Your notions about south america

No you do not live in the stone age. But Santiago Chile desperately needs anti air pollution regulations, and enforcement.

Ah, I've always wondered the same thing but instead of South America, just Mexico.

I know some people think of Tijuana as a whore house and the epitome of decadent lifestyle.

And I know some people think of mexicans as small, mustached, dark skinned men who don't take their sombrero and sarape off and sleep on the shawows of cactuces.

But I don't know how many people think that. I tend to think that not too many... but I might be wrong.

Ignorant people have ignorant notions.

That's true, but the point is How extended are those beliefs? It's not rare to find foreigners that in their first visit say things like I didnt think it would so developed, not that they imply something bad, but even so...

Well, prior to 3 million years ago, S. A. was a hotbed of marsupials. Then the land bridge known as Central America opened up. Things have gone down ever since, especially for the marsupials.

I read that Brazil has much more progressive drug laws than the U.S., at least when it comes to ayahuasca. But it looks like the Amazon and its inhabiatants are going the way of the marsupials.

I am astoundingly ignorant of S.A. I am embarassed to admit, but my mental picture is not a negative one but rather of a more colorful, zestful and spirited group of folks, rather than our increasingly regressive grey flannel USA residents.

Enlighten me please.

Athos, unfortunately, I think there are most likely many people who think of South America as they would think of a third world country. I live in New Mexico and there are still a few, rather idiotic people who will ask, "Is that part of the U.S?"

Hopefully, with more interactive learning through the internet, this will become less prominent in the next generation.

Blame it on Missionaries who show us pix of stolid native women in colorful handwoven shawls and broad-brimmed fedoras leading a llama past brown-eyed naked tots with bellies distended from malnutrition.... or shots of the shantytowns outside of the big cities wher the street-urchins scuffle over a thrown coin.

The Missionaries NEVER show any pix of the girl from Ipanema...

I was reading today that here are more hackers in Brazil than anywhere. It's not against the law unless you get caught doing fraud.

mmm, . . . the girl from Ipanema

Well, there you go--music and art are the best indicators of a country's heart and soul. Latin America has some of the best music and art in the world.

By the way I have a question. Is it only the movies or in the States people always try to find some obscure racist/insulting sense to everything that others say? As if they were predisposed to find themselves insulted for the most inocent commentary.
For example I think I would have trouble with black people, because I can't make any difference in the words black (people) or neager (I don't know if this is spelled correctly). Mainly because I think the last one comes from the spanish negro, that means both: the color black or to refer to black people and it doesn't have a racist sense.

Estoy tan enamorado de mi negra Tomasa.
Que cuando se va de casa, triste me pongo.

Diane's right. Most latin art is born thanks to the situation they live in, art is their way to escape reality. The artist ratio in Cuba is incredibly high.

In Colombia it seems half the population would practicly kill to get a US visa but at the same time there is great resentment towards us. I hear negative commentary about us often when I lie (for security reasons) and say I'm Canadian.

The aspect of Latin America which most confronts Americans is Mexican. During the last 15 years there has also been an influx of immigrants from El Salvador and Guatemala. Beyond that immigration and cultural contact with latin America here is rather dispersed.

Mexico and Mexicans have had a very large impact on American culture - larger than is usually acknowledged. Other Latin American countries have done this too but the impact here declines with distance. Much of this is both ubiquitous but invisible. Lots of well known "American standard" popular songs are actually from Mexico, Argentina, Brasil, Cuba, or Chile, but few realize it. Awareness of the literature of Latin America is slowly growing, though less so that of Portuguese speaking Brasil. (unfortunate because much of it is truly excellent.)

I have travelled only in Mexico, Brasil, Argentina, and Chile. It is interesting to me to discover how little these countries have had to do with each other until the last 20 years or so. I note that most of the people I met were quite sure that they understood Americans, and equally sure we didn't understand them. When you think about it this is a very odd idea. I have found things to like a great deal in each of these countries.

Many Latins amuse themselves with the notion that racial prejudice doesn't exist there, while it does in the United States. The truth is it merely takes different forms. Another poster has noted that less concern is attached to words like 'negro' in Latin America - that is true, however, prejudice and racial tension merely takes different forms in the Latin culture.

While the usage of the word 'negro' is true.
It's not necessarily between languages as we tend to use the words differently between countries and even sometimes between states or cities.

Ex.
Chingada in Mexico is equal to being fucked up, I think in Colombia is where it is used to refer to the leftover of the drink.

Polla is used as a synonym for the penis somewhere in South America, for most people in Mexico it's just the female chick.

I'm not sure about the drink leftover in Colombia but "estamos jodidos" is the equivalent of we're ****ed.

Although that is not used in all SA, It'll be understanded universally as we are ****ed. Other countries have their own more used expressions.

georgeob1, commenting on what you said. That notion you posted saying that
we are quite sure that we understood Americans, but not the other way around is, to a certain extent, true. Why? I don't know, maybe because americans tend to group all south americans as latin or hispanic people, forgetting that we are a bunch of quite different countries

Borges is my favorite author, so I must agree.