I could write about how “enlightening” it is to travel through other countries, how the cultural immersion somehow “changed me” as a man for the better, how the people are “mysteriously” nicer and friendlier compared to America, or how being outside my comfort zone somehow changed me for the better and made me a stronger man, but I won’t.
Instead, here’s a dedication to all things that I hate about Latin America.
Central America
The only words that come to mind when thinking back about my travels through this region: an authentically true third-world shit hole. Even looking back on my years of traveling, I have yet to find to find another place that rivals the region’s ability to showcase how bad things can get.
The big cities like Guatemala City and Tegucigalpa, the capitals of Guatemala and Honduras, respectively, are beyond seedy and dangerous and it’s best not wonder around after the sun sets.
Nicaragua is a bit better thanks to two decent towns, Leon and Granada, but just make sure to not stop for too long in the capital of Managua, when going from one town to the other. If you’re a food buff, you will love stuffing yourself with Nicaragua’s culinary gift to the world: the deep fried whatever-you-call-it diabetes-in-a-bun oily goodness.
Panama City, thanks to the canal, is the only shining star city with its tall skyscrapers and a Miami-esque waterfront area, the nightlife on Calle Uruguay is always on full gear and secure thanks armed private guards, but wonder outside to the poorer neighborhoods of El Chorillo, which was burned down during the ‘89 US invasion, or the historical old town of Casco Viejo, worlds away from the secure wealthier districts, and you better watch your belongings.
Venezuela
Venezuela, the undisputed shining star of civilization in an uncivilized world.
You haven’t seen the pinnacle of civilization until you’ve witnessed an unruly hoard of angry airplane customers storm an airplane check-in counter after a standby flight was cancelled because of unruly hoard of angry airplane customers demanding to be put on the aforementioned standby flight.
Everyone knows that Caracas is one of the most dangerous cities in the world. It’s also a dirty, polluted city, whose only allure is the constant bearable weather of 75F (25C) thanks its slight altitude near the Caribbean. Thanks to Hugo Chavez’s successful propaganda, they hate Americans with a passion, although the taxi driver brimmed with joy when I mentioned being from California and asked if Arnold (ex-Governor) would ever run for president.
Looking for price bargains? Forget it. Unless you exchange your money on a black market, it’s a very expensive country thanks to a stupidly retarded overvalued exchange rate. Exchange on the black market and risk going to jail.
Chances are you won’t hear this from your travel agent or see it on your local billboards.
Peru
Lima, Peru’s capital, is a hard city to like. If the constant overcast-bordering-on-fog-and-rain weather doesn’t get you down psychologically, the constant pollution from exhausts surely will affect you physically. From the shitty, run-down downtown, with it’s crumpling cathedrals covered in bird shit, it’s not a place you’d see yourself spending a honeymoon anytime soon.
The affluent area of Miraflores offers some redemption if you love seeing McDonald’s on every block and shopping in traditional, American-inspired, mega malls.
Peru does have excellent food delicacies, however. If you love fried guinea pigs, then you will surely love the country’s main dish: the cuy. It’s a fried guinea pig, that tastes like chicken. Just kidding — it tastes exactly like a guinea pig.
Ecuador
Off all the travelers who I know that passed through Ecuador, a small number came away completely unscathed.
To a common traveler, getting away from the gritty rat-race of the first world, a trip to Ecuador offers a unique cultural experience. One way is to get mugged either during broad daylight or while staggering home from bars in Quito, the country’s capital. Another, more sinister method is when someone cuts a large hole in your bag and empties it on one of those long bus rides.
It’s a small, crime-infested, uninteresting country that offers absolutely nothing else to the visitor that can’t be found in the surrounding big crime infested countries.
Colombia
It wasn’t Colombia that broke the camel’s back, but it sure happened in Colombia. After spending four months in Colombia early this year, I remember feeling the exact moment that I started to despise Latin culture. I was sick and tired of the gold digging women, the constant flakiness (from both sexes), and the general pretentiousness and arrogance of the people. It seems that the overall unwillingness to be honest to your face, just to screw you over behind your back is ingrained in the culture’s DNA.
The country has tons to offer to a prospective visitor. Take Medellin for instance, Colombia’s darling city. The home of the late Pablo Escobar, it’s a city without any charm or soul, that was, in all likelihood, built on drug money. It’s as authentic as the silicon breasts or the Americanized malls that you see everywhere you look.
One would think the capital, Bogotá, would be better, but the unending construction (that almost paralyzed half the city when I was there), dirt and pollution do not win the city, nor the country, many points.
Argentina
If you are new to the English language and want to know what the word ‘arrogance’ means, look no further and just head to Buenos Aires. The city and their residents pretty much personify the word. Somehow the locals, called porteños, never learned geography in high school, and think they’re part of Europe, not South America.
The city is cool though, with a certain flair that reminds you of Rome or Paris, just watch out for the constant shit on the sidewalks thanks to tons of dog walkers with five, six, or fifteen dogs each parading the streets.
The language they speak is up for debate. A tale has is that it’s an indigenous language first spoken by the local tribes after they came in contact with the Spanish conquistadors. I beg to differ. It sounds more like a drunk Italian tourist trying to speak a beginner level Spanish, but eventually stumbles and fails because of too much malbec.
Argentinian food revolves around three things: overhyped steak, crappy pizza, and edible pasta. Anything else and you’re out of luck. Want to stumble an Argentinian? Ask them where you can get a bowl of soup. Try it, it’s fun.
Chile
When God made a deal with Chile and promised to give them the most advanced and resilient economy of Latin America, but asked for their soul in return, Chile didn’t blink and promptly agreed. If you’re airdropped into Santiago, the capital, you dare not to confuse it for any American city with its countless McDonald’s and Burger Kings, not to mention other quality American exports.
Chile’s culinary gift to the world is the “completo”: a big, fat hotdog stuffed to the gills with other fattening crap. There’s more stuff, right? Nope. The “completo” pretty much highlights Chile’s culinary accomplishments.
Chilean girls are the most generic creatures on the planet, even rivaling their American counterparts. When I lived in Brazil, my friends and I hanged around hostels in Rio, my Mexican friend who would pretty much chase any tail, would refuse to pursue Chilean women. “They have no soul,” he would shrug and move onto a more interesting target. I couldn’t come up with a better metaphor for the whole country if I tried.
Brazil
Last and definitely not least, it’s the biggest and baddest country of them all: Brazil. In many ways it’s worlds apart from other Latin American with its different language, different history and different traditions. The previous sentence is not even meant to be taken figuratively — to most Brazilians the concept that there are other surrounding, albeit inferior, countries that, God forbid may speak an inferior Portuguese dialect, aka Spanish, is simply ludicrous.
To Brazilians their country is the only one that really matters. In fact why remember all those pesky non-Brazilian nationalities. Makes it ten times easier to just categorize someone as a Brazilian or a mere gringo (foreigner).
They have the world’s best beaches, the world’s best parties, the world’s most beautiful women. In fact they don’t even make you pay a fine for overstaying tourist visa because they know you will come back! But why stop there: they also have the world’s best favelas (shanty towns), best poverty, and best racial segregation.
Brazilian Portuguese sounds exactly like Portuguese but only when mumbled by a lazy drunk, completely wasted after a long night of cachaça and non-stop weed.
It’s no surprise that with such a big country, comes even a bigger ego. Last summer, in Lisbon, Portugal, I saw a bus full of Brazilians proudly displaying Brazilian flags everywhere they went. Right — otherwise I would never have guessed those were Brazilians. One of the world’s greatest challenges is to pickup the sophistication, elegance and humility of Brazilians abroad.
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{ 117 comments… read them below or add one }
I agree with pretty much everything you posted. I’ve traveled years in Latin America and I’ve come to realize that, at the end of the day, Latin Americans are extremely self-centered, gregarious and conformist. They are not really open to anything outside their cultures.
I also got sick of Latin America after 4 months in various Colombian cities, especially the extreme flakiness of women…
I discovered Eastern Europe since and I don’t have much desire to go back to Latin America, except Brazil that I still like. But then if I go to Brazil, I would not go back to Rio, Recife, Fortaleza, Salvador or any touristic places where gringos are considered sex tourists.
The only touristic places that are cool are the ones where almost only Brazilians go like Porto Seguro or such.
Your comment sounds like I could have written it. I too, have discovered Europe this summer and plan to go back ASAP. It fits me much better.
Top 10 reasons America sucks
the top five reasons why America sucks.
Though we all say, “sucks,” many do not know its actual meaning. Remember that we are using the official dictionary.com definition for sucks: “to be disgustingly disagreeable or offensive.”
As a recap, let’s go over reasons 10 through six from last week. At No. 10 is tipping. No. 9 is that Americans are cocky and arrogant. Our lack of a proper presidential candidate fills the No. 8 spot. No. 7 is that there are too many rural people that are overrepresented and No. 6 is that Americans work too hard and do not know how to relax. Now, let’s continue the fun.
No. 5: America has good prices for nearly everything, but goods and services are usually of low quality. Think of the great number Americans who receive a free “cell phone” for signing up for a mobile plan. But, then the “phone” doesn’t receive service everywhere it is supposed to or you drop the thing once and it doesn’t work anymore. Is it really a cell phone then? No, it’s just a piece of junk from Korea that’s an illusion of a cell phone. But hey, at least you got it for free.
Europe may be expensive, but most goods and services are of much better quality. Garbage Kyocera “cell phones” from Korea can’t penetrate European markets because the people demand and expect quality. Even McDonald’s tastes better in Holland. And in most cases, the Dutch cashiers speak better English! Now that fact, which I have found from my own experiences, proves how America can be “disgustingly disagreeable or offensive,” and therefore sucks.
The No. 4 reason why America sucks is that the United States is environmentally unfriendly. The rest of the rich world looks toward the future with the Kyoto treaty and gasoline taxes to become more sustainable. However, President George W. Bush, along with most Americans, refuses to change. Everyone is terrified of having to pay more for energy and gasoline. I could continue, but most people know about this problem, including how it results in America’s addiction to foreign oil. As the list heats up we get to No. 3 – in the United States, sex is unmentionable and any amount of nudity is taboo. We all remember the Janet Jackson ordeal at last year’s Super Bowl. Our fanatical attitude toward sex and nudity is precisely why she did it. She knew it would get her a lot of publicity. I’m not saying we should all be able to walk around naked, but come on, we’ve all seen a naked breast before. It’s no big deal.
Continuing on the subject of sex, the fact that children need sexual education classes in fourth grade proves that sex is unmentionable in America for most people. Even parents cannot mention anything about the subject and need the school to teach their kids about the birds and the bees instead. It’s quite offensive.
Let me tell you a story about the urinal that changed my life. It helped me further realize America’s disagreeable attitude toward sex. Walking the crowded streets of Holland during Carnival two weeks ago, I came across a four-sided urinal in the middle of the street. Guys could just walk up, pee in one of the quadrants and just walk on. It was an efficient, beautiful thing that would never be allowed in the United States.
Much of America’s attitude toward sex is due to No. 2 – America is too religious and is controlled by the rabid, Evangelical Christians of the south. Everyone knows this fact from the last election, so let me point out some examples of how Europe is much different on the matter of religion.
Though Europe is scattered with thousands of huge churches and other religious icons, it is a very secular region. Europeans know that religion has caused nothing but problems in the past, so they have found other uses for their beautiful churches.
The cathedrals of Italy and other parts of Europe are huge tourist attractions. In Cuijk, Holland where my family lives, the local hooligans, my cousin and I use the church stoop as a spot to hang out, drink beer and partake in other more elicit activities because it is conveniently located next to our favorite pub. It also has a nice nook for concealing yourself while urinating.
In the city of Utrecht, where I am currently staying, one of the cathedrals was turned into an apartment building! Maybe doing the same on the UConn campus could help alleviate the housing shortage. Oh wait, never mind, that would never happen in the United States because spending money on more churches takes priority.
And finally, drum roll please. The No. 1 reason why America sucks – the most disgustingly disagreeable and offensive feature to the American way of life – is that the drinking age is 21.
This stupid law rips the social fabric of our nation into halves. On one side are those who are 21 along with those who are willing to risk using a fake ID. On the other side of the divide are the majority of college students who are under 21. At UConn, this group of students is forced, yes, forced, to risk their lives by walking down dark roads or trails to get a drink at a party.
In Europe, a drink at the pub follows nearly every college event or club meeting because the drinking age is only 16. Three days of orientation activities at the university is boring, right? Not when everyday ends with a relaxing drink and a chance to get to know your fellow students. Think how much of a better orientation UConn could have if a little drinking were allowed at the end of the day.
I’m not saying the drinking age should be 16. The age of 18 is more reasonable in America so nearly all college students can go to the pub, thus dissipating the social divide.
Well folks, that’s the end of the list. I hope you all, like me, have thought about how we can make America a better place by first learning how it sucks.
I think mostly what you have written here is true….although I have been to most of those places and hardly noticed these pitfalls…..that’s what happens when I’m getting banged by hot chicks everyday.
I tend not to sweat the small stuff.
Mexico isn’t Latinamerica. Mexico is on Northamerica, but the people on there are latins. I know, weird
Oh dear, I see you didn’t pass your geography class by that much. Mexico is part of Central America, not the North, hence the massive fence dividing us from the insanity of Mexico’s drug cartels.
Oh dear person, don´t judge! I respect your opinion but I can tell you that Mexico is a country of North America. E. g. acording to Britannica.com (You can search in others sources) Mexico is a ”Country of North America and the third largest country in Latin America, after Brazil and Argentina.” God bless you and open your mind!
Mexico is part of North American geography, but Mexicans consider it separate and apart – neither North American [that's the USA and Canada], nor Central American [that's those low-lifes down south who sneak into Mexico].
Latin america is a cultural divide, not a geographic one. Specifically, it means those places using the “latin” languages – french, spanish, portuguese. Latin america is not the same as south or central america.
Latin America denotes those nations that are part of American continent where the people predominently speak a Latin language. Alas, because of the way those people keep skittering across the border, breeding like Cockroaches eventually the U.S. will as well technically be part of Latin America. Damn fool politicians with their twisted sense of what is best for the nation considering amnesty, why stop there, a criminal is a criminal, pardon everyone and prison and set them all free.
Where is Mexico on the list?
Should it be?
I think it should be, I was all excited expecting the commentary about Mexico and at the end of the article I felt unfullfilled. I dont know why you would skip Mexico considering it’s one of the most known Latin American countries and the most influential in the States.
Don’t know – I generally like Mexico, and have experienced Mexicans to be the friendliest to foreigners. They all love gringos!
“To Brazilians their country is the only one that really matters. In
fact why remember all those pesky non-Brazilian nationalities. Makes it
ten times easier to just categorize someone as a Brazilian or a mere
gringo (foreigner).”
So? I could the same fucking thing about Americans…
No no dear, America actually looks at other countries, like Syria, that are killing their people and tries to intervene in some way. Latin America has not sent any of their Syrian representatives away in defiance of the bloodshed, or commented on the atrocities. When was the last time Brazil reached out to another country to help them with all their resort money? I rest my case.
dummy the dumb dumb.. how about the countries that America bombs and steals their resources? when was the last time that Brazil invaded a country to take what ever little resources they have? if u have really traveled as much as some would have to make that kind of comment than u must have noticed just by talking to people that Americans are not necessarily the brightest ones outta the bunch.. in fact if we get technical and and just go by numbers Americans are getting dumber faster than any other developed nation in the globe and we are not longer in the top 10 in any relevant academic standard. And I’m not talking about just ignorant arrogant people such as ur self every country has ignorant people, I’m talking about the nation as a whole. let’s try this little experiment, go ask a Syrian if they like Americans and than Ask him if he like Brazilians, he might a bit indifferent towards Brazilians since Brazil is not trying to steal anything from them or drop bombs or what ever. After that ask them if they like Americans. it’s very unjust that the rest of the world thinks that all Americans are just as dumb as YOU are, part of the reason for that thinking is that we have retards like u traveling overseas making us look bad.. how about you do America a favor an get ur self a Canadian passport. And before u rest case a quick fact Brazil donates Millions of dollars a year in humanitary aid yearly the best part of it is that no civilians ever get killed when Brazil ”helps” in know in your little ignorant mind the only way to help is invading countries killing innocent people but for the rest of us who are more civilized we also recognized monetary donations as help for countries in need. How about u stop traveling and save what ever little money you have and start taking some college classes hopefully by the time u graduate ur IQ is be the one of Freshman in high school….
Don’t you remember the case w/ Haiti? You only could see brazilian soldiers there. Brazil helped a lot of really poor African countries when we forgive their debts. So, really, USA (not America) only care about themselves. It’s the most selfish country I have ever seen.
Ding Ding… America has had its thumb on Haiti for almost a century. It would not support the slave uprising in Haiti but supported France, likely because France gave the Founding Fathers seed money to fight the British. This is a typical Anglo position on anything not British or American by default.
Yeah, America looks for Syria, training Al Qaeda operatives in Jordan and neighbouring countries and sending them back to Syria to create havok and further bloodshed, great way of caring.
“No no dear, America actually looks at other countries, like Syria, that are killing their people and tries to intervene in some way. Latin America has not sent any of their Syrian representatives away in defiance of the bloodshed, or commented on the atrocities. When was the last time Brazil reached out to another country to help them with all their resort money? I rest my case.”
America is not a nation, dear. The U.S. looks at other nation’s RESOURCES and gives two sh*ts about Syria. If they had, they would have involved themselves IMMEDIATELY when the first person was killed. they did NOT. They don’t even do that in their own nation. Tens of thousands of Syrians were KILLED before the U.S. responded. Latin America, also a part of AMERICA is not into the same sort of imperialistic violence which the U.S. seems to use whenever another nation says: “Hey, stop abusing our people and our resources”. The U.S. treats Latinos like crap and calls them “commies” because they want to HELP THE POOR IN THEIR OWN NATIONS (unlike the U.S.), but smooches with the Chinese like there is no tomorrow.
It sounds like you would have enjoyed yourself more if you had gotten out of the cities and discovered the country side. My time in central america was spent primarily in a small village town, and I have never met such kind and gernous people before in my life.
Maybe, or maybe not. Hard to say, really.
I mostly agree, however I’m surprised you didn’t mention Mexico, however, Argentine food is not overrated, and their pizza is far better than the shit Italian’s call pizza (even pizza from NY is better than pizza from Italy). All your languages remarks are pretty idiotic though, specially concerning Portuguese since Brazilian Portuguese is spoken by far more people than Portugal’s.
You forgot to mention that it is suspected that Columbus brought Syphilis back to Europe from Latin America. AND yes Mexico needs to be on the list.
Seems to me your just another arrogant “american” who thinks usa is number one
Seems so i am from USA and it is so shamefull to see that there are still people like this. i have now been living in paraguay for a year and some people simply hate me just from where i come from beacuse people like this guy exist. we are not all like that though.
It seems to me that you visited each country for as much as two or three days… meeting only jerks around each country. I’ve lived in brazil, chile and argentina and I agree with you about chilean people’s souless nature, about brazillian people being super shallow and porteños being major assholes. But I wouldn’t say anything different about the generic North American. You probably missed the chilean mote con huesillos, the pastel de choclo, the curanto, the chilean WINE…! You probably never visited rural brazillian towns like Embu, a whole town dedicated to artisan craft only an hour away from Sao Paulo (because… breaking news! brazil is not only about beaches and palm trees!) . You probably never went to the south of Argentina. You never ate cordero (lamb) in Neuquén.
Honey, most capitals of the world have become “americanized” to some extent. The US have invaded south america and imposed their culture in the major cities… but that certainly does not mean that south americans lack identity at all. You travelled around a whole continent and saw nothing else than a third world shit hole where you could have seen so much beauty and kindness. Too bad..!
Well said! I agree 100% with you! It seems this guy have only travel to some cities for a short period and knows nothing about the countries he is talking about. Seems he is very close minded and thinking like a “gringo”. By the way the “cuy” or guinea is not the main dish in popular, in fact you can only find it in the highlands. Peruvian food is very varied. Regarding your comment about Miraflores having a Mc Donalds every corner or block, well… There is only one in Miraflores… Regarding the weather being grey, half of the year it is and half is not. I’ve been to all the countries you mentioned and have lived in Europe and in the U.S. Every time I go ANY place I try to see the good things… not the bad thing… Don’t ever returned to Latin American you ignorant gringo! No wonder why Americans are hated worldwide!!!!!
Lol! Good for you for shooting from the hip. I used to live in Italy, and I got Italians telling me all the time that they had been in America and seen a lot of fat people and malls. And they were right. I knew a Brazilian woman who used to complain people assumed she was a slut because of her nationality. It had nothing to do with the silicone popping out everywhere, the microminiskirts to like, picnics, and her need to crawl over everybody else’s men. Anyway, she used to call all non-Brazilian latinos “Mexicans.” When asked for an explanation she said, “Oh they’re all the same.”
Haha… man, your observations are spot on. I went through the same things when I was kicking around SA.
But, in fairness to the readers that haven’t been down there yet, some of the other commenters are right. When you get off of the beaten path, and out of the capitol cities, you’re experience will be much better.
I had the time of my life in Peru and Argentina. And Bolivia isn’t covered here; it’s a love/hate type of country, but personally it was my favorite. But if you need the frills in life (like hot water) it might not be for you…
what a disgusting piece of ignorant white trash opened her legs to give birth to you..tyoical retarded american faggot of course you get mugged with an attitude like that haha latin culture and gold digging women? what else would a narrow minded white bastard like you have to offer if not money? americans are the poison of the world but tahnks God you arema dumb lot thats why latinos are taking over and soon enough white faggots like u will live in reservations…andnthen latino families on holiday will take pictures of where you live eatin in the same plwcenyou shit and they will write reviews on your shithole homeland…white cunts we own you hahahahaha
this reply more than others shows what a bastard ilk the latrine american swines are – the progeny of conquistadors and conquistawhores – no latrino knows his biological parent – all are bastards. all latrine americans are perverts and/or violent and/or drug peddlers and/or blue collar and/or uneducated bastard mother fuckers who live off american money and then back stab them. scum of the earth.
Nice did you learn that ALL BY YOURSELF???
You are so pathetic that you attack a entire continent just because you are a piece of shit that go to a country thinking that you are a kind of god for your money, i rather to be a mestizo than a descendent of british genocidal faggots.
Thanks for reinforcing existing stereotypes even better.
Well home come African-Americans I know including myself would openly and deeply disagree with your diatribe? Espana did a number on the majority of Latin America its not their fault, its all they know. More exposure to different people and different cultures, they will gradually learn that Stereotypes such as the ones you make COME FROM ONE DIRECTION AND ONE DIRECTION ONLY. And White people wonder why Latin America feels the way it does about America…
I can just imagine the little flecks of spit coming from your mouth, as you hammer out that impotent diatribe. LOL at that wet dream of yours about reservations.
Idiot. He may be over the board but the article in an otherwise god website is so delusional on so many levels, are least we are not passive aggressive like many Americans and Europeans are and you call us back stabbers…
First of all, I wonder whose fault it is that there are so many mc donalds and burger kings, all over Latin America, Europe, Asia….all over the freaking world. Who made those places, and who kept on monopolizing world fast food? Now I’ve lived in the Central part of Latin America from Guatemala all the way to Colombia. All I can say is this, Guatemala City, has the most beautiful weather, nice people, and yeah there is a lot of contrast in classes. Costa Rica is just a “fake” paradise as its just the same as the rest of the region except for a few exceptions. Then the whole region of Latin America is going under industrialization, and if you studied your AP European History, you know its turning out far much better than the conditions of England during the Industrial Revolution. So yeah to you this whole area is a piece of shit, except for a few places, but then why are the happiest countries in the world in this area, why because people in the countryside might no live the people in the urban areas, but they dont have to worry about dumb stuff that Americans worry about, like rent, bills, taxes, work, time, shopping, eating…etc. They own their own little piece of land a small cabin, grow their own food, live in the most beautiful landscapes…what else could they want?
So why did you even bother leaving your shitty country? I’m sure that you are American based on your language and your general ignorance. I’m not going to amuse you with rebukes but people like you are sick little fuckers who ought to join the army and go over to the middle east and get your head blown off.
Great, thanks for the constructive feedback.
South America is third world for a number of but of the biggest reasons is the perpetual invasions from European and American government and business.
American governement since the early 1900s has been using pieces of land down their without paying for it, seeking permission, or anything. And it is Americans high demand for drugs which has the crime issues there. So when a self-indulgent American like you goes down there, yes, you are a gringo. Americans in South America are like Germans in North America, unendearing accents and a history of racism, aggression, and war.
Friendliness begets friendliness, and it works the same way for bad attitudes. You clearly have a bad attitude. Of course you like Europe, it’s like visiting any sophisticated American city. You might as well visit Boston in the summer.
Think your comments are basically spot on. Have been in Latin America (Colombia and Ecuador) for about 9 months and can’t say I am overly impressed. Although initially seeming really friendly and welcoming, the smiles fade, and things start to become quite clear. People constantly try to rip you off, and being ‘listo’ is the highest achievement in this society – can you pass off a fake note? can you put the price up a few more pesos without someone noticing? can you befriend someone then rip them off? This happens between Colombians as well, and isn’t treatment exclusively reserved for foreigners.
Further, I came to realise that all the ‘men’ here are in fact little boys who need to be looked after and cared for, and the ‘women’ are superficial, flaky and unintelligent little girls. It’s like living in a society full of children, and thus the consequent levels of selfishness, arrogance, lack of reasoning etc. If you are rich here, you must flaunt your wealth, subjugate and deride the poor, and generally be an asshole. If you are born poor you will remain so and be a humble servant to your richer masters. The income inequality in this country is sickening – although not as much as the attitudes that go along with it. Overall, Í’m very glad my work contract here is ending, and will never come back here, that’s for sure.
why gringos always say latin chics are bitches?
dou you haver an idea what your chics do in mexico?i got laid with manny gringuitas myself ..mmm yummy gringas pussy
but im not gonna call them bitches..they are just frindly and polite
im glad mexico is not in your fucking list by the way
Oh don’t worry, we get up to plenty with Latin women as well, just the classy ones mind you, not the dregs.
If American women are so better why do you look for Latin american women?
I think the answer is obvious but you don´t have what it takes to say it out loud…
Chile have one of the biggest and better selection of sea food in the world (and don’t forget cheap) and you bother to talk about or completos, which is only fast food? SERIOUSLY? Plus, Chile has plenty of soul, if you bother to go outside os Santiago, specially in the south. Did you go to Chiloe, for example? Ok. Really. I don’t even know why I am writing here.
accurate description of latrin america and the latrine american ilk. all of them are favella born back stabbing dishonest bastard mother fuckers. their sole aim is to live off other people and other countries.
Hopefully you stay on your hellhole of America please…at least we have better women…
I can’t speak for Latin America as a whole, but I have traveled to Mexico as well as Colombia and the island of San Andres off the coast of Nicaragua which also happens to be part of Colombia. While some of the posts would definitely imply that some countries are like this, I myself grew up in Chicago and i’m not latino, i’m Jewish, Russian and Romanian and I met my wife in Colombia, I’ve been there 4 times and have had nothing but positive things to say, of course you will find problems there if you look for those problems but if you stay around good people who you can trust and don’t volunteer too much about yourself then you will be fine.
My wife is definitely not a gold digger, we help each other out and her family treats me good. Colombia is a very diverse country and so if you go to Bogota or Barranquilla, Cali or Cartagena then you will have a different experience with the culture and people.
I have had situations where I “should” have been the stupid American gringo who got robbed, ended up losing all my money and being the sucker but it was the opposite. Colombia to me felt like the US was in the 50′s or something, very conservative culture in general again as long as you are looking for that stuff. My wife attends a baptist church and in general tend to be quite conservative.
I remember a situation where I figured I was screwed where I had forgotten my wallet on San Andres island and figured “well there goes 500 USD”. The ladies at the restaurant were screaming at my wife and I running after us on our scooter trying to hand back the wallet and nothing went missing, everything was intact.
I remember how friendly the staff was in San Andres, they cut us all kinds of deals for diving trips and tours on the island, most people asked me where I was from and wanted to talk about Florida, just very friendly people.
Bogota, the people are very reserved and quiet, somewhat serious but the taxi drivers like to have conversations. Some things are that the traffic is bad, and if you go certain areas and look for trouble then there is a lot of violence in those areas. I don’t like the transmileno just because it isn’t safe and very uncomfortable.
Barranquilla the people seemed very relaxed and have fun, i don’t think I saw anyone depressed there though I’m sure it exists, just not often.
Cartagena was very beautiful in terms of the colonial architecture.
I was really sick on my third trip there with a inflamed gallbladder which I didn’t know about until my wife and her mother took me to the hospital there and my wifes mother was able to get me in there without really paying anything, just for the medication pretty much.
I think the generalizations, it sounds like you had a bad experience in medellin which my wife has mentioned that the paisas are generally more materialistic and what not but that’s like going to France and saying Paris represents the whole country.
You should give it another try.
Sounds like you’ve had nothing but great experiences. Thanks for sharing.
Dude—let me get this straight: You HATE American exported culture(malls,McD’s,BK) AND you hate Latin America. Why did you leave the dtates then? Oh Right I forgot: You HATE America,too. WTF? You’re the kind of A-hole that takes a trip to Antarctica and complains about the ICE. LOL!
I was about to write a serious reply, but your comment just cracked me up.
Interesting article to say the least, I agree mainly about the things regarding Chile and Argentina. But Brazil IS that great and so are the Brazilians they’re my favorite latins, btw everything you said about their character is better fitting for Argentinians in fact within latin America Argentinians have exactly that reputation in most of the countries. (Arrogant, conceited, enormous ego, think the surrounding countries are so inferior etc)
I think your comments about language were stupid and uninformed unless you happen to speak Spanish and Portugues yourself But as a generic gringo I wouldnt expect you to make an opinion of value regarding languages.
Anyway I also agree that the big latinamerican cities are quite dirty and polluted and soul-killing but that’s why you should have looked for the less known smaller cities or towns, which is where you’ll find the countries’ true charm and esence.
One more thing, you totally missed Mexico, Idk why you wouldn’t mention Mexico in your article considering it’s one of the most prominent and famous latinamerican countries, not to mention your neighbours. Have you not traveled there yet or is there another reason? I hope you’ll reply to me.
That’s all, cheers.
Yes, I’ve been to Mexico and I actually like the country. The people love gringos, and in general I’ve had good experience there. So, I really couldn’t come up with much negative off the top of my head.
And, yes, I speak both Spanish and Portuguese.
Well I wasn’t expecting that, that’s cool.
Cheers-
You might as well hate the whole world. Lol
Your so mean.
I wish he was being mean, but unfortunately it rings true. I’m an Australian that has also travelled most of Asia, Europe and South America over many years and via subconscious comparisons you start to notice societal traits that packaged-holiday-makers and even locals seldom notice. That includes returning to my home country and finally understanding what foreigners meant when they thought of Australians as crazy drunks.
In every country I have been to in South America I have met friendly, generous individuals. But, mostly due to my own ignorance, I long had the misconception that South America on the whole was going to be full of fun-loving, laid-back, happy-go-lucky siesta & fiesta folk. It is simply not. As an Australian, I have the luxury to believe that once you have health, food and shelter you don’t need money to make you happy, especially considering the high number of depressed individuals in rich countries like Australia and Northern Europe.
Compared with 36 other countries, however, South America does appear as a continent full of depressed and more importantly, angry people. Asia ripped me off with a smile. South America ripped me off with a frown. Brazil, percentage-wise, does have more “smilers” and less interpersonal aggressiveness, but I was saddened to see a culture (like my own) that can’t separate fun from drinking.
People that spend time in nice hotels or travel with local friends and family are the ones least likely to relate. Why? Hotels provide artificial friendliness and being toured by a friendly local detracts away from these negative observations. That’s why couchsurfing is great.
One more thing – NEVER trust the reviews from a backpacking drug-user (or heavy drinker for that matter). Their reviews are very one-sided – especially with regards to Peru, Bolivia, Morocco and India, where their main sight-seeing happened in their minds
.
Hey Ted,
.”
Excellent feedback. Thanks for coming in and sharing your thoughts. This is golden advice: “One more thing – NEVER trust the reviews from a backpacking drug-user (or heavy drinker for that matter). Their reviews are very one-sided – especially with regards to Peru, Bolivia, Morocco and India, where their main sight-seeing happened in their minds
I should also add given White America’s continued mistreatment of African-Americans we should hate ever White person born, but we’re not interested in that. You are digging your own grave, you don’t need our help…
Its funny your comment about argentina… We are arrogants. I would disagree most part of it nonetheless, cause you are only talking about capital city, and only people from the expensive zone of it; at most 10000 argentinians (not much) for make those kind of judgement. Every comment is a readaptation of well knoen stereotypes. We have always been called arrogant, but you can also understand that in the most part id because when people from usa and eeuu we never hide ourselves and accept the critics quietly and act like servants. Thats pride not arrogance. Arrogance is a country like usa were been south-american es being a second clase citizen or worse; places were we are suspect just for not being born there. And im sorry but i dont know where did you eat, but i disagree with you. We never eat soap whats the matter with that ¿? Is the people from misiones arrogant or the peope from Corrientes or formosa or Salta¿? Misinformation with a lot of common places. For my consideration you travel a lot and live in a handfull of places but in your heart you never go away from yourself and from the common places you learn before the trips.
I mean USA and EU
To add more. We are mixture culture, the arrogant part come from the white european sense of superiority, the land that you love sooo much. But you can see our latin america is much more open if you look that even though we are young countries the people in here come from everywhere not like the euro killers. Also yes we are taken as arrogant by other latin americans, but selfishnes is just not true. We have welcome to stay millions and millions of inmigrants and have never reinforce the inmigrant policy, because we belive its good for people who are in need to be welcome if they want to work. Also is you the one who wright the post refering to people and societys in humillianting terms so whose the selfish, ignorant and arrogant. I love all my neighbour countrys from the bottom of my character.
And i will tell this, no matter where you came for, if your a traveller in need you will always find someone to help in here, perticulary in the country side were people invites you to eat even when they dont have mony for themselves.
The hospitals are free and open to any citizen of the world; and you´ll be lok for the same as anyone born in here for free (go to a public hospital and it will amaze you the extended number of foreigners working and in tratment.
Our number one university is the same, free and open to anyone from anywhere, 12000 foreigners are now a day in the public universtity for free. So where is the famous arrogant. We are the number 7 country in chose by US student, wich is amazing if you correlate with our not so wealthy position in the world. Also the foreigner population in universitys have grow 55,7% in the las 5 years. If america was under this situation tipically will develop rules and laws to limite migration; what we “the arrogants” do¿? We create UBA INTERNCAIONAL to inform all about how to came studying here, all our careers and university programs.
Also our such call blind countrys to foreigners have develop a program in wich there is no need for passport in between any country of latin america. Do YOU even know the things that your beloved country ask me to go there to study, even with a full paid win schoolarship, or just to visit my cousins. Do you know how many things the EU ask.
It is fair to call us arrogants under the lights of facts or Latin americans in general called selfishness. Compared to whom, not certainly with your society, or EU society. So chill out open your eyes cause its not right to ask for light with the eyes closed or hear music with plugged ears.
About all the comments on womens, love and sex are cultural thing so get over it. And the next time you talk about us
And we dont ask anything for that, but you also take away the only thing that we think we deserve- recognition.
i mean it is not fair to.. in the last paragraph
Latin America represents the poorest regions in the America continent so with poverty, you’ll get crime, poor living conditions, and a dark side in all these countries. However, The fact that someone like myself who have been a complete loser with women and being social in the U.S. can have a many girlfriends and an ounce of a social life makes me overlook the social problems that exist in these countries.
Thanks for generalizing Latin American countries. You could basically make swooping generalizations about any country in the world (including the U.S.). As someone who was born in Brazil I find it highly offensive. Every country has its dark side. It’s funny because I know several foreigners who have been to Brazil and loved it there…with one of the reasons being how warm and welcoming Brazilians are. And all of the Brazilians I know have never spoken badly of other surrounding countries as if they were ‘inferior’. The only country they have beef with is Argentina, but the majority of that comes from their soccer rivalry. And yes, Brazil has a horrible amount of favelas and racial segregation, unfortunately. But so do a lot of third world countries…or do you not expect that?
I’d like to know how much time you spent in each of these countries in order to be such a guru on how crappy they are. Also, how many cities have you actually visited in these countries too? Since the way of living can vary greatly depending on the city
Sure, there can be ignorant and obnoxious Brazilians, Argentinians, Venezuelans, etc. But there are also a lot of other people like that in any part of the world.
So basically you are a 33 year old traveller that spend his money travelling to places that hate just to put it on his blog? Pretty interesting.
I’m Argentinian btw, and our spanish is far from better than anyone in the world (no,i’m not sounding Arrogant is just the true).
your are an asshole mariano no doubt, dont worry i will fuck your daughter up the ass! ha!
And you paco a typical American dogshit
Europe and USA sucks .
Brazil is the best !!!!!!!!!!
An oversimplification of a large region but in essence right on. I would lump all of the countries listed into one however as there is not a dollar’s worth of difference in language (except for Brazil), food, culture, attitude and behavior in the whole bunch from Mexico to Argentina. My take as to the reason? People who grow older but never grow up. (Especially the males.) A region of 20 and 30 somethings, as everybody is under age 40, who not only never got beyond middle school but also not beyond age 14 in mentality and emotional maturity, both men and women. Dealing with a city of teenagers in attitude and maturity every day will take a toll on you as this blogger explicity details. They are so ignorant they do not know they are ignorant. Cheers.
I could say that Usa don’t get me overwhelmed AT ALL….I could say that education culture in usa doesn’t exist, everything is turning around the superficiality, and the “Social” worries, it doesnt’ matter how do you feel, what do you want to do in your life, how you can change the world, I only see children worried about themselves and their popularity and their “coolness” trying to be famous and no more, I only see how young people insults everyone who is in their way, I only see tragedies in their families, with a lot of stupid problems about their parents, I only see how children say ” I’m ashamed because of my parents, I’m goint to go away to antoher state” AND THAT’S ALL, the egoism in North america is CRITICAL, they don’t know where is USA in the worldmap….I could say if you don’t change the way of your children’s lifes, you are going to kill all the things that your ancestors have done some time ago.
I, too, am an American-born Jew (Georgia) married to a Colombian woman.
As for your list, I have only been to Colombia, and only to Bogota, Cali and Popayan (where my wife is from).
I can’t say I agree with your assessment. I’ve had nothing but good experiences in Colombia. I’ve been six times, mostly in Cauca. While I’ve met some shallow people (and some wonderful ones), and sometimes felt less than safe (mostly in Cali), I love Colombia. My wife and I have a daughter, almost a year old, and my wife recently got her visa for living in the U.S.
There are some things that you are right about. Some of my wife’s friends are flaky, but l don’t care because I’m with her, and not them. There is a lot of drama in her family, but there is in mine, too.
I hope to visit some other countries, and the Caribbean part of Colombia and Medellin. But I could easily live in Popayan, and probably in Bogota.
latin americans are the most horrendous people period!!! liars, arrogant for no reason, did i mention dishonest, pigs!
I am an English that lives in Argentina and you have the slightest idea of this country.
What you said about Argentina can be turned around and said about the States:
If you are new to the English language and want to know what the word ‘arrogance’ means, look no further and just head to the U.S. Thecountry and their residents pretty much personify the word. Somehow the locals, called , never learned geography in high school, and think they’re part of Europe, not North America.
The language they speak is up for debate. A tale has is that it’s an indigenous language first spoken by the local tribes after they came in contact with the English settlers. I beg to differ. It sounds more like a drunk English tourist trying to speak a beginner level English, but eventually stumbles and fails because of too much beer.
American food revolves around three things: overhyped hamburger, crappy pizza, and edible pasta. Anything else and you’re out of luck. Want to stumble an American? Ask them where is Mexico. Try it, it’s fun.
It seems this guy have only travel to some cities in Latin America for a short period and knows nothing about the countries he is talking about. Seems he is very close minded and thinking like a “gringo”. By the way the “cuy” or guinea is not the main dish in popular, in fact you can only find it in the highlands. Peruvian food is very varied. Regarding your comment about Miraflores having a Mc Donalds every corner or block, well… There is only one in Miraflores… Regarding the weather being grey, half of the year it is and half is not. I’ve been to all the countries you mentioned and have lived in Europe and in the U.S. Every time I go ANY place I try to see the good things… not the bad thing… Don’t ever returned to Latin American you ignorant gringo! No wonder why Americans are hated worldwide!!!!!
Does this guy even speak Spanish and tried to live more like a local and not a gringo? I guess not…. We all know “these people” don’t have like to speak other language but English….
Haha, thanks. Everybody takes it easy, and just enjoyed it.
I have traveled to Argentina and Brazil many many times, I have
to agree some of your observations. Argentines do eat crappy/blend food
in general, although there are still many good restaurants.
Many times I was not impressed by the Portenor friend’s recommendations.
To many Americans and Europeans, they tend to look a little arrogant, just
like Spanish. oops. But they are good people, once you are in their friends circle.
I think Argentines, Spanish/Italians and Koreans are very proud people. Arrogance
reflects low self esteem. People from the above 4 small countries try to show that
they are “big”.
Argentina steak is really good, better than what you have at most of US restaurants.
The pizza described by locals as ” muy muy rico” is very average, they are usually
served on wooden plates, which is cool. It stays warm for a long while. I always wonder
if the plates are thoroughly cleaned. Most of the time they just wipe it off. Pasta is very mediocre, but you can find really good pastas at a few places, like la recova, a place
old fashion Italian food is made. Argentines like really blend food, to make it exciting,
the food is made very salty and they drink strong coffee. Most Argentines are not
exposed to sophisticated food, they eat pretty simple. One of the exotic food they
can accept is Japanese food, which is also blend.
But you failed to mention one thing from Argentina, they have beautiful women. Good
looking people are every where. One can tolerate an arrogant beautiful woman for a
romantic night. Check it out.
como hablas espaniol entonces seras capaz de entender estas palabras: no entiendo que fin tiene tu blog, hay tantas cosas mas importantes de que escribir y de que hablar, creo que deberias dedicar tu tiempo a hacer algo provechoso por tu vida, derrepente algun dia llegues a ser algo mas que un simple viajero.
Gracias por tu comentario, Pamela. Creo que tienes razon.
“The Dark
, If I ever require a troll traveller who reviews nothing but bad stuff about whatever place he goes to and claims superiority based on his deep pocket, you will be a shoe-in for the job ;D, tschuss. By the way, I’m not latino I’m just an incredibly awesome good looking 23 year olde Austrian man. :-3
Side of Latin America Nobody Talks
About” lol really?, as far as I’m concerned, Latin America has never been known for being a nice place to live, unless you run a drug-trafficking cartel, and while it’s true that Latin America sucks in every way I can think of, I find it a bit ironic that an American is complaining about other countries’ food and culture when it’s a well known fact that America has no culture other than country music and food over there resolves around one thing and one alone, namely, mass produced low quality greasy overcaloried scummy fast food, and so I can deduce from the simple observation of your post that it was chiefly aimed at causing a major kerfuffle among latinos which isn’t very hard at all considering how uptight they are about their nationality and culuture, but in all honesty America is on its own way to becoming a third world country
I only half agree with you analysis of Brazil, but their superficial contempt for Spanish language or Spanish culture is a lot deeper than what you make it out to be. In the U.S., in Canada, and in Western Europe, after everyone learns English they learn Spanish (or French) … NEVER portuguese. Spanish is a worldwide language, and it’s even gaining interest in China and Japan. NOT portuguese. No one wants to learn portuguese, and foreigners that go to Brazil can probably get by if they know a little Spanish, which further infuriates and marginalizes the portuguese speaker.
So it’s more of an insecurity/chip on their shoulder than a true “i’m better than you” attitude.
“So it’s more of an insecurity/chip on their shoulder than a true “i’m better than you” attitude.”
I certainly wouldn’t be insecure and would have a problem if you marginalize a language that’s spoken by over 215 million native speakers world wide.
I also initially spoke Spanish when I started living in Brazil, but over time learned better
I respect your opinion, but man, the spanish from Argentina is beautiful, Peru’s kitchen is one of the best of the world. Venezuelan, Colombian and Cubans girls are hot as hell.
Latam has everything, beaches, fruits, models, futbol, music, and so on. Crime too.
So good luck in your next travel to Serbia or Lituania. Dont be so arrogant and you will connect with a lot of girls.
Oscar:
Thanks for your respectful feedback.
Last time i checked a gringo was a foreigner who didnt speak Spanish or Portugese… this guys speaks both, so one, not a gringo, and two, not dumb either. How many people here can claim they speak at least three languages? If your response was to insult the guy then all you accomplished was to prove the stereotypes he is generalizing on. Have your read the other blogs where he bashes on Americans as well? Just because its your turn doesn’t mean he feels superior to you. So he had some bad experiences and is venting them out, let him, its his right to do so. Instead people take to insult and call names on Americans. You are upset because he generalizes on a certain country by only experiencing a small percentage of their population; then you call him out and do the same by saying all Americans are that way. Why not provide some constructive criticism? Remember one fact… The US has the most immigrants percentages from all over the world, every country mentioned on this post has expatriates living in the US. So when you generalize and call all of us this or that, you are calling yourself the same. All these immigrants are now US citizens too, and thus are Americans too.
For those that bash on the US, have you ever considered the interactions the US has in Latin America are done jointly with your governments? You as the citizen may not like it but don’t take it out on us for our government looking out for our people’s interests if your government doesn’t look out for yours. There are many countries out there that say no to the US on a regular basis. Why can’t yours?
To the drug comment, yes, demand in the US is ridiculous and we are the driving factor for it. But if your governments weren’t so corrupt and allow it, maybe it would come from a different continent. Don’t blame us for your governments lack of ability to protect its citizens or control drugs being grown/transited through your country.
Now I’m not saying by any stretch of the imagination that as a country we don’t have issues, because we sure do and have plenty of them. Everything said on here can be applied in some shape or form to our people. Our own young history shows how messed up we can be. What I’m saying is stop being so damn judge mental and if you don’t agree don’t take to insults, instead prove the writer wrong. Remember this, when you make an assumption of the American people as a whole you are making an assumption of over a quarter of a billion people.
And before anyone makes the assumption, I am a Latino born and raised. I speak fluent Spanish, Portugese, Italian and English. I live in the US now and a proud citizen of this nation.
Well said, Tony.
Good to finally have some common sense on this post.
Hello! Im brazilian, and i have to agree with most of things you said
An average brazilian has a very low cultural level, i just hate being brazilian!
Why wasnt i born in a place like Australia or New Zealand ?? im planning to move soon!
See ya
This was funny for me to read as an Australian, because foreigners (and some Australians!) generally say the same thing about Australia (low level of culture, little awareness of other countries, etc.) I don’t think I can see the date of your comment but if you see this and have already moved, do tell how it went
And you didn’t mention another country: costa rica, the centralamerican switzerland, wow!! Expensive fucking country, full of flakiness and non caring, dunno what’s wrong with this country, lets start with the hora tico, this said is the habit of arriving late to any appointment, no matter what, yours daughter’s wedding, your heart transplant or a job interview, and not only in the individual regards but in the wait party regards, it’s not uncommon that you dentist see you after a 45 minutes wait, neither waiting 2 hours for an appointment in a hospital for a 10 minutes check. There are just 2 things in this country that start sharp scheduled time: football games and mise (catholic churches). And the taxes..oh the taxes, you get taxed by 30% of your income just to get politicians fat, if you wanna build something you gotta bribe the patent office, the inspector and others involved. 30 years delayed in infrastructure and ways, roads and transportation mediums, near India driving nightmare, not so far from this.
“hora tico” — I wonder if it’s as bad as in Brazil.
Interesting insight about CR.
Please do not come to Europe, you are not wanted. Your analysis is poor and stupid. You suck. Please Die.
I’m already here. Now what?
Ok, now could you inform your american seniors citizens moving in here (Florinopolis) in bunches, about the racial segregation, shawty towns, blablabla. I think they would blend better in Miami or Europe. The flowers shirts and big khaki shorts are ruining the landscape. And there is no need for all that saudade. Pay your fee and welcome back.
Ecuador
Off all travelers know that passes through Ecuador, a small number came out totally unscathed. <- Well at least not raise our students school shootings, not get beat free of'' 'youths'
in flash robs in the streets. parks or public places etc etc etc.
For regular travelers, away from the rat race brave first world, a trip to Ecuador offers a unique cultural experience. One way is assaulted, either during daylight or while stumbling home from bars in Quito, the capital. Another method, more sinister is when someone cut a large hole in the bag and empties it into one of those long bus rides. <- Channon Christian and Christopher Newsom
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murders_of_Channon_Christian_and_Christopher_Newsom <- they were just walking around and look what happened to them that in the'' first world'' U.S., some are just not brave sewer rats and criminals above .
It is a small country infested crime uninteresting that offers absolutely nothing but the visitor can not be found in the countries surrounding the crime infested large. <- Much more interesting than the boring lengthy, unpleasant, and more amorphous Surely a U.S. violent'' interesting'' I see what it is
Dustin Weinstein June 3, 2012
No, no, dear, America (America is not just the United States learn geography) actually looks in other countries, such as Syria, who are killing people and tries to intervene in some way. Latin America has not sent any of its representatives away defying Syrian bloodshed, or comments about the atrocities. <- Sponsored bloodshed Lobby Criminal indeed based in New York and London associated with the European Union by which'' elected'' as you feel empathy and that is competing for control of the world along with Russia and China When was the last time Brazil came to another country to help them with their resort all the money? I rest my case. <- As a country that sees'' enemies'' everywhere'' and believed the only democracy in the Middle East'', which does not help anyone and rather want to stick in his war on other countries that have neither art nor part in those claims matters.
Ecuador
Off all the travelers who I know that passed through Ecuador, a small number came away completely unscathed.
To a common traveler, getting away from the gritty rat-race of the first world, a trip to Ecuador offers a unique cultural experience. One way is to get mugged either during broad daylight or while staggering home from bars in Quito, the country’s capital. Another, more sinister method is when someone cuts a large hole in your bag and empties it on one of those long bus rides.
It’s a small, crime-infested, uninteresting country that offers absolutely nothing else to the visitor that can’t be found in the surrounding big crime infested countries.
Ecuador is a Great Nation
for indeed I have nothing to do with the socialist idiots <- in the U.S. they are called liberals who can give some negative image of Latin America, we call them social malcontents love tees che, convoluted speeches and blah blah but they're hypocrites amoral crooks, hustlers of unbridled, self-centered and lovers of luxury at the expense of taxpayers' money surely this maverick came upon them and think that all are equal, because not all are equal.
paco November 7, 2012
The Latin American people are the most horrendous period! liars, arrogant without reason, did I mention dishonest, pigs!
Hum see guys like you (nationality ?) Are careerists nasty-uncomplexed-inmoral-oligophrenic Pharisees prone to the arrogance and the violence
ALL thief judged by its own condition .
You say that Caracas sucks-it is a dangerous,dirty city…..well, tell me- isn’t Rio exactly the same? It is one of the most dangerous cities of the world and not the cleanest one….but on the other hand both Caracas and Rio-de-Janeiro have friendly,open-hearted locals, excellent beaches,awesome climate,gems of architecture…..they are pretty alike each other, though agreed-along with attractions they have lots of problems,which to my mind doesn’t mean tourists should skip them….Can not totally agree about Chile and Argentina-my friends from these countries are the same friendly and pleasant as my Brazilian friends……
Good morning.
I was fortunate enough to come across your website and more specifically, this blog entry and after reading my way through it and some of the hillarious comments done to you by some Latinos, I felt like I should also participate in the ongoing discussion.
For some reasons I will never fathom, I was born in South America. The thing is, I never felt like one of “them”. I was always an outcast, an outsider and even though this state led to suffering of certain degree, it all changed as soon as I had the opportunity to live abroad. I was fortunate enough to be able to view Latin America as a whole from the distance. It was then when I realized how lucky I was that I was never really one of “them”.
True, the continent is full of different ethnicities. Consequently, you may find the weirdest-looking human specimens there. That doesn’t necessarily mean they differ from each other greatly when it comes to a nation’s mentality. Latin American culture is, in a nutshell, not the kind of culture that fosters education, intellect and knowledge. For “them”, it is all about having fun, being stupid, living life like there is no tomorrow, not being serious, not trascending, being useless. I could go on and rant about Latin women and men and their ways, but that would take up too much of my time ( a precious ressource).
The thing that bothers me the most is the Latino’s tendence to complain about racism when he is living abroad. Apparently, they never sat down and reflected upon the social problems and inequality that keeps certain ethnicities at the lowest stage of the pyramid. What I want to say is: Latin Americans are racist. Even more so than White people in Europe and the USA.
There is so much more I’d like to say, but I am running out of time. I hope this comment will be published and will be read by a proud Latino that will do nothing but respond to it in the most primitive way thinkable.
Greetings,
EGP.
“For some reasons I will never fathom, I was born in South America. The thing is, I never felt like one of “them”. I was always an outcast, an outsider and even though this state led to suffering of certain degree, it all changed as soon as I had the opportunity to live abroad. I was fortunate enough to be able to view Latin America as a whole from the distance. It was then when I realized how lucky I was that I was never really one of “them”.”
Which country?
Thanks for an interesting perspective.
“Which country?”
I am afraid that is not relevant.
“Thanks for an interesting perspective.”
In all honesty I expected a more lenghty response.
of course you all get mugged and talked shit to. your white. its called reparations, dicks. and you wanna talk about uneducated, ignorant people. Ummm, have you heard of the Jersey Shore? Southern American cultures like the mayans are recognized as centers of knowledge that helped shaped scientific knowledge today. The reason its fucked up is because Europeans, otherwise known as white folk, came with their disease infested asses and raped everything from the women to the land. The root problem with the world: WHITE PEOPLE.
I love how you talk about the Mayas and you didn’t get their geographical location right.
Go back to school, please.
I find Latin American women unacceptable whores. All they care is man’s money and good looks. I have good looks, but am not the TOP 10. Brazilian fat whores, who look Blackish-Afro wanted date me, but now they noticed I am not TOP 5 looks and they got slimmer, so no more interested! They are living an impossible dream to find a Top Model Man with 50 Million in his Bank Account! Even the ugly Latin whores seek the best looking and richest man. Same applies to most USA women. I am European and I love Asian and European women and I vomit on all “American” (including) Latin women who got no soul and are just gold digging whores. Brazilian, Venezuelan etc. whores, fuck yourselves with dildos and don’t come bitchin’ to me when you get ugly, fat and old!
1. Things must have changed so much for the worse when Chavez took power in Venezuela. One of my former grade school teachers taught there for 12 years and she reputedly had a great time there. Of course, she wasn’t living in Caracas and she was teaching the kids of the OPEC magnates, living in a good subsidized apartment and earning her salary in US dollars, so I’m sure her experience was atypical. As soon as Chavez took over, though, she could see the handwriting on the wall and so left the country.
2. I’ve known two Venezuelans in my life. Both are decent guys, but have spent a lot of time here in the US. One is gay and has a bit of Italian heritage in his family. Both speak about Venezuela in negative terms, especially Caracas.
3. Any info about Bolivia, Paraguay, or Uruguay? My contact with South Americans has been scant, but the one Venezuelan I know told me that Uruguayans tend to think that their shit doesn’t stink. About as snobbish or probably a bit worse than the Argentinians.
Maverick You are the one who SUCKS.
YOU´RE SO FUC*ING STUPID.
hey guys…I jjust wana say that the whole american continent sucks…from an european point of view…at least in the us are civilized…but latin america…is like give me a break…you pay first world prices for almost everything getting third world service…I am sorry for tose who actually are nice…but really my long experience is being really dissapointed in terms of the quality of people rather than something else…
I see many americans and latin americans in europe…and they just dont match there…
instead to match in latin america you just have to play the fake role everyone does…
I am Bolivian and had a tourism company recommended by Lonely Planet, Footprint and other well know traveler guides until I decided it was enough for me to work with egotistical and unpolite tourists who pretended to get a 5 star service with a penny. In the end, I got tired of people who used to ramble around scary dirty and dangerous areas that I, a local, would never ever dare to visit, but oh my God, tourists still love to go there and know them just because travel guides like to point out the freaky folky sterotypical side of countries and not their best, peaceful, ordered side, because this one, to them, is not “typically Bolivian” (as some tourists used to say) or is “too expensive” to clients who claim that when it is time to pay but afterwards comment on their friends “how cheap is Bolivia!”
If this seems surprasing, it is not more than those tourists who eat at places where I, a local, would never ever eat because of their obvious dirtiness and unsafeness, but they eat at those places anyway and then complain they got a stomachache. If this last point seems incredible, then I remember why I finally decided to sell my former company and walk away when clients always tried to push down prices and get the cheapest service despite our recommendations to go safe and “get what they pay”. Anyway, they used to choose cheap instead on quality and when they got a bad service they naturally complained and got mad with the country in general.
About your comments, it seem so biased and subjective to qualify people based on how you perceive them rather than how people really are. When I went to some Asian countries, sometimes I used to think their people were too cold or aloof or when I went to United States, to be careful when speaking with men, because they would think on me as a “flirtatious” girl, just because Latin people tend to smile more when speaking with others or we, women like to dress up in a more formal way than other countries´s women don´t. We, Latin women are not golden diggers, and if they exist, you may find them throughout all the planet and countries.. Maybe some ple here may think that your women are so “plain jain” and despise them as insipid or graceless. Or even think that here women are harder to get sexually than “gringas”, who some Latinos might despise mistakenly as “easy”. It is just a matter of subjective impressions and a lack of understanding and cutural biases. So, I find your appreciations strongly biased and subjective when it comes to how people appeal to you but it does not surprises me too much, because some people like tend to despise new different things as evil, wrong or twisted, just because ot their lack of open mindeness. How petty is that a person with an average level of intelligence and below from the media cultural level comes to patronize and state that all we should be stupid just because you had some bad experiences when traveling and werent enough careful. Throughout all Latin American there are competent, well prepared, respectful people who generally dont tend to stick with greedy backpackers.
And forgot to mention: loud, disrespectful, arrogant, obnoxious people who make so hard to service them that finally I decided it was going to be easier to deal with locals who can afford my services and be more respectful and polite than foreigners. Sad but true.
Brazilians in respect to their disrespect, their boastful pride to their homeland when visiting other nations are no different than the Mexicans, Cubans, or Puerto Ricans who reside here as citizens, applying for citizenship, or on a work Visa/Green (in truth pink) card. I may not be familiar with the Cubans and their old world traditions being from the upper Midwest, but the Mexicans with their Cinco De Mayo, and Dios De Los Muertos which is a savage, heathenistic tradition where you pack a picnic and dine in cemetary. What little I unfortunately know about the Puerto Rican culture like the Mexicans refuse to learn, or if they are fairly fluent they reject speaking it on the phony, irrational, and lame grounds that it deprives them of their heritage, would compare that to the Mexicans, but then again Mexico is not a possession of the United states. We did not receive assets as concessions for our losses in the Spanish/American War but liabilities. Any possessions we acquired from Spain as war reparations should have had state law status forced upon them, that being they had to learn English, oh forgot unlike other nations our nation’s forefathers failed to draft in that by no later than 1900 anyone being considered for citizenship had to already speak fluent English, and have a college degree in a field of genuine value. My opinion is that 98% of all those granted citizenship in this nation since 1960 are about as precious as a virulent plague. I wish that biatch ndchris member through the Huffington post would have read this blog, she seems to think it is us predominantly English speaking U.S. citizens who are insolent because we refuse to learn Spanish. Prior mentioned also disagrees that it is not rude to hold a position as busser here in the U.S. and congregate with others whose language is not foremost English in dining area and babble away in their native tongue. If I omitted any required punctuation, or I was guilty of a run on I can only trust you will not be as critical as Ms English grammar major ndchris.
USA isn`t America, only a part of the American Continent asshole. You are usamerican and not americans. Americans are all the people what we are living in this continent. I recomend you study the origins of the america name.
Tu opinión me molesto al principio; pero debo admitir que algunos de tus comentarios no estan fuera de la verdad. No es en si tu experiencia la que creo ha tocado una llaga en la mayoria que han leido tu articulo, sino los insultos innecesarios que han acompañado tu critica – por que no dejarlo en third-world y quitar el shit hole?
El haber nacido y crecido en Tegucigalpa, viajado a algunos de los paises que mencionas y el haber trabajado con europeos y estadounidenses me ha dado la posibilidad de ver mi cultura a traves de los ojos de otras personas. Si, en general los latinos somos amables y calurosos en un comienzo pero esto no significa que queramos ser amigos de todo el mundo. Si, no somos personas directas y nos incomoda la verdad a secas. Si, tenemos muchos retos en la region y tomamos una actitud pasiva ante casi todo. Si, hay mujeres que son interesadas -tal como las hay en todo el mundo – aunque estas usualmente son las que no tienen acceso a una educación y oportunidades… Si, somos considerados el “tercer mundo” aunque vivamos en el mismo mundo de los del “primer mundo”…Pero esto no significa que todos los latinoamericanos seamos así ni que cada ciudad a la que fuiste sea el reflejo de ese país y de esa cultura. El mundo es tan diverso como cada uno de las personas que lo habitan…
Como alguien te sugirio, talvez si hubieses viajado a las pequeñas aldeas y pueblos tu experiencia hubiese sido diferente. Talvez si hubieses viajado sin ninguna expectativa tu experiencia hubiese sido diferente. Talvez si hubieses cortejado mujeres con educación te sentirias diferente. Talvez si te hubieses quedado por mas tiempo hubieses logrado entender un poco mas la cultura de cada lugar al que fuiste… Y darte cuenta que las diferencias son solo diferencias, no necesariamente buenas ni malas.
Buena suerte en tus proximos viajes, y si decides regresar a Latinoamerica en un futuro espero esta vez puedas reconocer a una cultura que a pesar de todos los retos y problemas lleva el corazón en la piel, encuentra alegria en las cosas pequeñas y que esta dispuesta a compartir lo que tiene (sea muchoo poco) con todo aquel que le visita y este dispuesto a entregar el corazon tal y como nosotros los latinos lo hacemos.
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