Lessons from nuevo rico, nuevo pobre

DISCLAIMER: For those of you looking for a simple, straightforward post about some aspect of Colombia or foreigners living here, look elsewhere.

For those of you who want to read a semi-coherent ramble about telenovelas and society (and have nothing to do for the next few hours), read on..

Oh, I know, I should get a life, this is boring, this is stupid, etc... No need to say it.

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For those unfamiliar with it, "Nuevo Rico, Nevro Pobre" is a telenovela currently showing on Caracol at 9ish every day. In short, here's what happened:

30 years ago two babies were mixed up, one from a poor family, and one from a rich one. The nurse (who was drunk when she did it) confessed 30 years later. The baby who grew up in the rich family (Andres) did very well for himself as the boss of "mundoexpress", a big and powerful company. Andres dressed well, always wore a bluetooth cellphone headset and was a generally nasty guy.

The other baby, "Brayan" was (well, is) an exagerrated stereotype of a poor, low-class guy - with a goofy moustache and embarrassing mannerisms. Nonetheless, Brayan always has his heart in the right place.

When the (biological) mother of Brayan (Antonia) found out about the mix up, she decided that it would be fun to play a game with the two men. She ejected Andres from the family (while introducing him to his true biological father), and introduced Brayan as the new head of the company. Her grand plan, of course, is to teach Brayan the ways of the sophisticated, and to teach Andres humility.

Andres discovered that as his "name " (Ferreira) was no longer his, that he no longer had any assets (nope - no car, no house, nothing). Brayan suddenly acquired everything - to the amusement of some, and horror of others.

"So what, Leeroy?" some might be asking.

Actually, hidden within this ridiculous and poorly acted/written story, there are some interesting points which I believe reflect Colombian (and, possibly, Latin American) society and culture, as well as human nature generally. Seriously.

1 - Biological determinism

The first relates to how Andres, on losing his surname, also loses everything that he has in terms of material possessions and status (and by consequence, when Brayan gains his true surname, he suddenly acquires all of these things). There is a subtle implication here - that who you are and what you have is something that is determined biologically. Andres, as he is repeatedly told, had been "living a lie" - all of his hard work in managing Mundoexpress had amounted to nothing, because he never deserved to be in that position in the first place. He was an imposter.

Unlike "The American Dream" (i.e. Work hard and You can get anything!), Colombian society has significantly less social mobility. If you are born poor there is a good chance you will die poor (and if you are born rich etc....). This may relate less to society per se and more about the economic structure of the country - massive wealth disparity usually leads to social fragmentation, where the poor exist in a world of perpetually low income and few opportunities to escape it. This may well lead to the (faulty) observation that how well-off you are is something genetically determined - much like the Indian caste system, your luck of the draw (in terms of which family you are born into) decides how successful you are in life - not what you do or how you do it. Sadly, this "I'm poor so I won't bother trying to get ahead in life" is a self-fulfilling prophecy, seen everywhere.

2 - Nature vs Nurture

Neither Brayan nor Andres fit into their new respective worlds very well. Brayan (aside from having an anglicised name, which is a bit tacky, so I am told), is the poster-boy for lower-class-ish-ness. On acquiring his new status he downed a shot of aguardiente with the servants in his house, for breakfast he ordered tamale with "una arepita" and he carries round a comb in his back pocket to brush his moustache whenever necessary. Much as the mafiosos in Colombia are widely regarded as having money but no taste, Brayan epitomises this. Technically, genetically, Brayan may be upper class - but his mannerisms are not. But hold up - this is not about making fun of poor people...

Andres, forever used to being a bully and getting what he wants, cannot adapt to the life of humility that poverty requires. He consistently gets angry with people, demanding what he wants (last night, in fact, leading to his arrest). What Brayan lacks in terms of culture, Andres lacks in terms of amiability. If Brayan carries with him a negative portrayal of the tacky campesino, Andres is the arrogant rich man. The novela is critical of all social classes, in this respect.

This second point essentially qualifies the first. If the first was saying "It looks like your genes/family determine who you are and what you will have in life...", the second adds "...but actually that's not quite the case. You may be born into money and status, but who you are is dependent upon your upbringing". Nature vs Nurture in a telenovela, who would have thought it...

3 - Economics/Beliefs/Philosophies

In last night's episode, Brayan gave an interview as the new head of Mundoexpress. In it, he expressed a desire to do no more business with "los gringos" ("Gringos go home!", he shouted at the camera). This, in spite of the fact that the majority of Mundoexpress's business comes from the United States. Andres, looking on from his prison sell, shouted and raged - other employees put their heads in their hands and muttered - "God, this guy's an idiot!".

Here comes lesson number #3. Anti-americanism is all very well, until your income relies on doing business with America. Then, all of a sudden, the gringos aren't so bad. Brayan's knee-jerk anti-americanism had little logic to it, and his bravado showed little substance when an American client later phoned to complain, and he ran away from the phone call. "Screw the Americans, we don't need them!" works well as a mantra when, indeed, your life does not (and cannot) benefit from international trade. When economic circumstances differ, however, so does the philosophy. The lesson? Economic necessity dictates personal philosophy, not the other way around.

Brayan's English abilities add another dimension to this: "Como voy a hablar con ellos?" Brayan confessed later to Rosmery, his girlfriend, "Solo se decir 'My name is Brayan' y 'I am very hungry', y ni siquiera se que significa!". Later, however, when the sinister 'Mateo' asks Brayan if there is a problem (and jokingly asks, "Usted no sabe ingles o que?", he shrugs it off. To not speak English would betray his lower-class roots, something which in his new situation Brayan does not want to do (despite it being blatantly obvious to everyone but him). Brayan is happy to denounce the Americans (which he thinks is showing off), but not willing to reveal that he is unable to talk with them.

(Tonight's episode involves a show-down with Brayan and the Americans in a face-to-face meeting, something I will not miss for the world)

4 - Identity, greed and social class

The most fun of all the characters is "Mateo", a mid-ranking executive in Mundoexpress. He is Brayan's cousin (now), and nominally the boyfriend of "Fernanda". Mateo is evil (as evidenced by his having a beard - bad guys, in telenovelas, have beards). He wanted Andres's money, and now he wants Brayan's. His wicked scheme to get this is to persuade Fernanda to get with Brayan. Once she does, so goes the logic, she can get Brayan's money and Mateo and Fernanda can run off into the sunset with all the cash. But wait! Mateo is a bad man - he doesn't even like Fernanda, she is but a pawn in his evil scheme! Once she gets the cash for him, he will keep it all for himself.

Mateo adds the third element to this picture of an economically and socially fragmented society. He is neither poor nor rich, but aspiring to be rich. While the poor (as portayed by Brayan) are fatalist in their assumption that they will be poor and forever be poor, and while the rich (as portrayed by Andres) also go on the assumption that they are rich and they deserve everything their own way, Mateo has no easy niche to fall into - he is middle class, yet is less happy about his status than Brayan and Andres were about being lower and upper class respectively.

Indeed, while the middle class may be the dominant class in western societies, they are the minority in societies such as Colombia's. If you want a beer you can have one in a tienda (1,100 pesos) or the Bogota Beer Company (8,000 pesos). I can buy a pair of sunglasses on the street for 6,000 pesos, or I can buy some in the fancy shop near me for 100,000. While some provision is made for the middle class in Colombia, there is not much - it is not an area of society that is very visible.

For Mateo, then, the choice is clear. Stay belonging to a (non-existent) middle class, fall into the lower classes (no way!) or become rich, like his (ex) cousin, Andres. Even biological determinism doesn't help Mateo, as the mere nephew to Antonia (the mother) he is neither automatically destined to be rich nor poor - Mateo has to make it happen himself, and he chooses morally questionable methods of doing so (and, many would argue, possibly the only methods available to him).

While Andres and Brayan may have had their previously comfortable and well-defined lives turned around on them, Mateo never had one to start off with. It is not simple greed that drives Mateo, it is also a search for identity. #4 - People's desire for money is essentially a desire for status - which (carried on) is a desire for a secure (and positive) identity. Brayan and Andres had their identities firmly staked out - they knew who they were. Mateo never did, it is his insecurity that leads to his evil ways.

Phew... This is what happens when you smoke joints and watch telenovelas, I suppose...

By Leeroy on Aug 1, 2007, 13:53 in Friendly Talkzone.

Carlotica says on Aug 1, 2007, 22:04:

I no longer watch novelas, but good analysis, now use this on say - a pshychology class at a university or medical center (for therapy) and make yourself some money - if in need - otherwise pass the joints - hahahah - just kidding - no, no joints for me. Anyway, it seems you are really enjoying ur novela...

Salsera!!!... de por vida =>

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LA_MONA says on Aug 2, 2007, 00:08:

Wow! You are worse than me.......
So Mateo (Andres Toro) is a baddie? Oh well I don't care....yo lo adoro!
Oh you are so bad putting this on here, knowing I can't see it yet!

Hey, keep off the joints...you'll do your head in...

Para volar, es preciso tener resistencia. -M.Lin

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ColombianoGringo says on Aug 3, 2007, 10:17:

Brayan? Is that kind of like Leidy, Deisy or Dayana? I find it comical and cute how some Colombian parents give their children phonetic misspellings of English names.

My cousin in Poblado sat me down one day to explain that I should avoid any woman with a name like that. He implied that it was a sign of lower class upbringing. My family cracks me up. Since our generation all grew up in Estrato 6, they forget that our grandparents came from small towns in Nariño and Norte de Santander which would be lucky to be classified as Estrato 2.

Peace,
CG

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LA_MONA says on Aug 3, 2007, 10:59:

CG is that you as a kid? So cute....

I know a Deisy and Dayana.....your cousin may have been right, lol! Just kidding

Para volar, es preciso tener resistencia. -M.Lin

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ColombianoGringo says on Aug 3, 2007, 11:26:

Yes Monita. That is little CG at about 12 years old on the way to a finca in Melgar. I remember that was the first time I ever got drunk on aguardiente.

CG

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LA_MONA says on Aug 3, 2007, 11:32:

Dios Mio that is young! And aguardiente, where you being iniciated by your dad and uncles jajaja

Para volar, es preciso tener resistencia. -M.Lin

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ColombianoGringo says on Aug 3, 2007, 13:56:

My uncle and his friends. The bastards hid my glasses just to mess with me. I got a lot of grief since I was El Sobrino Gringo.

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