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We are as americanised too, so americanised that I feel that some Spanish-American countries are more Spanish than Spain itself, their Spanish is old, so many of their customs. There are also attempts to emulate European culture, and is vastly more important. Their way of life, their vision of the world is more European. For Europe, US is like China except NY.
Latin American is an extension of Europe, no matter race or older cultures, the US is a REACTION against Europe created by religious crackpots that were being persecuted by the Inquisition and moderate Protestants.
And again, language is very important but culture, catholic culture..nothing to do with religious mumble-jumble but with history, Roman past, traditions, festivities,,,is even more important.
They are very obscure concepts and I doubt I or anybody else can give a satisfactory answer. But the truth is that Spaniards and Norwegians are used to a society and way of life which is somewhat uniform in Western Europe. Sure, there are vast cultural differences, but the structures and framework is mostly similar.
A Peruvian living in a mountanious village is living in a totally different society and reality than the Spaniard. They might share the language, but that's likely the only thing they will have in common.
Crappy example, but whatever. You teleport a Spaniard to a Norwegian bar. He instinctively knows that it's not not allowed to smoke. Teleport him to a Peruvian bar, and he will probably have to ask and watch and learn. These are the small subtle commonalities.
Then you teleport the Norwegian into Spain to talk with a police officer. He will know what to expect and how the police reacts. With the Peruvian cop, who the hell knows.
But why are you going to extremes, choosing a Peruvian from a rural area to compare to a Spaniard? Why not say a middle class Peruvian from Lima?
Will you have things in common with a rural American farmer in Kansas?
clothing, malls, suburban car culture and the use of english language are pretty widespread in Europe as well.
Of course, as if those things were American!! There are malls in Europe that predates in decades any mall in the US, Galleria Vittorio Manuelle, for instance and suburban car culture started in Europe before cars, as people moved out of walls and bourgeois had their house in the "countryside" (I live in one) to flee poor people and hot weather.
One thing that baffles me is the constant reference to race, when we are talking about culture. I feel closer to an Honduran than to anybody not in Latin Europe. In fact, they are more typically Spanish that we Catalans.
And the use of English....Queen Isabella of Castile spoke English, and a large part of the court and that was 500 years ago.
Yes, why not. Rural Peruvians speak a dialect of Castilian which is beautiful, apart from quichua.
Oh I have nothing against Peruvians- I think they have an amazing culture and I actually have alot of respect for indigenous cultures in Latin America. But each country in Latin America has layers of sub-cultures that people don't know about unless they have familiarized themselves with the country. Peru for example has its indigenous cultures, mestizo cultures (Spanish & Indigenous and other mixes) and Asian fusion culture (Chinese, Japanese) that most outsiders aren't even aware of.
My point was, he went to extremes to try to establish a difference.
We are as americanised too, so americanised that I feel that some Spanish-American countries are more Spanish than Spain itself, their Spanish is old, so many of their customs. There are also attempts to emulate European culture, and is vastly more important. Their way of life, their vision of the world is more European. For Europe, US is like China except NY.
Latin American is an extension of Europe, no matter race or older cultures, the US is a REACTION against Europe created by religious crackpots that were being persecuted by the Inquisition and moderate Protestants.
And again, language is very important but culture, catholic culture..nothing to do with religious mumble-jumble but with history, Roman past, traditions, festivities,,,is even more important.
How the heck can "crackpots" be persecuted by "moderates"? If one group is persecuting another based on their religious beliefs, they are by definition a crackpot. Moderates don't persecute anybody, at least by my definition of moderate.
We are as americanised too, so americanised that I feel that some Spanish-American countries are more Spanish than Spain itself, their Spanish is old, so many of their customs. There are also attempts to emulate European culture, and is vastly more important. Their way of life, their vision of the world is more European. For Europe, US is like China except NY.
Latin American is an extension of Europe, no matter race or older cultures, the US is a REACTION against Europe created by religious crackpots that were being persecuted by the Inquisition and moderate Protestants.
And again, language is very important but culture, catholic culture..nothing to do with religious mumble-jumble but with history, Roman past, traditions, festivities,,,is even more important.
This. One can repudiate his or her religious roots and be an atheist/agnostic, but they are still culturally Catholic, Jewish or whatever else. Usually.
By the way, Latin America has a HUGE cultural, economic and political influence from the US. A lot of people tend to forget how influential the US has been in Latin America in the last 100 years, and viceversa!
Europe has taken the backseat when it comes to cultural, economic, political influence in both Latin America and the US.
Why is Europe a reference? "what is the most European city in the US", "what is more European in Cuba". " what is more European Sydney or Melbourne". "is Latin America like Europe?"
I don't want to be European, I am fine being who I am! And PLEASE do not call me latina either.
yeah, I enjoy potatoes too.
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