Punctuation after Em Dash (raya)?

Question

I was surprised to see that normal punctuation rules apply after a closing em dash (raya de cierre). For example:

Esperaba a Emilio —un gran amigo—, que, lamentablemente, no vino.

There's a comma after the dash [—,], which would be incorrect in English.

However, I'm doing a typographic revision of a book in English and Spanish, and have noticed that the author doesn't apply that rule with parentheses. For example:

Si desea más información sobre este tema (la bibliografía es bastante extensa —incluso en español), deberá acudir a otras fuentes.

Is that second example an error? Should it be "... en español—), deberá ..." Or does the rule about punctuation not apply for a closing parentheses?

Answer 1

The Diccionario panhispánico de dudas has an article on dashes (which, from your example, I see you've already read). Usage of em dashes in Spanish is pretty much restricted to incisos (parentheticals) and for punctuating interventions in a dialogue or quotation. When it is used to set off a parenthetical, stops/periods, parentheses, question/exclamation marks or any other punctuation mark are still necessary:

La raya de cierre en los incisos no se suprime aunque detrás de ella deba aparecer un punto o cualquier otro signo de puntuación:

Esperaba a Emilio —un gran amigo—. Lamentablemente, no vino.

Esperaba a Emilio —un gran amigo—, que, lamentablemente, no vino.

_{From DPD; emphasis added.}

Your sentence should read:

Si desea más información sobre este tema (la bibliografía es bastante extensa —incluso en español—), deberá acudir a otras fuentes.

Bottom line: parentheses are no exception.