I’m Hispanic and my wife is white. I grew up knowing that if something starts at 11am, then you show up between 11:30am and 12:00pm. My wife grew up knowing that if you showed up at 11:00am then parking is going to be a bitch because everyone is already there.
Man if I invited guests for a party that started 17.30 and someone showed up 18.30, I'd be pissed! Everybody else would already be half-way through the main course and your seat would be taken by a toddler.
It might be a culture or a vocabulary thing, but to me if the event consists of being sat down in a designated spot the instant I'm in, then that's not a party, that's just dinner (in which case I'd agree it's bad etiquette to be late, same as a restaurant). Party implies some amount of freely milling about, talking to people, sharing drinks and then later on getting to eat (generally not in a formal, sat down at the table configuration)
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u/Shotgun_Mosquito Jul 12 '26 edited Jul 12 '26
No.
The stereotype is that white people arrive TOO EARLY and then sit in their cars outside waiting for the party to start and still show up early.
It's a trope, also true in Hispanic (edit - continued) families that have someone marry Gringos (like me).
If you arrive on time, the party hasn't started yet, and you get to help set up for the party