Dubai and Arab Culture From a Latin American Perspective

dubai

Dubai, foto de Marcelino Torrecilla, usada con autorización.

He is a college professor of Colombian origins who is fascinated by Arab culture. Marcelino Torrecilla's purpose is to “describe sociocultural experiences in United Arab Emirates and their relevance with Colombia”. Narrating his own stories in Dubai, he explains why this capital is an open door city [es]:

En el barrio donde vivo y en muchas otras partes de esta capital, no es nada extraño a cualquier hora del día ver casas con las puertas abiertas y desatendidas, lo que refleja el grado de desprevención y confianza en que vive la gente.
[…]
Lo que termina convirtiéndose en costumbre: una puerta abierta acá no es una manifestación de vulnerabilidad, sino más bien una forma de vivir.

In my neighborhood and in many areas of this capital city, it's not unusual at any time to see houses with their doors open and unattended, thus reflecting how confident people live.
[…]
This ends up as a habit: an open door here is not a token of vulnerability, but rather a life style.

Security is a privilege and a civil right in Emirati cities, concludes Torrecilla.

This post was part of the fifth #LunesDeBlogsGV [Monday of blogs on GV] on June 2, 2014.

Start the conversation

Authors, please log in »

Guidelines

  • All comments are reviewed by a moderator. Do not submit your comment more than once or it may be identified as spam.
  • Please treat others with respect. Comments containing hate speech, obscenity, and personal attacks will not be approved.