Several unwritten rules of living in a Spanish village

In small towns, some things work a little differently, including customs and social norms. Indeed, Spanish villages have their own code of unwritten laws that are usually strictly adhered to. There are no fines or punishments for breaking these rules; they are honored because they have always been in place. They are like part of the scenery.
                                       

ARTICLE 1 – Movement and transportation

Parking is prohibited in places where people hang out outdoors. There is an imaginary yellow line in places where neighbors set up chairs at nightfall to enjoy the fresh air. There are no fines for parking in this spot, but be prepared for the consequences if you provoke a mass migration of villagers with foldable chairs.

ARTICLE 2 - People and commerce

You must be able to locate all neighbors in an extended kinship system. If someone is about to tell you a story about “Juan, the son of El Mochuelo,” before they can continue, you must immediately interject: “Yes, he married Isabela, from the fruit shop.” If you don’t do this, the conversation will not flow properly. Only with this added comment can the other person continue with what they were originally going to tell you about Juan, the son of El Mochuelo. Or they can chose to add something else about Isabela from the fruit shop, maybe that “her sister is Virginia, from the Neighbors Association.” Perhaps you won’t even get to the original story about Juan. It doesn’t really matter.

You have to say hello. Not to everyone. But to almost everyone. And a simple ¿Que tal? (“What’s up?”) is not enough. You have to say how you’re doing, in addition to talking about your entire family.

The elderly can always criticize your appearance. And you don’t have the right to respond. Someone has to warn you if you’re wearing shorts that are too long or pants that are too short…or a shirt that looks like a shower curtain.