THE 6 MOST OUTSTANDING CULTURAL REGIONS OF AMERICA - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2025

The cultural regions of America are basically two: the Anglo-Saxon and the Latin. However, within each one there is a series of cultures that shape them.

It is worth saying that in a cultural region its inhabitants share all or some cultural elements that define their identity.

Some of these elements are the language, creed, gastronomy and some traditional activities, among others. It is a territory with very similar inhabitants in terms of their cultural features.

The most important cultural regions of America

Anglo-Saxon

It is one of the two most different cultures in America. The countries of the north of the continent (United States and Canada) are its most important representatives.

Other countries such as Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Belize and Jamaica also have this culture.

In these countries, English is the official language given their history as British colonies. Another characteristic they share is that they are traditionally cohesive societies.

At the birth of a social revolution, this culture has developed legislation that tends to protect its citizens from abuses of state power.

As in their continental neighbors, in these nations the population has been concentrated in large cities since European immigration began in the 19th century. So most of its population is urban.

Its inhabitants are estimated at approximately 479 million inhabitants, and it has the second highest percentage of immigrants in the world (14.2% of the total population).

Most of these people are followers of Protestantism. Although most of its inhabitants have European ancestry, they also have a native indigenous population that still survives.

There is an important mestizo and Afro-American presence, and in recent years the number of immigrants of oriental origin has grown.

They have developed urban techniques specially designed to withstand the onslaught of nature, such as tornadoes, typhoons, cyclones, among others.

Its industry has become specialized and sectorized, taking advantage of the resources of each region and the use of technology to maximize production. The different sectors of its economy have developed in an almost harmonious way.

The most important subcultures of the Anglo-Saxon region are:

Anglo-French

Between the 16th and 18th centuries the French established several colonies in different parts of America. Canada, some Antillean islands, and part of Guyana were included in that list.

Over time they were expelled by the Portuguese, or fled due to lack of adaptation to weather conditions or tropical diseases.

However, they still administer French Guiana today and in many of those former colonies manifestations of that European culture are preserved.

Anglo-African

The two routes of arrival of the first Africans to this territory were the slave trade during the Colony and the Caribbean immigration of the 20th century.

In any case, African-Americans today represent 13% of the total population of the United States.

At first they settled in the southeast of the country, but today their population has spread to cities more towards the center.

Hip hop, blues or gospel music are small samples of the African-American influence on the cultural development of this region.

Latin America

Latin American countries (ranging from Mexico to Argentine Patagonia) speak Spanish and Portuguese, which are derived from Latin.

They are countries that have had a history marked by populist and authoritarian political regimes, and by dependence and economic underdevelopment.

Its population is estimated at about 626 million people who inhabit mainly urban areas.

The inhabitants of this extensive region are young people who average 25 years of age, most of them mestizo. Regarding their beliefs, the majority of Latin Americans profess Catholic Christianity.

In relation to literacy, important gaps are noted between the countries that make up the region: Argentina and Chile have over 98% of the literate population, while Guatemala and Haiti are below 75%.

According to the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), this is the most unequal region in the world.

Despite being one of the regions of the world with the greatest biodiversity and with great mineral wealth, its economy is underdeveloped and most of its population is poor.

The primary sector is the basis of its economy, but the lack of investment in modernization and maintenance does not help it to be enough to promote the development of nations.

The cultural manifestations of this region have an important indigenous stamp, but they are not limited to that style since there is also European and African influence.

This cultural region could also be divided into other subcultures, namely:

Andean

Geographically speaking, the Andean cultural area is limited to the central region of the Andes mountain range.

Their traditions include the cult of the dead, pottery, terrace agriculture, pottery and metal alloy work, and a polished number system.

This area is characterized because its environment is dominated by a configuration of the sea, mountains and tropical forest, which determines a large part of its idiosyncrasy and its economy.

The Andean cultural area is also subdivided into:

-Andean area of ​​the extreme north

It includes the basins of the Magdalena and Cauca rivers, the highlands of Bogotá, the Colombian coast and the west coast of Venezuela.

-Northern Andean area

It includes the Ecuadorian territory, the extreme north of Peru and the south of Colombia.

-Central Andean area

It is represented by Peru. It is a sub-area where highly developed pre-Columbian civilizations were located, including the Chavín, Moche, Nazca, Wari, Chimú and Inca cultures.

-South-central Andean area

It includes southern Peru, the entire Bolivian territory, northern Chile, and part of northeastern Argentina.

Its coast is the driest in South America. It sheltered the Atacameño, Tiwanaku and Aymara kingdoms.

-South Andean area

It occupies the center of Chile and almost all of the Argentine northwest.

-South end

It is represented by the Araucanía.

Mesoamerican

Mesoamerica a cultural area that encompasses the southern half of Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Belize, and western Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica. According to various researchers, its history began between the 15th and 12th centuries BC. C.

Its economy is eminently agricultural, which led to its early development of a broad knowledge of natural medicine.

They used writing early and used two calendars. They built stepped pyramids and great temples to honor their gods, or to honor the memory of their rulers.

They practiced nahualism and human sacrifices. Although many of these practices have ceased, some vestiges in their culture still survive, such as the celebration of Santa Muerte in Mexico.

The most important groups that sheltered this area and whose features persist today were the Aztecs, the Olmecs, the Mayans, the Zapotecs and the Mixtecs.

Caribbean

This is a culture developed mainly on the islands located off the coasts of Central and South America.

It is believed that its first inhabitants were indigenous people who lived on the banks of the Orinoco River, in South America, and that they moved to that area around 1200 AD. C.

The Caribs (that group of Amerindians) lived in separate villages and were engaged in building or navigating ships.

They spoke particular indigenous languages, but later they were mixed and languages ​​such as Arawak, Creole and Papiamento, among others, emerged.

The Spanish colonization decimated this population, but it did not disappear. Today some of her descendants can be found in Dominica.

They were polytheists, but today they are, for the most part, practicing religious syncretism with a high dose of Catholic Christianity.

Their society was eminently patriarchal. Later there were Caribs who mixed with black Africans who survived shipwrecks, and thus a new culture was born: the Garífuna.

Today it is estimated that there are 3,000 people who are directly descended from these Caribbean tribes and live in Dominica, but their influence on the culture of the rest of the islands is notorious.

The inhabitants of these islands are characterized by a cheerful mood that is reflected in their music.

Alejo Carpentier in Carifesta (1979), wrote: "Within the extraordinary diversity of the Caribbean there is a common denominator, which is music."

They cultivate cassava or yucca, which is a shrub with a large and fleshy root with palmate leaves and a fruit in the shape of a winged capsule, which is used in the preparation of different dishes. They also developed goldsmithing and carpentry.

African American

Africans arrived in Latin America from the beginning of the 16th century, with their Spanish masters or on ships to work as slaves, and their arrival lasted until the end of the 19th century.

They currently represent almost 30% of the population of the American continent. The slave brought with him his dialects, his culinary customs, his music and his religion.

The yam and the pin, for example, are fruits that arrived with the Africans. It is also the case of the drums with which today the cumbia or the bambasú are played.

His polytheism was disguised before the Spanish colonizer to become the Santeria that has become popular in America.

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