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Traditionally, people with more European looks and belonging to the middle or high classes are called fresas. Dancing and singing are commonly part of family gatherings, bringing the old and young together, no matter what kind of music is being played, like cumbia , salsa, merengue or the more Mexican banda. Dancing is a strong part of the culture.

Latin American culture

Mexicans in places like Guadalajara , Puebla , Monterrey , Mexico City , and most middle-sized cities, enjoy a great variety of options for leisure. Shopping centers are a favorite among families, since there has been an increasing number of new malls that cater to people of all ages and interests. A large number of them, have multiplex cinemas, international and local restaurants, food courts, cafes, bars, bookstores and most of the international renowned clothing brands are found too. Mexicans are prone to travel within their own country, making short weekend trips to a neighbouring city or town.

The standard of living in Mexico is higher than most of the other countries in Latin America attracting migrants in search for better opportunities.

With the recent economic growth, many high-income families live in single houses, commonly found within a gated community, called "fraccionamiento". The reason these places are the most popular among the middle and upper classes is that they offer a sense of security and provide social status.

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Poorer Mexicans, by contrast, live a harsh life, although they share the importance they grant to family, friends and cultural habits. Local news shows are modeled after American counterparts like the Eyewitness News and Action News formats. Mexico's national sports are charreria and bullfighting. Ancient Mexicans played a ball game which still exists in Northwest Mexico Sinaloa, the game is called Ulama , though it is not a popular sport any more. Most Mexicans enjoy watching bullfights.

Almost all large cities have bullrings. Mexico City has the largest bullring in the world, which seats 55, people. But the favorite sport remains football soccer while baseball is also popular especially in the northern states because of the American influence, and a number of Mexicans have become stars in the US Major Leagues.

Professional wrestling is shown on shows like Lucha Libre.

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American football is practiced at the major universities like UNAM. Basketball has also been gaining popularity, with a number of Mexican players having been drafted to play in the National Basketball Association. The culture of Guatemala reflects strong Mayan and Spanish influences and continues to be defined as a contrast between poor Mayan villagers in the rural highlands, and the urbanized and wealthy mestizos population who occupy the cities and surrounding agricultural plains.

The cuisine of Guatemala reflects the multicultural nature of Guatemala, in that it involves food that differs in taste depending on the region. Guatemala has 22 departments or divisions , each of which has very different food varieties. For example, Antigua Guatemala is well known for its candy which makes use of many local ingredients fruits, seeds and nuts along with honey, condensed milk and other traditional sweeteners. Antigua's candy is very popular when tourists visit the country for the first time and is a great choice in the search for new and interesting flavors.

Many traditional foods are based on Maya cuisine and prominently feature corn, chiles and beans as key ingredients.

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Various dishes may have the same name as a dish from a neighboring country, but may in fact be quite different for example the enchilada or quesadilla , which are nothing like their Mexican counterparts. The music of Guatemala is diverse. Guatemala's national instrument is the marimba , an idiophone from the family of the xylophones, which is played all over the country, even in the remotest corners.

Towns also have wind and percussion bands -week processions, as well as on other occasions. The Garifuna people of Afro-Caribbean descent, who are spread thinly on the northeastern Caribbean coast , have their own distinct varieties of popular and folk music. Cumbia , from the Colombian variety, is also very popular especially among the lower classes. Dozens of Rock bands have emerged in the last two decades, making rock music quite popular among young people.

Guatemala also has an almost five-century-old tradition of art music, spanning from the first liturgical chant and polyphony introduced in to contemporary art music. Much of the music composed in Guatemala from the 16th century to the 19th century has only recently been unearthed by scholars and is being revived by performers.

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Guatemalan literature is famous around the world whether in the indigenous languages present in the country or in Spanish. Though there was likely literature in Guatemala before the arrival of the Spanish, all the texts that exist today were written after their arrival. It is a compendium of Mayan stories and legends, aimed to preserve Mayan traditions.

Due to its combination of historical, mythical, and religious elements, it has been called the Mayan Bible. It is a vital document for understanding the culture of pre-Columbian America. It is thought to date from the 15th century and narrates the mythical and dynastic origins of the Kek'chi' people and their relationships with neighboring peoples.

The 16th century saw the first native-born Guatemalan writers that wrote in Spanish. He was forced into exile by Carlos III.

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He traveled to Mexico and later to Italy, where he did. He originally wrote his Rusticatio Mexicana and his poems praising the bishop Figueredo y Victoria in Latin. The Maya people are known for their brightly colored yarn-based textiles, which are woven into capes, shirts, blouses, huipiles and dresses. Each village has its own distinctive pattern, making it possible to distinguish a person's home town on sight. Women's clothing consists of a shirt and a long skirt. Roman Catholicism combined with the indigenous Maya religion is the unique syncretic religion which prevailed throughout the country and still does in the rural regions.

Beginning from negligible roots prior to , however, Protestant Pentecostalism has grown to become the predominant religion of Guatemala City and other urban centers and down to mid-sized towns. Always depicted in black, he wears a black hat and sits on a chair, often with a cigar placed in his mouth and a gun in his hand, with offerings of tobacco, alcohol and Coca-Cola at his feet.

The locals know him as San Simon of Guatemala. Nicaraguan culture has several distinct strands. The Pacific coast has strong folklore, music and religious traditions, deeply influenced by European culture but enriched with Amerindian sounds and flavors. The Pacific coast of the country was colonized by Spain and has a similar culture to other Spanish-speaking Latin American countries.

The Caribbean coast of the country, on the other hand, was once a British protectorate. English is still predominant in this region and spoken domestically along with Spanish and indigenous languages.

Its culture is similar to that of Caribbean nations that were or are British possessions, such as Jamaica , Belize , The Cayman Islands , etc. Nicaraguan music is a mixture of indigenous and European, especially Spanish and to a lesser extent German, influences. The latter was a result of the German migration to the central-north regions of Las Segovias where Germans settled and brought with them polka music which influenced and evolved into Nicaraguan mazurka, polka and waltz. The Germans that migrated to Nicaragua are speculated to have been from the regions of Germany which were annexed to present-day Poland following the Second World War; hence the genres of mazurka, polka in addition to the waltz.

One of the more famous composers of classical music and Nicaraguan waltz was Jose de la Cruz Mena who was actually not from the northern regions of Nicaragua but rather from the city of Leon in Nicaragua. More nationally identified, however, are musical instruments such as the marimba which is also common across Central America. The marimba of Nicaragua is uniquely played by a sitting performer holding the instrument on his knees.


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It is usually accompanied by a bass fiddle , guitar and guitarrilla a small guitar like a mandolin. This music is played at social functions as a sort of background music. The marimba is made with hardwood plates, placed over bamboo or metal tubes of varying lengths. It is played with two or four hammers. The Caribbean coast of Nicaragua is known for a lively, sensual form of dance music called Palo de Mayo. It is especially loud and celebrated during the Palo de Mayo festival in May The Garifuna community exists in Nicaragua and is known for its popular music called Punta.