Mexico and the United States of America share a borderline approximately of 2000 miles, and both form the same continent. These two countries have different cultures that define their heritage and country. With a large population of immigrants in the United States coming from Mexico, particularly along the borders of the United States of America, the two cultures mix, and can lead to a misunderstanding of the two cultures.
The United States does not have a defined language that people can speak, but with over half of the states in the country to speak American English as the official language. Although English is widely spoken in the United States, statistics show over 100 spoken languages in the United States including Spanish. Mexico, on the other hand, has a defined language across the country. People in Mexico speak Spanish. Mexico is the most populous Spanish-speaking nation in the world.
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Material culture in the United States plays a critical role in defining the overall culture of the United States. The Americans styles vary by status quo, climate and religion. The most common clothing among Americans includes cowboy hats, t-shirts, jeans, sneakers and baseball caps. American fashion is greatly influenced by celebrities. Art in the United States is portrayed in mass media, movies television and radio. Mexicans make clay pots, wool shawls, embroiled cotton clothes and baskets. Mexicans are musicians and are associated with the mariachi style of music. They like playing using guitars, violins and vihuelas. Mexican women are associated with sleeveless dresses called a huipil . The dresses usually include patterns and images that have symbolic meaning. Men, on the other hand, are associated with boots and large clothing called a sarape (Zimmerman, 2017).
It is somewhat hard to identify the behaviors of the Americans since the country has influxes of other ethnic groups. Their greetings are quite informal, and they stand while being greeted and introduced. Americans keep distance while conversing and business are conducted over breakfast lunch and dinner. Mexicans shake hands and bow when greeting an aged person. They stand close together when speaking, and when dining both hands are expected to be on the table.
The American flag is the most common national symbol; it is made up of red stripes and fifty stars. The stripes symbolize thirteen colonies and the fifty stars represents the fifty states. The statue of Liberty is also an iconic symbol in the United States. While the flag is the national symbol of Mexico, the most iconic symbol is the Virgin of Guadalupe, which reflects the influence of Roman Catholicism in the nation. The flag has vertical strips in the green color representing hope, white representing purity and red serving blood.
Therefore, the American and Mexican culture contrast in so many ways. Material objects that define the two cultures are so different. While the Mexicans are artists making clay pots and cotton garments, the Americans style and fashion is greatly influenced by celebrities and their art is displayed more in mass media. The behaviors of the two cultures do not differ that much since behavior goes down to an individual.
References
Zimmerman, K. (2017). American and Mexican Culture. Live Science Contributor, 20-21.
