BOGOTÁ, Colombia — After Altair Jaspe moved from Venezuela to the Colombian capital, Bogotá, she was surprised by the way she was addressed when she entered any store or doctor's office: “Your Mercy.” “It automatically took me back to the colonial era,” said Jaspe, 63, a retired logistics manager. “To horse-drawn carriages and maybe even slavery,” she said.
“But after living it, I understood it,” he added.
In most of the Spanish-speaking world, the main ways of addressing another person are the informal “tú” and the formal “usted”. But in Colombia there is another “tú”: “Su merced”, now contracted to “sumercé”.
In Bogotá, a city of 8 million inhabitants, “sumercé” is omnipresent, used not only by taxi drivers and merchants to serve customers (how can I help sumercé?), but also by children to refer to their parents. , parents to refer to children, and even by husbands, wives and lovers to refer to each other. It is used by young and old, urban residents and rural immigrants.
The Spanish founded Bogotá in 1538 after a brutal conquest of the indigenous Muisca people, and the city soon became a center of colonial power.
“Sumercé” is in fact a relic of that era, and experts have documented its use as a sign of courtesy in institutional relations; a sign of respect in families; and, in particular, as a sign of servitude of slaves or servants to their masters.
But modern defenders of “sumercé” say that its current popularity is due to the fact that it has lost that hierarchical touch and today means respect and affection. Jaspe said that over time he came to see “sumercé” as a casual term of endearment.
It mostly remains a feature of central Colombia, but is rarely used on the country's coasts.
“Sumercé” appears printed on caps and t-shirts and is incorporated into the names of restaurants and markets. It is also celebrated in songs, podcasts, and online Colombian Spanish lessons.
But even in a region known for inequality, class divisions in Colombia remain particularly entrenched. Decades of violence have reinforced these barriers. For some, “subercé” may seem like a perpetuation or even celebration of hierarchical relationships.
“It has also been called 'our custom' not to contribute to the social system and accumulate land,” Carolina Sanín, a well-known writer, wrote on Twitter.
However, others are fine with “sumercé.”
“At this point it doesn't mark any social class,” said Andrea Rendón, 40, from Bogotá. “We are all sumercé.”
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