns a telephone because of the cost involved. Phone calls are charged by the length of each call whether local or long distance.

In the U.S., a set monthly phone bill gets you all the local calls you want, regardless of the length, for free. However, extra fees are incurred for long-distance calls. Because of the scarcity of people with telephones in Latin America, people frequently stop by acquaintances homes unannounced and sometimes during mealtime.

I assume that because of this practice, and because of the Latin American emphasis on food, there has been a Spanish word invented for this exact situation.

People usually say this phrase with a light-hearted attitude almost as if to say, “Go ahead and keep eating and don’t worry about me”. To continue the scenario a little farther, if you are eating and someone says “¡Buen provecho” to you, you can answer them by saying “Servido” which means “Served”. By saying “Servido“, you are basically saying, “Feel free to take a seat and have some if you’d like.”

Although that is the real meaning, I don’t think I ever saw anyone in this situation ever take someone up on the offer and sit down to eat with the family after they had already started a meal.

Remember, the next time you see Latin-American people eating and you are not, be sure to say “¡Provecho!” or “¡Buen provecho!” to them. Also, if you are eating, and someone says “¡Provecho!” to you, be sure and say “Servido” to them, and be ready to offer them food; just in-case they take you up on your offer.

Moral of the Story: A large part of Latin American culture is based on food. Without a lot of instant food available to the people in the lower-income pueblos, they spend a lot of time in food preparation. Because food is such a big part of their lives, it’s important to learn proper mealtime etiquette. Just remember, “¡Provecho!” or “¡Buen provecho!” and “Servido“.

¡Qué le vaya bien! (May everything go well for you!)

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Andrew Makarik

to@welovecostarica.com

Andrew Makarik is the main editor of WeLoveCostaRica, a fan of this sunny country. He is also a loving husband and a has a lovely daughter. By being a devoted family man and the biggest Costa Rica fan, he wants to make more people feel at home there. WeLoveCostaRica unites people and helps them find new home or a new travel destination. This website is a friendly community where everyone can find not only information, but also new friends and travel pals. Andrew is also passionate about IT and programming, so he himself maintains a friendly atmosphere in this cozy environment of WeLoveCostaRica.com.