Learn Facts about Spanish Culture in Latin America and Spain

Spanish and Hispanic Culture
The culture of the Spanish speaking world, most correctly referred to as "Hispanic Culture", has strong ties to Spain, yet has evolved incredibly at each point throughout the world. The Spanish language is spoken throughout Central America, much of South America, Spain, the Philipines, Equatorial Guinea (Africa) and, of course, much of the United States.

One of the interesting facts about the Spanish language in different cultures and countries is that the local influences in each of these regions are strong, and the people, customs, food, music, folklore, literature and culture have evolved distinctly. What is "Spanish" in one place will mean something totally different from what is "Spanish" in another place.

Even the use of the phrase "Spanish Language" is controversial, because in Spain many distinct languages are spoken including Catalan, Galician and Basque, and within each of those languages, even more "dialects". The Spanish spoken in most countries outside of Spain is Castilian, which is the predominant language inside of Spain as well. But a speaker of Catalan is likely to take issue with the use of the word "Spanish" to describe Castilian. After all, Catalan is as "Spanish" as Castilian is, so in many parts of Spain it is important to use the word castellano, Castilian, when refering to the language. Interestingly enough, throughout much of Latin America people will refer to the language they speak as castellano, rather than español, Spanish.

In many parts of the Spanish speaking world, indigenous influence has played an important role in influencing the collective consciousness of people in their respective regions. In addition to having a prominent influence on the culture and way of life of the inhabitants of these Spanish-speaking countries, the Spanish spoken is affected. Therefore, different countries and regions will speak with different accents and use different vocabulary from other words, often times words drawn directly from the languages spoken by the indigenous peoples. For instance, in Mexico the word for "avocado" is aguacate while in Chile the word palta is used. Both of these words are "Spanish" words, but are borrowed from the language of the indigenous people living in the respective regions, before Spanish speaking people immigrated.

Of course, there is much more to culture than simply facts about the difference between words spoken in Spain and the words spoken in Central and South America. Indeed, as any anthropologist would tell you, culture has to do with the customs, traditions, beliefs, foods, costumes and celebrations of the people. But how, exactly, does one go about learning more about Spanish culture. This is an excellent question, and the answer isn't necessarily cut and dry. That's because there are numerous ways to go about discovering, exploring and celebrating the Spanish culture and a long list of countries to go to if you want to learn more about hispanic culture. Indeed, travel is one very sure way of learning more about the people and customs of any of the cultures in the Spanish speaking world.

But even before you go traveling or take a Spanish language course in a country that speaks Spanish, we highly recommend that you learn more about Spanish culture by exposing yourself to the arts and expression of the hispanic peoples. A great way you can do this is by watching DVDs -- not only will you learn a lot about Spanish culture, but you will be able to do so from the comfort of your own home. The following DVDs about Spanish culture are very important because they represent either great cinematic accomplishments, or simply fun facts about Spanish culture. Buy the DVDs below and start learning more about Spanish culture today!

And for a list of the best Spanish movies for Spanish class, click here.

Due to the intense diversity of culture throughout the hispanic worlds, we generally avoid making generalizations about Spanish Culture or Hispanic Culture. Nevertheless, there are features to that which is "hispanic" which are found repeatedly throughout most of Spanish speaking countries and regions. Here are a few academic resources with notes about hispanic culture:

Ohio State University - Hispanic Culture
Yale University - Understanding Hispanic Culture through Children's Literature
University of Texas - Lanic - Hispanic Cultural Resources
Latino Web Sites - A list of resources for those seeking information on Spanish Language and Latino culture in the US. Learn facts about hispanic latino culture in North America and Latin America.