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'Respeto,' 'relajo' and interpersonal relations in Puerto Rico

Anthropological quarterly • 37 (2) • Published In 1964 • Pages: 53-67

By: Lauria-Perricelli, Antonio.

AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document

In this study Lauria notes that in all the languages of the world there are a certain set of cliches or trite statements that tend to describe and evaluate the behavior of individuals in that particular society. Here the author examines the various cliches in Puerto Rican society which function to interpret the social relationship between individuals in which each of the participant mutually present and maintain a certain image of self. This knowledge of self and the image of self is accomplished through the use of symbolic idioms which serve to integrate the society. In this work these idioms are represented by the concepts of [n]respeto[/n] (a quality of self which must be presented in all interpersonal relations), and [n]relajo[/n] ( a form of joking interaction involving privileged insult, banter, etc.). Each of these idioms are discussed to great extent in this document.

SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF

Social personality

Semantics

Humor

Social relationships and groups

Ethics

Ingroup antagonisms

Ownership and control of capital

Labor supply and employment

Labor relations

Slavery

cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)

Puerto Ricans (Island)

HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document

2012

RegionThe area the document pertains to

Middle America and the Caribbean

Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region

Caribbean

Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs

article

Evaluation

Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.

Ethnologist

Document Rating A ranking done by HRAF anthropologists based on the strength of the source material on a scale of 1 to 5, as follows: 1 - poor; 2 - fair; 3 - good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent; 4 - excellent secondary data; 5 - excellent primary data.

5: Excellent Primary Data

AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection

John Beierle; 1993, 2012

Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document

1958, 1960-1962 (p. 53)

Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to

1958-1962

Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)

Puerto Rico

NotesAdditional notes

[by] Anthony Lauria, Jr.

LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number

32029126

LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings

Puerto Rico--Social life and customs