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Hi, I'm trying to understand the different regions of Mexico better. What are the main regions, and what do the different regions think of each other?
What I mean is like how the different regions of the US (South, Midwest, NE, Southwest, etc, etc) have different styles, food tastes, mannerisms, religions, etc. I know every country has the big city vs country bumpkin tension, but what about from city to city and region to region.
I'm also very curious what the major regions that Mex-Americans are from, and what impact that has had on Mex-American culture. A similar example is how most Chinese-American immigrants were historically mainly from southern China - so Chinese-American food and culture and language were affected by that regionalism.
In many ways, I'm wondering what the stock characters of Mexican pop culture would be. Like how in TV here in the US there are the various stock characters (fast-paced New Yorker; genteel Southerner; simple, honest Midwesterner; free spirit Californian; etc, etc).
From my take living along the border here in New Mexico for most of my life here's my take. Its basically 3 regions ...the North, Mexico City and surrounding area and the lower bottom. I've never heard an East/West division. Most Mexicans up along the northern region call those from Mexico city ''Chilangos''. They come across as arrogant and conceded compared to the rest of Mexicans. The bottom 3rd like the state of Chiapas are of the Indinegous Peoples kinda like the Native Americans of the USA.
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It is more complex than that friends, very complex actually, so give me some time to make a comprehensive series of posts about the regions, because even within a region, there are huge differences between state and state, to give an example of that.
Southeastern Mexico is composed of the States of Veracruz, Tabasco, Campeche, Yucatan and Quintana Roo.
And well you can't remotely compare Villahermosa (Tabasco's capital) with Cancun (Major touristic point of Quintana Roo), or compare a Yucatan Bosheeto (term similar to dude, or guy used in Yucatan) with a Jarocho (originary of Veracruz)
But let's start with the most basic the regions in Mexico are the following.
North East
• Baja California
• Baja California Sur
• Sonora
• Sinaloa
• Nayarit
As a final note, what our friend 6 foot said about chilangos is true we have a bad name don't know why.
But it's more myth than reality as I've been in most of the states of Mexico and once that people gets to know you they will treat you according to your character rather than your origin.
Thanks for pointing out your info about the regions and their influences on Mexico Traveling Fella. You as a citizen would know best about those things. Yeap i have met lots of Mexicans in my life here in New Mexico and them telling me over the years about the ''Chilangos'' and also the problems in Chiapas and the other southern teir states there.
I have read that the peoples in Mexico City are proud of the term. Maybe the Nortenos are envious
Location: The world, where will fate take me this time?
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 6 FOOT 3
Thanks for pointing out your info about the regions and their influences on Mexico Traveling Fella. You as a citizen would know best about those things. Yeap i have met lots of Mexicans in my life here in New Mexico and them telling me over the years about the ''Chilangos'' and also the problems in Chiapas and the other southern teir states there.
I have read that the peoples in Mexico City are proud of the term. Maybe the Nortenos are envious
There is some truth about that, what happens is that Mexico has always been a very centralized country, so all the development started around Mexico city first.
Past generations of Chilangos called the rest of Mexico outside Mexico city provincia, which means province, so go figure.
So whenever a Chilango went outside, people felt he was different, had a different more open attitude, knew different things, etc kind of when a person from the city goes to a town, and obviously there were some arrogant Chilangos as well which contributed to feed the fire.
But now Mexico's very different, a lot of states are prosperous and developed specially in the north, but the Chilango thing became a habit, even though in the north is strong, west central Mexico specially Guadalajara is where we are supposedly hated the most.
But like I told you is more a myth, because once that people gets to you know they won't treat you different for being Chilango
Yep, people from Mexico City ("chilangos") are viewed pretty badly by people from the provinces. Both my parents come from small towns in Mexico, they (like mostly all other people from province) tag Chilangos as arrogant, conceited, contemptous, etc. I grew up hearing nasty and ugly things about "chilangos". I had never once lived in Mexico City nor interacted with a Chilango, but I had this idea in my head that they were all the way my parents portrayed them to be. So everytime I heard the term "chilango" I would envision them as ugly, arrogant, nasty people (sorry!). It wasn't till about a year ago when I was 19 that I actually had the chance of meeting some "chilangos" and boy did I change my mind. Not only are there some gorgeous people there (when I was young I actually thought EVERY chilango was short, ugly, and fat like the policemen there jaja!), but I've met some very smart, cultured, fun people from there. Actually my last boyfriend was from there, but no my opinion is not biased because of that...I have met other "chilangos" I think are great and really like. Thank God I had the chance of meeting them cause I probably would have stayed with the image my mom gave me of them :P .
Now, I don't blame my parents for putting those ideas in our heads, because after all...it is not their fault..it's the way they were brought up and raised, plus the ignorance. But it's so annoying that when I meet someone from Mexico City and I tell my family where they are from, they immediately have to say something stereotypical of them. I don't know where that myth about chilangos originated from, because honestly they are great people.
On the other hand, I don't know what it is about "Chilangos" calling people from the outside "provincianos" in a very contemptuous, disrespectful way. So it goes both ways :P. They also view them as ignorant, close-minded rural people which is absurd.
There is some truth about that, what happens is that Mexico has always been a very centralized country, so all the development started around Mexico city first.
Past generations of Chilangos called the rest of Mexico outside Mexico city provincia, which means province, so go figure.
So whenever a Chilango went outside, people felt he was different, had a different more open attitude, knew different things, etc kind of when a person from the city goes to a town, and obviously there were some arrogant Chilangos as well which contributed to feed the fire.
But now Mexico's very different, a lot of states are prosperous and developed specially in the north, but the Chilango thing became a habit, even though in the north is strong, west central Mexico specially Guadalajara is where we are supposedly hated the most.
But like I told you is more a myth, because once that people gets to you know they won't treat you different for being Chilango
I like Chlilangos okay -- but where I live there aren't too many and most people don't like them.
A Chilango who came here for a while was obviously educated, smart, spoke beautiful Spanish and a little English --- very little. He didn't take well to the border barrio culture or to Spanglish.
The Mexicans here would speak Spanish to him -- what they consider to be Spanish anyhow -- but it only made him angry to hear Spanish spoken that way. I tried to explain to him that the border is different, that "when in Rome, do as the Romans" but he didn't accept that. He didn't like what he saw of Mexican culture in a border town, he didn't consider these USA born Mexicans mangling his culture and language to even be Mexicans -- although they themselves claim they are.
He ended up refusing to speak Spanish -- saying he didn't understand their Spanish and later said that if this is the way they're going to speak Spanish they should just forget it and try to learn some English. The Mexicans here ended up not liking him -- even though he was actually a nice enough guy.
I had a Chilango boss once who hated the naco music everyone plays here and said all the radio stations should be American because that naco stuff just ruins the image of Mexico anyway.
I don't really see that as arrogant -- but to others it is apparently.
Hi, I'm trying to understand the different regions of Mexico better. What are the main regions, and what do the different regions think of each other?
What I mean is like how the different regions of the US (South, Midwest, NE, Southwest, etc, etc) have different styles, food tastes, mannerisms, religions, etc. I know every country has the big city vs country bumpkin tension, but what about from city to city and region to region.
I'm also very curious what the major regions that Mex-Americans are from, and what impact that has had on Mex-American culture. A similar example is how most Chinese-American immigrants were historically mainly from southern China - so Chinese-American food and culture and language were affected by that regionalism.
In many ways, I'm wondering what the stock characters of Mexican pop culture would be. Like how in TV here in the US there are the various stock characters (fast-paced New Yorker; genteel Southerner; simple, honest Midwesterner; free spirit Californian; etc, etc).
Anyway, thanks for any info.
The people I consider to be Mexican-American are often not from Mexico at all. Some call themselves Spanish-American or Tejanos or New Mexicans -- but Mexican-American can refer to people whose families never immigrated or immigrated very long ago.
Where I live, the regional differences can be quite obvious. People who came from Ciudad Juarez or the state of Chihuahua will tell you that many of the problems in Ciudad Juarez are caused by people from the southern states of Mexico who they think are more backward.
For example -- here if you complain on Dec 12 that the beating of drums all night until dawn and chanting kept you awake, they will say those are obviously Mexicans from the south and northern Mexicans don't do that kind of thing.
A lot of the Mexican charros come from Jalisco, Durango, Zacatecas, Sonora, and Chihuahua. If you go to a charreada, most of the people seem to be from those regions.
The more radical leftist types come from Chiapas and Oaxaca.
The richer people aren't the ones coming in high numbers to the USA -- so we don't see too many of them or their culture but you do see them in some cities like Miami or San Antonio.
To me there are obvious differences between the fresas and nacos -- dress style, music, food and so on and you don't find them mingling much even in the USA.
Location: The world, where will fate take me this time?
3,162 posts, read 11,435,069 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by malamute
The people I consider to be Mexican-American are often not from Mexico at all. Some call themselves Spanish-American or Tejanos or New Mexicans -- but Mexican-American can refer to people whose families never immigrated or immigrated very long ago.
Where I live, the regional differences can be quite obvious. People who came from Ciudad Juarez or the state of Chihuahua will tell you that many of the problems in Ciudad Juarez are caused by people from the southern states of Mexico who they think are more backward.
For example -- here if you complain on Dec 12 that the beating of drums all night until dawn and chanting kept you awake, they will say those are obviously Mexicans from the south and northern Mexicans don't do that kind of thing.
A lot of the Mexican charros come from Jalisco, Durango, Zacatecas, Sonora, and Chihuahua. If you go to a charreada, most of the people seem to be from those regions.
The more radical leftist types come from Chiapas and Oaxaca.
The richer people aren't the ones coming in high numbers to the USA -- so we don't see too many of them or their culture but you do see them in some cities like Miami or San Antonio.
To me there are obvious differences between the fresas and nacos -- dress style, music, food and so on and you don't find them mingling much even in the USA.
Malamute I'm sorry bro, but you don't know anything about Mexico at all, the more you speak about "mexico" the easier is to know that you should do more research
Imagine that you were to an ashram full of Swamis and wise monks and you wanted to discuss Phillosophies from India with them, but that your only knowledge from them comes from osho, that's the impression you are leaving man.
WOW!!! Since I connected to C-D a lot of INFO has sure come my way.I was married to a BEAUTIFUL Mexican women and lived in Mexico City 3 yrs, and now almost 12 yrs in Baja. I was referred to as a CHILANGO many times but no one would ever explain the true meaning to me. TODAY, I found out. I am educated but not arrogant by any means. While in Mexico City, I was commonly referred to as MAESTRO most of the time by friends. Highly repected and I treated others with the same RESPECT. THANKS GUYS for enlightening me. Stefhen
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we have a bad name don't know why.
