Spain, Siesta, Work, and Time

The New York Times printed a fascinating little article about the conception of time and work in Spain. It appears that the Spaniards are debating whether to eliminate the traditional "siesta" so as to align the Spanish work day with that of the more common 9-5 Western work week tradition. As it stands now, Spaniards take an extended 2-3 hour lunch during the "siesta" hours (2-5pm) and return to work until late in the evening. Some are questioning whether this traditional pattern is efficient, not to mention healthy. And, of course, since Latin America is culturally linked to Spain and particularly the concepts of time and work that are linked to this "siesta" tradition, I would imagine that the debate in Spain is relevant to Latin America as well. I, personally, like the siesta tradition. But it does seem to me that it is slowly headed for gradual extinction.