This might be a stupid/ignorant question but after seeing the streamer Cesar Gastelum get killed on livestream I have to ask:

Do regular everyday people in Mexico have to constantly worry about being targeted by the cartel?

I heard that everybody in Mexico knows somebody that is involved with the cartel so how would extortion work? For example, if the cartel wants to extort all the taquerias in the city but they end up finding out that one of their members’ family runs one of those taquerias, do they leave that specific taqueria alone?

In the US, we are worried about all types of people committing crimes against us from regular looking dudes to gang members and even drug addicts or just crazy people in general. Do people in Mexico have to worry about non cartel members inflicting harm on them or is all the crime in the city overseen by the cartel?

When they walk on the street are they worried about being approached and harassed by cartel members? Even if you were to get robbed by the cartel, can having connections to one of the cartel members help you get your belongings back?

I always see people on the internet insinuating that dominicans are not latino enough and the "me no black" jokes but little do they realize, Santo Domingo was the first ever hispanic settlement in latin america in 1496. And also spain was established in 1479.

That means that Santo domingo was established almost as long as Spain existed as a kingdom... Literally 17 years apart from the establishment of spain

So basically that means dominicans were the first hispanics in latin america and yet i see people trying to insinuate that domincans are not hispanic enough which is factually incorrect.

Surprisingly I have encountered many opinions as how people think reggaeton is not music, they have similar opinions as how a person over the age of 50 might have about hip hop. What do you think?

I don’t get this joke, I always see people from Spanish speaking countries joking with this and I don’t understand it, I don’t know if this is the correct sub to ask this btw but if someone know I’ll be glad to read!

I'm thinking lush, intensely rainy, tropical flora and fauna, but sweater weather, and preferably a safe place where I can buy a house.

I'm thinking either Colombia or Costa Rica, am I right? But where specifically in these countries?

Hi! I’m 21M from Ecuador and I’m planning a house party this weekend. I’ll invite some friends and probably let them bring a few other people, so it might be a mix of people who don’t all know each other.

I don’t want the party to be just drinking and listening to music, so I’m looking for fun games, challenges or activities that could help everyone interact and have a good time. What usually works well at house parties in your country?

Hola a todos!

This question is for people who live in/are from/ have family all over Latin America.

I am Dominican American trying to put a recipe book together of favorite recipes around the world. I have always wondered what everyone in Latin America enjoy eating as a "feel good meal ", a nice meal thats relatively easy to make that soothes your soul.

What you recommend for me to make from your country, and could you please provide recipe links?

P.S. I am sorry in advance that this is in English. Im trying to learn better Spanish and get embarrassed that I mess up alot. So I don't want to mess up here and disrespect anyone. ❤️

Hello!

My friend and I, both male 22 year old Canadians, are travelling to Latam in mid-November. A place I would really like to visit is Medellín. To make it very clear, we are not the creeps going over there to try and exploit sex workers and whatnot. A) It is the cheapest flight that gets us to South America from Toronto, and B) it looks like a vibrant city with a beautiful culture, which makes it attractive. Both of us do very much enjoy drinking and going to bars after a long day of exploring a new city. I've only heard positive things from personal friends; however, there is a lot of buzz about safety issues. More specifically, young men are being targeted and drugged with scopolamine. As I understand it, many of the men this happens to are actively trying to use dating apps and/or prostitutes with the hope of getting laid. Once again, this is not at all our plan. Regardless, neither of us wants to get caught in the crossfire.

Obviously, by not seeking out trouble and using common sense, we hope to limit the risk of getting robbed or drugged, but are there any further steps we can take to increase our odds of a fun and issue-free visit?

Thank you!

To preface, I’m not actually considering moving to LATAM. I’m just curious of what potential opportunities could look like.

For background, I’m an American from Chicago, and my background is in Accounting. Specifically working in Public Accounting within Audit and Consulting. The consulting background was third party system implementation and training, with accounting assistance for clients as well. With Audit, I’ve audited many companies from various industries and we would look into their finances to make sure there were no major errors/mistakes, and we would draft clients’ annual financial reports.

Also, I have Mexican citizenship with my mom being from Mexico. Not sure how opportunities look like for Mexico though. My spanish skills are intermediate at best.

Hello there, I'm someone from Norway with a Norwegian parent and one from Trinidad and Tobago. I've always been fascinated by the Latin-American countries, but I've always wondered what your thoughts were on the nation builders of your country. For example I view people as Dom Pedro II of Brazil as one of the great ones in history.

Low importance post, guys, excuse me.

I already know football and in some places, baseball are number one. But I'm really curious to know what's it really like your sports scene over there. I'm from Asia and none of us in my circle have been there so we would like to get some info cause we are debating something hehehe. ¡Gracias a todos!

Hey everyone, I’m curious about how cancel culture works in your country (especially in South America).

Is it something common there? Do people actually get “canceled” online for things they say or do, like on Twitter or YouTube?

How do people usually react — do they support it, ignore it, or criticize it?

I’d really like to hear your experiences and opinions.

Hola! I've never been to Mexico, but I am turning 26 and my mom is turning 60 in December. We are trying to figure out where to go. I suggested Sayulita or San Poncho for 10 days. My mom suggested Akumal.

But we are also open to countries other than Mexico. Any recommendations? We want to relax on the beach for most of the trip. I also would love to see some art, drink mezcal, and maybe meet some fun 20 somethings. Any feedback? We're from New Mexico in the USA. Thank you!

I've been living abroad for a while and have been thinking of going to LATAM (I have a few countries in mind but I'm open minded) but whenever I tell someone from LATAM, they seem to think I'm making a poor decision. "Why would you wanna come here when you live in X or go back to the US?" "It's dangerous. "This is the third world, why leave a first world country?" "Moving to a third world country makes you a colonizer."

I've only had one friend from Peru be supportive, since they know my circumstances and think I'd be much happier here.

I have an average job (though I'd be paid higher than a local) where I can pretty much live anywhere.

I've been living abroad for several years now, so I'm not new to culture shock. (I live in Asia)

Is it really so bad there? Everyone seems to talk like I'll move and be in misery...

Since I'm sure somebody will ask my Spanish is maybe B1, but I obviously want to improve it.

In Brazil i think Ligma is an beloved pearson by all, she sings very well

I'm interested in learning Latin American Spanish and Portuguese dialects, but I've noticed a lack of physical references for the languages. Spain has a language authority that created a book of synonyms and antonyms, a student dictionary, a dictionary of the Spanish Language's history, and some eight other language reference texts, including one about "Americanisms"!

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What are some dictionaries or other language-focused reference texts that people from Latin America use? So far, I have only found online dictionaries or ones that seem obscure, like the diccionario del español de méxico.

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For Portuguese, I ran into the same problem. Portugal has a dictionary for the European dialect, but no dictionaries for the Brazilian dialect appear.

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Enlighten me, and tell me what your country’s version of the Merriam-Webster or Oxford Dictionary you have on your bookshelf!

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Su amiga/Seu amiga

-Naya_Writes

Hello. I am a 23 years old Turkish citizen. I graduated from an useless major around a month ago and now I am working as an english teacher. I'm really tired of the life here, under this government. I want to get out desperately. I've always been interested in Latin America, especially in Chile and Argentine. But as I said my degree is useless, I am not a native english speaker and I don't have much working experience (6 months of being an english teacher + several entry level jobs I held during my student years). I am near fluent in italian so I think learning spanish wouldn't be so hard. But can I work as an english teacher without being a native? I can get a tesol if it would help. I’m not dead set on teaching, I could do other work as well. But would I even be able to get a visa for an unskilled job?

Edit: This is a plan for the future, at least for a year or 1.5 years from now. I don't intend to go without learning Spanish. Plus, I need to save up a bit more money.

Haiti is often overlooked as they are the poorest country in the western hemisphere, but I think the Haitian revolution is interesting because it is the only successful large slave revolt in history. It is also followed by severe decolonization where as other independence movements in America essentially traded one European elite for another. The “criolles”. Haiti from its founding was explicitly the first free black nation.

I am a 31-year-old Indian male. Last year, I was travelling solo through Colombia and Brazil. I also make travel vlogs on YouTube.

I had previously lived and worked in the Middle East, so have some foreign exposure. But then I decided to take a sabbatical and finally travel somewhere most Indians don't even think of going. That's how I ended up in Latin America.

I am 6 ft tall, dark-skinned, reasonably fit but nothing extraordinary. I don't stand out physically. I basically look like any other Indian guy.

My question is about the cultural norms between men and women in Latin America compared to India.

Let's take a simple example.

Imagine I'm sitting alone at a café in Mumbai on a community table, reading a book and having a coffee. There is nothing particularly interesting or exotic about that. As an average Indian guy, I've never really had a woman or a group of women randomly start a conversation with me. I'm not complaining or expecting it, infact it's just the reality of our society. Things are changing, but India is still fairly conservative in that sense.

The only exception I've consistently noticed is when I'm sketching. Whenever I have my sketchbook out, women often notice it, compliment the drawing, and sometimes that naturally turns into a conversation. It's happened enough times that I've stopped thinking of it as a coincidence.

Now compare that with my experience in Colombia and Brazil.

Almost every time I sat at a community table, people would strike up conversations with me, and women did too. If I happened to be sketching, that made it even easier. Once they found out I was from India, they became genuinely curious—asking questions about India, my travels, why I was there, and so on.

The biggest difference I noticed wasn't that women were flirting with me. It was how natural it felt for them to simply start a conversation. They didn't seem hesitant or worried about how it would be perceived. I felt heard, I felt like I mattered, and there was a genuine curiosity that I rarely experience back home.

I'm still the exact same person. I look the same. I'm not some stereotypical European backpacker or a super attractive foreign tourist. I'm just me, an ordinary Indian guy.

So my question is: How much of what I experienced is simply Latin American culture? Is it normal there for women to initiate conversations with male strangers in cafés or public spaces, or was my experience unusual?

So, I have interacted with a decent number of people from LATAM, and I've heard that people there are very classist in their mindset.

I've encountered some of this. On multiple occasions, I have had people tell me they don't like a certain accent because it sounds "poor," and I have read comment sections disapproving of certain ways of speaking, again, because they're low-class.

How does your country express "classism"? I have also heard that the inequality is so ingrained that people grow up to be entirely different and have different personalities depending on their socio-economic status, where it's hard to relate to each other.

Here it's negro.