The Truth About Latin Lovers

It seems to be that everyone in the Western world has it in their head that Latin lovers are the sexiest, most romantic lovers on Earth. Hm. Well, sexy I can agree with… romantic? That depends on a lot of things.

Take it from a gringa who has been living abroad for over four years in various Latin countries: I have met my fair share of Latino men, and they aren’t always all that they’re cracked up to be. But they aren’t all bad, either– Let me explain…

Okay, example: This past weekend salí a un bar (I went out to a bar) with a friend. We were there charlando (chatting), and a group of four or five Argentine guys came up to us and we started to talk. They were all childhood friends from about two hours outside of the city (what is called the provincia), and were in town for the night to celebrate one of their cumpleaños (birthdays).

Earlier that night, I had come across a fair share of chamuyeros (bullshitters/sweet-talkers), so I was getting pretty frustrated with the situation. Anyway, I started talking to this one guy who didn’t seem all bad, and he asked me what I thought of Argentinos (typical line…). I told him the truth– that I thought that most Argentine men were chamuyeros and thought that all foreign girls were un besofacil (an easy kiss). He was assuring me that I had it all wrong, and that I had only met the wrong Argentine guys. He did his chamuyo thing…and somehow swayed me into thinking that maybe this guy wasn’t all that bad. Then, just as I was almost convinced, he pulled the line ‘Bueno, siempre querí a saber como es besar a una americana… ¿A vos no tenés ganas de probar el beso Argentino?‘ (Well, I’ve always wanted to know what it’s like to kiss an American… Do you not want to try an Argentine kiss?) ¡Por Díos! Typical, typical, typical.

This kind of stuff happens all the time here. And not only here, but around Latin America as a whole. With that said, decent Latino men are not impossible to find, and often the chamuyeros aren’t even all that bad– they are just raised in a culture where they are expected to act like that.

Another aspect of the Latino men to be careful about? Cheating. It’s a terrible thing to say, but these guys are a little notorious for it. Meter los cuernos/cachos o ser infiél. However you say it, cheating is cheating and in this culture it is almost accepted, yet still very taboo. But keep in mind that men are not the only ones cheating– women are just as guilty!

Alright, alright, with all that said, Latinos are not terrible by any means at all– the culture is just different from that of the United States, Canada, the UK, etc…, so I am giving this information solely for the purpose of a bit of a heads-up for those of you heading into Latino territory anytime soon. Also, the majority of the men that I have met, I have done so in Buenos Aires, which means that most of them are city-dwellers rather than country boys. And what does that mean? Imagine only meeting men in New York City, and not being exposed to those of the rest of the country. Big difference, right? And that pretty much goes for any major city in the world.

And last but not least, I have met loads of positively lovely Latino men over the past few years, so this post is not so say that they aren’t out there, but you just might have to dig a little to find them…! For more on dating in Argentina