Manuel Antonio Carreño "Manual of Urbanity and Good Manners"

Ways

Did you know that it is in very bad taste to walk down the street with
hands in pockets? Or is it disgusting to cover up?
the nose with the hand when sneezing?, or that there is nothing else
repugnant is that shadow on the faces of men that gives the
reborn beard?, or that the matrimonial bed exposed to the
Are the gazes of the visitors an unequivocal sign of vulgarity?

The Carreño Manual, or Manual of Urbanity and Good Manners

customs, whose full title is "Manual of Urbanity and
good ways for the use of youth of both sexes in the
What are the main rules of civility and etiquette?
what must be observed in various social situations,
preceded by a brief treatise on the moral duties of
"man" is a classic text in Latin America about etiquette and
Good manners written by the Venezuelan Manuel Antonio
Carreño, for deliveries in 1853. Certain situations have already
changed, since some rules of civility are being
considered obsolete, and are being created, by virtue of
new uses and acts, modern manuals. Thus, Carreño
consider as the driver of what we would consider
as protocol and etiquette. It is worth noting that the book of
Carreño was written when no one imagined that the internet,
globalization, female liberation, stress and loss of
gallantry would come to modify the guidelines of humanity.
Carreño was distinguished for being a strict gentleman; he would never have
designed for the ladies, as he called them, to go to mass in
miniskirt, or gentlemen in shorts or t-shirts. The rules
that he meticulously and delicately included in his famous Manual
they are no longer valid. Life has been giving you great
freedoms to the human being. In our days, it is almost impossible
find men "who stay within their homes"
always impeccably dressed, with the tie on and the
"properly shod feet", or women who consider
sinful to visit his single friends. He went to the extreme
to consider it essential, for example, 'to clean the body before
of getting into bed, not just for satisfaction but for being
prepared and well-presentable in case something happens
accident during the night." Of course, to the dictatorship of this
Men were not exempt from personal relationships or flirtation.
Starting from the 19th century, one of the social aspects that has had the most
changed is the way to relate to the opposite sex. In
Carreño's times, "so that a man can dance with a
woman at a party, must have been introduced previously to the
a woman for a family member of hers or for a mutual friend.
On the other hand, modern times and electronic communication
they have also been forging their patterns of interaction; and it is like this
just as there is what is called etiquette on the internet, a guide
which outlines the way to proceed on the network where,
For example, writing everything in uppercase translates to a "shouting".
to the interlocutor. There are also unregulated behaviors
but the logic of current social treatment indicates, as maintaining
turn off the cell phone during a conference or a concert.
Manuel Antonio Carreño (1812-1874), politician and writer, father of
Teresa Carreño and brother of Simón Rodríguez, collected in his
manual the most basic forms and the rules about the good
social interaction modalities.

Carreño's Manual of Urbanity.

The book begins with three introductory chapters, 'Duties

"morals of man", where it develops those obligations for
with God, with society, with our parents, with
with the homeland, for our fellow human beings and for ourselves
the fact of being part of the human race
it already commits us to those duties.
After reviewing some general principles, it delves into
hygiene standards, regarding the way we conduct ourselves within the
house, in different places outside of it and in society, for
finally stroll through the different applications of the
urbanity. This work was, for a long time, declared in
various Spanish American countries textbook for the
public schools. Urbanity, says the introduction to this
manual, is virtue or manifestation of virtue: external reflection of
inner realities, the intention of integrating positively into
citizen life transformed into facts.

Habits that are in bad taste

Sucking or biting a lock of hair.

Biting nails or cuticles.
Sit with legs apart or with legs crossed
or cheering in an unconventional way.
Chewing gum while talking or with your mouth open.
Smoking in the street or doing so without having asked for permission from the
gifts, especially knowing that the smell of cigarette
it can offend or discomfort someone.
Having a cigarette on the lips while speaking.
Make others feel guilty or uncomfortable
while eating some delicious dessert just because you
must refrain due to some diet.
Scratching or pinching the face.
• To commit the indiscretion of asking an intimate question to
someone loudly: Is that a wig?
Use a dirty brush or comb.
Applying makeup or styling hair at the dining table.
Using rollers in hair in public.
• Wearing chipped nail polish, broken nails or
mistreated or, worse yet, dirty.
A line that is too dramatic and notable that defines
clearly where the makeup ends and where the color begins
natural to the skin.
Talking too much or in detail about personal eccentricities:
operations, diseases, neurosis, allergies, accidents, etc.
Eat noisily while making exaggerated gestures.
Introduce pieces of food that are too large into the mouth.

Being a gentleman is one of the best things one can achieve.

to make a human being. Good manners contribute to success.
in articles from the early 1940s, the emphasis was placed on
importance of guiding young people about how to
behave in front of a lady, in front of other people or even in
the table. One of the notes said: 'The boy who can enter
in a room without falling, which has security in its
behavior without reaching exaggeration, that rises up
when a lady enters the room where you are, what do you wear
appropriately, he is a valuable young man. It is not enough to be clean and
neat, it is also necessary to ensure that the clothes are appropriate.
It is not possible to think that a boy who is too lazy
to clean your shoes, brush your suit or get a haircut have
energies to dedicate to work. People always judge by the
appearances, so my dear young man, worry because your
the appearance be pleasant," it is advised in a paragraph. The text
it also refers to the way in which they should be carried
relationships with friends and loves. "Learn to behave
with people and making friends, from there it will depend not only
their happiness but their success in life and people will help them with
they would not help him even out of obligation.
A pleasant person is warmly welcomed everywhere.
To win friends, one must be kind. No one is going to run.
behind you; you yourself have to make an effort to attract the
People: To receive something, one must learn to give. "One must
learn to adapt to others as well; it is necessary to be a
a good loser and a modest winner.
These topics, which were disseminated for public knowledge,
they had their background: The rules of civility were created
a little more than two centuries ago to facilitate relations between the
members of the upper classes and, above all, to mark
distances with other strata. Women should not show the
ankle; men were supposed to kiss the ladies' hand and step aside
el sombrero al entrar en un recinto. Todos debían saber elegir
among a large number of utensils and glasses when sitting down to the
table. If they threw their handkerchief, which they always had to carry their
initials, it was a symbol of flirtation before him, who had to
to collect it as part of a fortuitous romantic encounter. These
customs and many others, had to be followed to the letter
according to a famous manual that in our days has already
lost validity.

Other rules of Carreño to follow.

• Never use our fingers to clean our eyes, ears,

neither the teeth nor the nose. The person who does this excites disgust
invincible.
Don't forget to clean both tear ducts with a handkerchief, because
few things are as disgusting to the eye as the humor that in
they are deposited after a certain number of hours.
Let's be careful not to lean our head against the backrest of the
seats, to protect them from the grease of the hair.
Women should strive not to be unkempt in their appearance.
house, even if they perform domestic tasks.
It is a vulgar and rude act to name a person when requesting them.
in their home, without prefixing the word mister or missus.
On a table where there are different types of cutlery, one must
start by taking the first one from the outside in.

In conclusion, I feel that essentially I do not see that this

manual is obsolete in these times, rather I think that
these strict mood suggestions given by Carreño, we
they would provide special values as human beings, in the
to coexist, to be considerate of others and even oneself, the
grooming is very vital because it gives us personality and
good development among friendships and in society. This does
I perceive as a kind of invaluable customary laws,
sure, some of so many that could be adapted to these times.
Dear reader, I invite you to obtain or download on the web, this
complete manual and take advantage of it in what you see
convincing to add to your life.