Gabriel Zaid

It happens in public, which really affects the social chemistry.

The Mexican essayist Gabriel Zaid, writing about this in 2005, described the tertulia as a pause in life that reflects on life, a leisurely gathering of friends who share a box seat over the world and speak their minds.

And of course, that's in Spanish, the original.

And the word he used there was palco, which is like a theater box, which is exactly where it all started.