When speaking to your father directly, the use of the term papá (equivalent to ‘dad’) is widespread. However, when referring to your father outside of the family scene, in Spain it is customary to refer to him more formally as padre (father), while in Latin American countries, the use of papá is more common. Note that the same criteria apply when referring to ‘mom’. Mamá when within the family unit and madre (mother) when referring to her elsewhere.