A Word on Behalf of the Spanish Conquest and About the Gringo Tax

As proof that the Spanish Conquest of South America wasn’t all bad, I’d like to present – Otavalo.

Yes, it is true that Francisco Pizarro, the first Spanish entrepreneur in South America, returned the invitation of the Incan King, Atahualpa, to visit at Cajamarca, by launching a surprise attack, taking him hostage and massacring his army. And, yes, it is also true that when Atahualpa bargained for his life by filling a room with gold and two huts with silver, Pizarro killed him anyway. And yeah, okay, it’s true that more than half of the indigenous population died from foreign diseases introduced by the Spanish for which the natives had no bodily defenses. And, yeah, whoever was left was converted to Christianity and told it was God’s will that all the men, women and children work in sweatshops for countless hours, under atrocious conditions, without any hope of breaking free. And by the way, here’s a small plot of land. In your spare time, grow your own food.

But look what the Otavaleños have to show now for the exploitation and degradation of their ancestors - a strong work ethic and weaving skills that are recognized as tops in South America and among the best in the world!

Here are some pictures of Jonah and me re-enacting scenes from the life of Francisco Pizarro and his right-hand man, Hernando de Soto.

The first photo is of Pizarro and de Soto looking pleased that Atahualpa has delivered the precious metals he promised in exchange for his life.

The second photo is of Pizarro and de Soto right before they double-cross Atahualpa. In the photos, Jonah plays the role of Pizarro.

The weaving, leather-working, and carving skills of the folks in the surrounding region are on display every Saturday in the Otavalo market, where gringos can buy blankets, wraps, sweaters, pants, shirts, hats, hammocks, wallets, purses, masks, and everything else that can be woven, worked from leather, or carved, at prices that make you blush, but are, apparently, sustainable for the vendors. And while it is true that there are indigenous elements to the market – as evidenced by the sale of live animals, dead animals, dried beans, corn and spices – the market clearly has the tourist trade in mind. Consider the prosperity it brings to the region a form of reparation for the abuse of millions of ancestral natives.

A law professor I had once said that the prices on products in, for example, the grocery store, are merely a suggestion of a price to be paid. So, when you bring a can of corn to the register and the clerk scans it for 55 cents, you could counter that offer by offering 30 cents. You should load up a shopping cart at Giant or Safeway and try this. It is great fun.

Here in Ecuador (and other places that Rebecca and I have visited) the vendor of any particular good or service expects you to haggle over the price. So, the grocery store clerk in the above example would be ready to counter your counter-offer of 30 cents for the can of corn by offering a sale for, say, 45 cents. And you would agree, or counter again, until there was an agreement on the price to be paid.

Whereas (one of my law professors also said that), in the States if you tried to haggle over the price of a can of corn at the grocery store, you would likely be met with a slack-jawed, wide-eyed, vacant stare – with maybe some drool thrown in to really make the point.

Nothing seems to be off limits for haggling here, either (except, in some instances, the price of taxi. I will explore this subject further in a future brain vomit tentatively titled – “Taxis – How Far are You Willing to Go?). I’ve seen women haggling over the price of garlic at the fruteria. I haven’t tried that myself, but I did haggle over the price of the three fish that we ate for lunch in Otavalo on Saturday. The woman wanted six bucks, but I protested that the fish were small and only had to pay $5.50.

It may seem silly to haggle over fifty cents, but to some degree haggling is expected, and it does serve a purpose. Where to draw the line on your haggling is the thing. It’s silly to walk away from something that you want because the vendor won’t come down an additional fifty cents. So, for those things that you know you want, you need to decide the price you are willing to pay and stop when you get there.

The purpose of haggling is that it paves the way for the next gringo that comes along to not be completely taken advantage of. Sure, there are plenty of times when I’m going to pay more for goods or services because I’m not a local (Rebecca and I call this the gringo price, or the gringo tax. To my knowledge, we are not the originators of those phrases.) And even when I agree that $5.50 is a fair price to pay for three fish and a dozen potatoes maybe I am paying more than a local would. But I would be willing to pay $6 for the fish, so why complain if I have to pay $5.50? If the woman is willing to take $5.50, she’s making a profit, and I’m feeling like I didn’t get taken advantage of because I got her to knock 50 cents off the price. Try that at McDonald´s.