El Salvador

By: Josh Edwards

Capital and Flag
The Capital of El Salvador is San Salvador
Language and Religion
The primary language is Spanish, it is spoken universally
throughout the country
Most of the population are in Christian Denominations
57.1% Roman Catholic
21.2% Protestant
1.9% Jehovahs Witness
0.7% Mormon
The rest either have a small denomination or do not observe
religion
San Andres
The capital of Mayan life in El Salvador
Abandoned when a volcano erupted and destroyed most
of it
Taken over by colonists and used for cattle and indigo
manufacturing
Monumento a la Memoria y la
Verdad
A memorial for the civilians who died in the Civil War
The memorial reads, A space for hope, where we can
continue dreaming and build a more just, human, and
equitable society
National Cuisine
El Salvadorian food uses a lot of traditional recipes relying
on a variety of fruit and vegetables.
Pupusa is one of the main foods
it is kind of like a quesadilla

Stereotypes
Gun Culture
Many people in El Salvador carry a gun. Their homicide rate
has increased in the double digits over the past couple of
years
Land of Coups
There have been many changes in the government in El
Salvador. There have been many civilian and military led
Coups which lead to a lot of violence. This violence is nothing
to the people of El Salvador except everyday life
Superstitions
Mayan Gods
There are many Mayan Gods who had control of many
different aspects of life
Not everyone believes in them but the people who do are
very superstitious about displeasing them
Mal ojo (Evil Eye)
The Mal ojo targets mostly babies so to protect the babies,
the mothers or women carrying them have to wear a nut
bracelet.
Indications of Mal ojo are rashes, diarrhea, and fever.

Hand Gestures
Pointing with your hand is often considered rude
Waving your hand down is used to beckon someone
When measuring height for a child use your palm facing
up, for animals use your palm facing down
Etiquette and Body Language
Between same sex use a soft handshake, women
sometimes give a pat on the right arm or shoulder
Men and women can shake hands but the man should
wait for the woman to extend her hand
Stand fairly close to each other when talking
Direct eye contact is important
Use the persons professional name until they give you
permission to use their first name
Relationship Building
Establish a strong personal relationship- Trust is key
Most of your first meetings will have nothing to do with
business
Most El Salvadorians will ask to keep talking over a meal-
this should be accept, shows interest in business
When making small talk, avoid politics and religion
Communication Styles in
Decision Making
Dont want to be bearers of bad news
They will simply say Yes to let you know that they
understand, not that they agree
Do not be too direct, it may be taken as rude
Address problems with individuals in private
Dont use a loud tone, speak soft, calm, and informative
Power Structures in Decision
Making
Most companies are owned by families, the leader being
the family patriarch(the man of the family)
Decisions usually take a lot of time to be made
They emphasize rank when in business meetings, it is
very important to them
Introduce your seniormost people first, greet their
seniormost people first
Always use titles
Similarities and Differences in
Body Language
Similarities
Eye Contact
Stand pretty close to
each other
Can hug if you know the
person personally
Differences
Men and women in
America usually always
shake hands if they
dont know each other
Similarities and Differences in
Communication Styles
Similarities
Saying Yes to let the
other person know they
you understand
Addressing problems
with people in private
Differences
Americans will speak
their minds even if it is
bad news
Americans are almost
always direct
Loudness gets your
point across in America
Similarities and Differences in
Power Structures
Similarities
Decisions can take a
while to be made
Should use titles
Use professional names
unless told otherwise
Differences
Companies in America
are not usually run by
families
Introduce whoever you
want in whatever order
Rank does not need to
be emphasized in
America
Internet and Social Media
Internet Penetration Rate: 26.9%
The most popular social media site in El Salvador is
Facebook with about 440,000 users and the second most
popular is La Prensa Grafica
Individualism
El Salvador scored a 19 in this category which is very low
Family, trust, loyalty, and networking are very important in
El Salvadorian society because most businesses are
family based
Helping someone out would be remembered by many
people and bring you some success
Masculinity
The score for this was 40
This means that the people of El Salvador do not have
much competition- they let their results speak for
themselves
They are really just trying to improve their character
Uncertainty Avoidance
El Salvador scored a 94 in this category
This means that they have a great need for order
Documentation is very important in El Salvador
For the most part they follow a dress code too
Indulgence
89 is the score for El Salvador
They love to have fun and try to have a positive outlook on
everything
There is a high importance for leisure time
People dont care about expenses for the fun that they are
having
Individualism
People in the US do most things by themselves
People of the United Stated appreciate when other help
them out but do not really care
Family is not the same between the countries- El Salvador
cherishes it while the US does not


Masculinity
El Salvador is slightly less competitive than the US
People in both countries try and improve their character
The US like to boast their accomplishments while the El
Salvadorians do not
Uncertainty Avoidance
El Salvador does not care to prepare for the future, the US
is always thinking about the future
The US has a democracy so their government is very
flexible where as El Salvador has a very strict government
The people of the US do what they want and the El
Salvadorian people even have a dress code
Indulgence
El Salvadorians like to have more fun than Americans but
not by much
The US just controls their spending more than El Salvador
Saving money is very important in America, not as
important in El Salvador
Current Events
An Australian mining company in El Salvador is causing
the water to become poisoned
The mining company is suing the El Salvadorian government
because they are refusing to fund the company.
If the company wins they will get 300 million dollars which is
half of the governments annual salary. If the government
wins they will receive more power to control their water
supply
El Salvador accused of forcing minors to work
Over 168 million children were forced to work around the
world and El Salvador was one the accused countries
The US government is trying to bring this to an end
Bibliography
BlackboardLearn.n.d. Retrieved from
http://www.globalroadwarrior.com.ccbcmd.idm.oclc.org/ContentInfo.asp?iso3ltr=SLV&nid=65&cid=45&
next_nid=66&parent=Overviews
Culture Crossing. (n.d.) Retrieved from
http://www.culturecrossing.net/basics_business_student_details.php?Id=13&CID=62
Internet Usage Statistics, Population and Telecom Reports for the Americas. (n.d.) Retrieved from
http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats2.htm#americas
El Salvador Facebook Statistics by Country. (n.d.) Retrieved from
http://www.socialbakers.com/facebook-statistics/el-salvador
THE HOFSTEDE CENTRE. (n.d.) Retrieved from
http://geert-hofstede.com/el-salvador.html
Press, T. R. (n.d.) US Says 168 Million Children Are Laborers Retrieved from
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/us-168-million-children-laborers-26024009