When in our villages they spoke of someone straight, with good luck or facilities for success, they said that it was someone who “fell standing upright”. When a successful woman married someone with money, they said that “there is nothing like “caer parada”. And if we were talking over some coffee or a bottle of guaro, we often heard someone say, after a sigh, that “there’s no such thing as standing still”. If I understood anything from those expressions, it is that it is better to fall standing than falling, better standing than kneeling, better standing than slouching.
If Oscar Arias had not graduated with a doctorate from Essex, what would have become of his political career? He fell down and could have paid for his studies, or on the contrary, if he had been born in Texas, he would have been President of the U.S.A. Would this be so? Does this falling down have to do with a coincidence, a downfall or a conDiosence, as a friend of mine says? If Pavarotti had been born in Honduras, would he have been the legend we miss today all over the world? Did Federer fall standing up as a Swiss, Marcelo Serpa as a Brazilian or Pablo del Campo as an Argentinean? With open hands and no saw in hand, I think so.
I have always thought that if Tribu were in New York or Chicago, it would possibly be 25 times bigger and more successful, it would have a network with offices in several continents and of course, I would have already retired! If this were true, what would jotabeqú be if it were in Buenos Aires? Surely, I would be agency of the year in Ibero-America and I would already have a collection of lions to compete with anyone. The Garnier Group would be bigger than WPP if it were in London, and I don’t rule out that everyone’s luck would be different with a bigger, more competitive, more demanding and more connected environment. Think about it for a moment and you will agree with me: the market has to do, the environment makes a difference, nationality or origin counts and in everything we do, it is preferable to fall standing still.
What was it? Did the stork fail and we didn’t land on our feet? Did the coordinates and conditions fail for us to say that we landed on our feet? It depends, of course, like everything else. Compared to whom and I tell you. There is no absolute and there is no definitive, however, the point is not to look down but up. And for this, let’s forget for a moment the Afghans, the Africans, the Australian Aborigines or the natives of the Amazon. With regard to Germans, French, English, Gringos or Argentines, do we stand still?
It is clear that, if they were the same price, we would probably prefer a German car to a Kenyan one, Italian shoes to Croatian ones, Mexican chilaquiles to Panamanian ones, an American computer to a Peruvian one. Origin counts and our perception of their quality is directly affected by their nationality.
The exceptions are few, but certainly inspiring. Miracles do exist and nothing is impossible. However, we have to be very clear: Costa Rica was born fallen if we compare it with the competitive pressure of the whole world, and all of us Ticos, we are under a kind of luck played by carrying the values of a small country of low relevance. At the same time, Costa Rica has fallen down if we compare it with our sister country Nicaragua, to cite a nearby country, or with many Africans or Asians, to mention some distant ones.
Wherever we live and whatever talents we have, the opportunities are there. For having fallen on their feet, some have it easier. By not having fallen on their feet, others less so. It is a defining factor, and since only God knows what it is, I neither analyze it nor try to. I just point it out and take it into account, which must be clear: it is better to fall standing still.
So, as always, everything depends and is relative. Did I fall standing up? Did I fall down? How did you fall? Do I resign or rebel? Whatever it is, some fell down more than others, and for this reason, let them not complain or cry. We are all equal, although some are more equal than others. This is a subject for those who know.
I’ll leave you there for now, it’s time to do something else.
Cheers!
Q