While many people would assume that Argentines have a strongly religious culture following the election of “Papa Francisco,” it should also be noted that they, like many Latino American cultures, are very much rooted in the folklore passed down for generations. Being able to understand the meanings and purposes behind the stories not only can help to improve the knowledge of the Argentine culture, but also the Argentine International Hispanic Market as in many cases these stories are still passed on by emigrated families.
Two of the most well-known stories include tales pertaining to help, giving and receiving. In one case, a girl named Maldonado, a Spanish girl, was hungry and left her settlement against the Captain’s instruction to get food by fleeing into the jungle. Once there, she ended up meeting a mother panther who had just given birth and helped her clean the newborn cub and would watch over it while the mother went hunting. This would continue for a while until one day, Maldonado was captured by Argentine natives who taught her tasks to take part of in the village. All was well, until Spaniards attacked the village and forced her to return to the Captain she had initially disobeyed. Having been angry with her, he sentenced her to be tied to a tree where the animals would devour her. However, when they to check on her a couple days later they found her alive and well, having been taken care of by the Cougar mother she had helped previously.
In another case, two boys who shared everything found a two ripped pieces of a full blanket lying in the bushes and decided to keep the two pieces of the blanket as it could keep them warm at night. However, without sewing equipment, the two pieces were too small for either of the boys to use for warmth. As they set about trying to figure out how to fix the blanket, they encountered a fox who offered up a needle and thread to help as long as they would be willing to share the blanket with him on cold nights. Willingly, the boys agreed, stitched up their blanket and enjoyed the rest of a warm sunny day. As night approached, the temperature dropped and the fox returned for his share of the blanket. Remembering their promise, the boys readily allowed the fox to have a portion of the blanket, which he suggested be the middle since it was his needle and thread that had sewed the blanket back into one piece. Effectively, this meant that the two boys shared the outside of the blanket and while their bodies were warm on the side closest to the fox, the side furthest remained cold as they were not entirely covered.
Looking at these two stories, there is a clear understanding of the lessons from each tale. In one case, a girl was able to have her life spared by helping a stranger, while in the other case, the two boys ended up getting help and making a deal with a stranger that resulted in both being left out in the cold, literally. To more effectively be able to advertise with the Argentine International Hispanic Market, companies should take note that while helping others is recognized as something positive, Argentine children are taught to also be weary of trusting “foxes.” In order for a company to further be able to better market towards Argentine culture, and not appear to be foxes there needs to be a way for the Argentine people to connect with the campaign. In many cases, campaigns not using Argentine celebrities to relate to the people will need to ensure that the dialect matches with Argentine Spanish, which is generally considered to be a mix of Italian and Spanish differing from the Spanish spoken in Mexico and other Latin American countries.
Without this, it will be difficult for a company to not seem like a fox.
