Latin American Culture: A Deconstruction of Stereotypes

Abstract

This article addresses and deconstructs some of the most widely held beliefs on Latin America in the United States, and it is based on an analysis of publications (in print and electronic), with emphasis on the past forty years, coupled with statistics and personal observations. Specifically, the article examines the differences and similarities among Latin Americans in eight areas of the Latin American social world—urban-rural subcultures, work, ethnicity, social class, religion, militarism, politics, and family and gender relations—and it questions the widespread idea of a monolithic group as reflected in US popular culture and in the US media.