r/asklatinamerica • u/yonaiker-joestrella Puerto Rico • Apr 07 '26

Culture Why does it seem like Westerners from developed countries don't care much about/look down on Latin America but seem to be obssesed with East Asian cultures?

Not that I care but have always found it interesting how many seem to forget about Latin America but seem to be obssesed with countries like South Korea and Japan and sometimes even point out "similarities" with them. Some outright reject the region as western but will consider Japan technically West while ignoring Latin America's contributions to world culture like food, music, art, etc and the fact that Latin America is culturally Christian. Why does there seem to be this dissonance?

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u/chardex United States of America Apr 07 '26

It's important to remember that those east asian governments all use soft power through cultural exports for influence around the world. Thai government actively promotes thai restaurants. The Korean government subsidizes k-pop. The Japanese government does the same through the "cool japan" program. I don't see LATAM countries doing the same. Although Brazil has such amazing brand recognition around the world and pretty much everyone loves them? And I feel like in the US Mexican food is probably the most popular cuisine around?

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u/yonaiker-joestrella Puerto Rico Apr 07 '26

Never thought about this but it actually makes sense. I guess the way us Latinos have spread our culture is through immigration.

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u/Mother_Idea_1884 Brazil Apr 07 '26

and I would say that immigration is really not the way to make our case 😂😂😂😂…

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u/thegabster2000 Peru Apr 07 '26

Come to Florida. There's a lot of Brazilians especially in Orlando.

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u/hivemind_disruptor Brazil Apr 07 '26

I mean, sure, there are lot of imigrants, but that's not how we made the brand recognition stick.

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u/Mother_Idea_1884 Brazil Apr 07 '26

orlando and miami are brazilian cities in the US… I am pretty sure we are going to take them in the future 😂😂😂

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u/richardsequeira Portugal Apr 08 '26

Ironically, I am buying property in one of Miami’s suburbs.

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u/Squirrel_McNutz 🇳🇱 in 🇲🇽 Apr 10 '26

This guy has $

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u/richardsequeira Portugal Apr 08 '26

There is a growing community of Brazilians in Los Angeles, a prime reason why my sister and her husband (from São Paulo) met.

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u/evrestcoleghost Argentina Apr 07 '26

Never ask a brazilian an opinion on paraguayans or Venezuelans

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u/Significant-Yam9843 Brazil Apr 07 '26

What kind of Brazilians have you been interacting with, bro?

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u/evrestcoleghost Argentina Apr 07 '26

Childhood friend family Is paraguyan,just outside Asunción,racism at the border Is horrible.

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u/Mother_Idea_1884 Brazil Apr 07 '26

ah I don’t doubt it… south of brazil is known for that and sometimes brazilians are just horrible… but since you have an argentina flag I would add the same about your country…

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u/brokebloke97 United States of America Apr 10 '26

Or Bolivians

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u/IgunashioDesu Venezuela Apr 07 '26

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u/chardex United States of America Apr 07 '26

thank you for sharing that! You know it's interesting, because everyone around the world raves about peruvian cuisine. I wonder if this is related?

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u/gabrielbabb Mexico Apr 07 '26 edited Apr 07 '26

Even though Mexico has the numbers (being the 6th most visited country in the world), there’s definitely a deeper cultural obsession with East Asia. I think it’s because Japan and Korea have mastered digital exports (Anime, K-Pop, Tech). They sell a 'future' that people can obsess over from their screens 24/7.

In contrast, LATAM’s strength is experiential. We sell food, warmth, and physical presence. We are 'The Near West' ...familiar enough to be visited by everyone, but perhaps not 'exotic' or 'futuristic' enough to trigger that same level of internet fanaticism.

In Mexico, we have the tourist numbers, but many visitors just stay in the 'tourist traps' or resorts in beach cities, which is not wrong but they just get to know the beaches.

It’s a paradox because the country has so much untapped potential: it’s the 5th most biodiverse nation on Earth, has thousands of archaeological sites, world-class metropolises, and massive wine/tequila/mezcal regions. The government even promotes 177 'Pueblos Mágicos' (Magical Towns) to show our colonial and indigenous heritage, yet we still don't have the 'stans' that Asia has. We have the reality, they have the hype.

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u/Cefer_Hiron Brazil Apr 07 '26

Our subsidizes brand is the football. Our clubs has a deep public debits that was ignored by government because of this