History NationalStereotypes / CentralAndSouthAmerica

* '''Venezuela''' is known for its former president Hugo Chavez and his "Chavistas". His successor, Nicolas Maduro, isn't nearly as well-known. Also known for its nationalized oil industry, for having a whole industry dedicated to winning the Miss Universe pageant, and for looooong and {{melodrama}}aaaatic {{Soap Opera}}s.

* The ''favelas'' are perhaps the most negative association the country has to offer. These local slums are full with criminals, drug addicts, gang wars, con artists, pick pockets and corrupt police officers. See also the movies ''Pixote'' and ''Film/CityOfGod''.

* Generally referred to as '''Latin America'''[[note]]Prior to the reign of Napoleon III of France (1848-1870) the term "Hispanoamerica" was much more common, but it has been replaced - even in Spanish - by the term popularized by Napoleon III as a justification for his imperialism[[/note]], because so many countries in this continent either speak Spanish, Portuguese or French (French Guyana). As a result, many Hispanic stereotypes about Spain and Portugal will also be used for Latin-Americans: people prefer having siestas, sing serenades while playing the guitar, women are SpicyLatina and men are [[LatinLover latin lovers]],... Despite this, not all countries in Central and South America have a Latin language based native tongue. There are also some Dutch speaking states (Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao, Sint Maarten, Sint Eustachius, Suriname,...) and English ones (Guyana, Jamaica, The Falklands,...). And, of course, indigenous people also have their own languages.

* Mostly known for bananas.

* Politically and economically, Argentina has suffered the same bad reputation many other Latin-American countries did. It's a never-ending WretchedHive of facist dictators (not anymore), corrupt politicians, economic crisis, extreme inflation, streets blocked with picketers and trade union militants.

* Colombians are noted for giving each other offensive nicknames full of irony or that play against stereotype (like calling an indigenous individual "Gringo", or a white man "Negro"), or assigning contrary attributes to individuals in order to be coy (like calling a gorgeous baby "ugly", or calling a flirtatious individual "dumb"). This is a source of confusion and may be shocking for people not familiar with this custom, and those who come from places where those terms are played straight.

* Panama is also known for its former United States nationals, who resided in the Canal Zone until the canal was surrendered to the Panamanians. Notable US nationals born there include Senator (and former presidential hopeful) John [=McCain=], and [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_A._Murphy,_Jr Edward Murphy Jr.]], the creator of MurphysLaw

* Argentina has the most Caucasian citizens of any Latin American country, along with Uruguay. This makes it somewhat less exotic for North Americans and Europeans, who feel more at home; this is also [[ExploitedTrope played by the Argentine Bureau of Tourism]], which made Buenos Aires the most visited city in Latin America, with heavy contribution of North American and European visitors.

* Apart from soccer icons Argentina also had its fair share of other universally admired, yet controversial heroes, like UsefulNotes/CheGuevara (even though he is more associated with Cuba) and [[UsefulNotes/EvaPeron Evita Peron]] (who has far eclipsed her husband Juan in the public eye).

* In (beat 'em up) videogames, Brazilian characters are prevalent, and generally come in one of two flavours. Firstly, there is the AmbiguouslyBrown, [[FunPersonified exuberant]], grinning DanceBattler type, a depiction no-doubt deriving from the native Capoeira martial art. Examples include Ricardo Maia (owner of the Pao Pao cafe, no less) and Bob Wilson from ''VideoGame/FatalFury'' and also ''VideoGame/{{Tekken}}'''s Eddy Gordo and his ''unbelievably'' [[ForeignFanservice fanservicey]] student Christie Monteiro, who evokes the classic Brazilian carnival queen. The other type is the jungle-dwelling, BeastMan from the Amazon, most famously realized with Blanka, the first Brazilian character from the ''Franchise/StreetFighter'' series (who's actually quite [[MexicansLoveSpeedyGonzales well-loved in his native land]]), as well as Tam Tam & Cham Cham from ''VideoGame/SamuraiShodown'' and Rikuo from ''VideoGame/{{Darkstalkers}}'', who's a straight-up ''Film/CreatureFromTheBlackLagoon'' shout-out.

* The world knows at least two famous Colombians: infamous drug lord Pablo Escobar and pop singer Music/{{Shakira}}. ''Maybe'' Creator/JohnLeguizamo too, but that's it.

** * The Spanish spoken in Colombia, in Bogota in particular, has a reputation of being the "best" spoken Spanish available. This is debatable at best, as while in most cases the Spanish spoken there is easy to understand, it's mainly centered around groups of people with certain levels of affluence/education (the one most commonly shown on TV), as the Spanish spoken by people in Bogota's lower strata can be almost unintelligible to outsiders. This can be rooted in a very common and identifiable problem: barely opening their mouth to speak, and also, talking through their teeth, jaw closed.

* During the mid-1990's, Peruvian television was exported to Colombia due to the rising demand of cable television and private parabolic antennae. As such, Colombians are very well versed in Peruvian media due to the phenomenon they refer to as ''Perubólica'' (Peru-bolic). Colombia and Peru share a frontier through the Amazon (which is sparsely populated and not particularly media-savvy), so very few people in Peru are aware of why Colombians are so good at making fun of them...?

UsefulNotes/{{Guatemala}}
* Guatemala is known for well preserved historical locations, both of Mayan and colonial cultural importance, such as Tikal and Antigua, respectively. It's often depicted as a natural paradise, for its beaches, volcanoes and forests.
* Guatemalans are known to be very divided among themselves, but always friendly to foreigners.

** There's also something unique about Argentine audiences. Their soccer supporters have a special name,''hinchas'', but whether it be a sport match or a musical concert they will always react with tremendous enthusiasm and great gratitude. They even sing entire songs (not just verses!) in the stadiums and change the lyrics into actual chants fit for the occasion. Even when their team is losing they will keep on singing. Other countries started [[FollowTheLeader copying this trend]]. [[labelnote:*]]In a bizarre twist of events the Argentine songs traveled all the way through the Pacific Ocean and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpRKBoCLB18 not even Japanese football fans resisted the urge to make the Argentine songs their own, and so you have extremely bizarre moments like Japanese people singing a song from la Mona Jiménez, a popular singer from the tropical genre called cuarteto. [[/labelnote]]

* In (beat 'em up) videogames, Brazilian characters are prevalent, and generally come in one of two flavours. Firstly, there is the AmbiguouslyBrown, [[FunPersonified exuberant]], grinning DanceBattler type, a depiction no-doubt deriving from the native Capoeira martial art. Examples include Ricardo Maia (owner of the Pao Pao cafe, no less) and Bob Wilson from VideoGame/FatalFury and also VideoGame/{{Tekken}}'s Eddy Gordo and his ''unbelievably'' [[ForeignFanservice fanservicey]] student Christie Monteiro, who evokes the classic Brazilian carnival queen. The other type is the jungle-dwelling, BeastMan from the Amazon, most famously realized with Blanka, the first Brazilian character from the ''StreetFighter'' series (who's actually quite [[MexicansLoveSpeedyGonzales well-loved in his native land]]), as well as Tam Tam & Cham Cham from ''VideoGame/SamuraiShodown'' and Rikuo from ''VideoGame/{{Darkstalkers}}'', who's a straight-up ''Film/CreatureFromTheBlackLagoon'' shout-out.

* Venezuelans expats think themselves as better han their neighbours, and are genuinely baffled when things dob't go well for them. A typical Venezuelan abroad will tell you about the natural beauty of their country and women, and how nice and ''chévere'' their people are, and how much better their "''arepas''" are than the Colombian version (as long as a Colombian isn't present) and how they gave Simon Bolivar the Liberator to the rest of Latin America.

UsefulNotes/{{ElSalvador}}

* They are often confused for Mexicans like other Central American states. Do '''not''' even try to confuse Salvadorans for Mexicans. They don't like it.

[[AC:The Caribbean]]
* The sun always shines. Calypso, mento, reggae, dancehall, soca, rhumba and steelband are constantly being played. There's free fruit everywhere. Everyone is drunk and/or high, and may have a pet parrot. Nobody does any work, they just sit on the beach sipping fruity little drinks or coconut milk. At night, the careless or unlucky might see a voodoo ceremony, especially if they are in Haiti (see [[http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/01/13/pat-robertson-haiti-curse_n_422099.html Pat Robertson after the earthquake there]]). The only serious activities are theft, drug trafficking and even worse crimes. Expect [[WelcomeToTheCaribbeanMon everyone to have a Jamaican accent]], regardless of where they are. Also, the only countries that seem to exist there are Cuba, Haiti and Jamaica (maybe the Bahamas).
* Another association with many of the Caribbean isles are slaves imported from Africa, pirates and strong reminders of still quite recent colonial times.
* The women are usually believed to be incredibly attractive and AmbiguouslyBrown.

UsefulNotes/TheBahamas
* Best known for tropical fishes, sharks, marlins, flamingos, coral riffs and mangrove forests.
* In the past it was a pirates' nest. The infamous buccaneer UsefulNotes/{{Blackbeard}} hid himself here.

UsefulNotes/{{Barbados}}
* Barbados is most famous as a tropical beach resort and the birth place of pop singer Music/{{Rihanna}}.

UsefulNotes/{{Cuba}}
* '''Cubans''' are often depicted as [[CigarChomper heavy smokers of Havana cigars]].
* Within Spanish-speaking countries there's the stereotype that Cubans end all their phrases with the word "Chico", and generally mangle Spanish grammar and/or pronunciation. There is a saying that "the Spanish language was born in Castille and died in Cuba".
* Cubans are often lampooned for their self-given impression that they are more closely related to the Spaniards than the rest of Latin America and don't like to be reminded that there are Tainos and blacks in their country; truth is, almost ''everyone and their mothers'' in Latin America are descendants of the Spanish with varying degrees of generational removal and it's just a fact of life, not particularly noteworthy.
* Inside Cuba people from the province of Pinar Del Rio are seen as somewhat dumb and terrible planners.
* Before 1959 Cuba had a reputation for being a safe haven for maffiosi (famously depicted in ''Film/TheGodfather II''). After the Cuban Revolution the world knows it solely for being one of the few Communist countries left in the world, embodied by president UsefulNotes/FidelCastro. Under his regime Cuba gained a strong reputation for harboring the best doctors and hospitals in the world. The education system also reached high levels compared to other Third World countries. Yet, despite all that, the country still remains a dictatorship and since the fall of the Soviet Union they lost one of their major financial backers.
* Many people have fled Cuba by boat and went to Florida, where they express firm anti-Castro and anti-communist opinions and vote Republican. Castro-hating Cubans are often cast as villains in [[WhoShotJFK JFK conspiracy theories]] because of his debacles with the American intervention on the island. Expatriates from other countries in the USA tend to see Cubans as extremely loud and entitled freeloaders. It doesn't help that they get green cards faster than any other nationality in an apparent American move to spite Castro.
* One of Cuba's most notorious aspects since Castro took over are the numerous old-timer cars that can be seen everywhere. Due to the American boycot of the country they cannot import newer models from there and thus rely on using and repairing the ones that were left there after the revolution.
** This is just a piece of the picture. Well after the Revolution, there WERE cars being imported from the Socialist bloc, but the problem was that no private citizen could legally acquire one, as car ownership was state-regulated to the point that it required a permit signed by the Transportation Minister (yep, the highest Cuban authority on transportation). However, car ownership dating from before the Revolution was not covered by these regs, so these "grandfathered" cars were the only ones that could be legally bought and sold among private citizens. That's the biggest reason for so many vintage cars rolling around in Cuba - they've been rebuilt many times over the years, and they are out of the government's draconian regs concerning car acquisition.
* Musically Cuba is best known for producing several catchy band leaders, singers and dancers, such as Pérez Prado, Benny Moré, Music/CeliaCruz and the Music/BuenaVistaSocialClub.
* One of the most prevalent stereotypes of the Cubans in the United States is associated with the 1980 initiative that Fidel Castro pushed to have most of the inmates in Cuba's jails and mental health facilities, plus their fringe poor to be sent to South Florida in a mass emigration known as the Mariel Boatlift. The Cubans that emigrated were known as the ''Marielitos'', which left a pervasive image of lawlessness among the Cuban population in Florida, prompting the plots of films like ''Film/{{Scarface 1983}}'' and TV shows like ''Series/MiamiVice'' where ''Marielitos'' were portrayed as frequent villains.

UsefulNotes/DominicanRepublic
* '''Dominicans''', are generally lumped in with all other Latin Americans. There is a stereotype (within the African-American community at least) of, like the Cubans, being in denial of any African roots, even if they are obviously of African descent. They also are stereotyped as being baseball enthusiasts who fake their age to play (based on the 2001 case of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danny_Almonte Danny Almonte]] who performed extremely well in the Little League World Series only to find out that he was 14 when the maximum age is 12).
* A stereotype of Dominicans is that among the Spanish-speaking world, no one can understand what the fuck they're saying because they speak so fast. And they say ''coño'' - which means all the words - a lot. As a Dominican, this is all true.
* Dominicans are always thought to be cheating on their spouses. The people doing paternity tests on ''Sábado Gigante'' almost always being Dominican doesn't help it.
* Everything is ridiculously cheap, a middle class person can live or vacation like a king in their gated communities and all inclusive hotels.
* There also a supposed tendency to give children weird names after stuff like objects, professions, baseball players, and even incredibly lame puns.

UsefulNotes/{{Haiti}}
* '''Haitians''', aside from the voodoo things, are seen as pity seekers in search of constant support and help. Even though they are considered to be French speakers, there is a great amount of the population that does not speak an ounce of French; it does not help that most of the contact they have with the world is with the Americas, which are largely English, Spanish and Portuguese speakers, having a language barrier by default. In the USA, Haitians are known to be dutiful, yet extremely conflictive workers who pull the race card more often than not. They are also often seen as living is poverty (especially after the 2010 earthquake) and in horrible living conditions. These negative stereotypes have led to problems in RealLife. At the height of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in TheEighties, there were believed to be the 4 H's that caused HIV -- homosexuals, heroin addicts, hemophiliacs...and Haitians. This led to Haitians losing jobs and being evicted for fear of spreading the disease (as this was during a time when very little was known about how HIV was transmitted).

UsefulNotes/{{Jamaica}}
* Before the late 1960s Jamaica was mostly known for being a pirates' hideout. From the 18th and 19th century onward it was world famous for the export of sugar.
* Since the 1950s, 1960s and especially the 1970s the island has become internationally famous for their highly unique musical styles: calypso, bluebeat, mento, {{Ska}}, rocksteady, {{Reggae}}, dub, ragga, dancehall,... In popular culture Jamaicans will always be playing steeldrum or listening to Music/HarryBelafonte or Music/BobMarley on their transistor radio.
* {{Reggae}} in particular has popularized the image of Jamaica as a country where everyone is black, [[DreadlockRasta wears dreadlocks]], smokes marijuana (ganja) and speaks in the the local dialect ''("patois")'' with a deep voice.
* A Jamaican will always use the following words and stock phrases: "I and I", "brethren", "riddims", "Babylon", "Jah live", "Jah rastafari", "Zion", "dread natty dread", "hey mon", "tally me banana", "smoke da herb", "smoke a spliff", "smoke ganja", "Jah bless ya mon"... They will refer to any woman as ''"woman"''.
* All Jamaicans will be portrayed as being Rastafarians. This despite the fact that Rastafarianism is still nothing more than a cult on Jamaica and not even close to being the largest religion on the island.
* For decades people had the impression that marijuana was legal in Jamaica, while in reality it wasn't. Its use was nevertheless so widespread that people were rarely prosecuted unless they were high (pun not intended) profile. Only recently, in May/June 2014, has it been decriminalized.
* Don't try to start an argument between a Jamaican and a Colombian about who has the best coffee. It doesn't end well.
* Jamaica is notorious for being dirt poor, corrupt and full of crime. Even reggae stars aren't safe from assassinations. Music/PeterTosh, Don Drummond, King Tubby, Prince Far I, Junior Braithwaite and Carlton Barrett (from Bob Marley & The Wailers),... have all been murdered over the years. Even Bob Marley was targeted, but survived the murder attempt.
* Another negative reputation associated with the island is its [[HeteronormativeCrusader homophobia]]. Many Jamaicans hate or fear "batty boys" (gays) and will resort to violence against them. Homosexuality is still a punishable offense on the island and local musicians even boast about murdering gays in their lyrics.

UsefulNotes/{{Puerto Rico}}
* All Puertorican women are Music/JenniferLopez expies, and thus insanely hot and of Hispanic origin. Puerto Rico is actually as diverse as it can be.
* Generally thought off as a very poor and simple country, and most Americans forget its a territory of the US. It has a higher poverty rate than the rest of the US, is several ''billion'' in crippling debt and violence is widespread. Some amenities of the mainland are there, too.
* A common portrayal of Puertoricans, whether in the island or elsewhere, is to show a bunch of men playing dominoes while drinking Medalla beer while others are dancing salsa. Puertoricans are either lazy or extremely relaxed, mostly running on "Island Time". Going to a restaurant usually involves waiting an hour.
* They can also be uncultured peasants (called "jibaros" by locals) and wear the traditional clothing. The men wear very large straw hats (the pava) and long sleeve shirts and carry a machete knife, while the women wear white dresses with a flower on her hair, and do mostly agriculture. Needless to say that these are both very outdated stereotypes nowadays.
* San Juan will always feature it's historic center, with the El Morro fortress being very prominent. The modern city is only shown as exposition, specifically the hotel zone with its beaches. Other mayor cities such as Mayaguez, Ponce, and other cities in Metro San Juan, contrary to what San Juan residents tend to claim (for the former two usually), are large and fully modern, but are barely shown in media outside the island. They are still smaller cities compared to San Juan, but far from rural little towns.
* In popular culture Puerto Rico is mostly associated with the immigrants in Theatre/WestSideStory or perhaps the 1988 song 'Puerto Rico' by Belgian band Vaya Con Dios.

UsefulNotes/TrinidadAndTobago
* '''Trinidadian''' people are often confused with those of other Caribbean countries, when it is a much richer and more modern country.
* Trinis also see Jamaicans as poor, western tourists as patronising (redirecting them to Tobago), and also see Tobagans as rural and backward. Conversely Tobagans see Trinis as stuck up.
* Much like Rihanna in Barbados, Music/NickiMinaj has become the defining image of Trinidad and Tobago in popular culture, although she moved to the United States at a young age.

UsefulNotes/{{Mexico}}
* First of all, calling Mexico "Central American" or even more egregiously "South American" is not really what most geographers would agree with. If one draws the boundary between Central and North America at the Isthmus of Tehuantepec (in Southern Mexico), only 12% of Mexico's surface area is in Central America. Its largest centers of economic activity and population and the regions associated with most stereotypes (except Spring Break in Cancún, maybe) are all north of that dividing line.
* Mexico is usually reduced to 19th century stereotypes. All men wear large sombreros, colorful ponchos or serapes and have [[MagnificentMoustachesOfMexico long thick black moustaches]]. They may be charros, desperados or {{Bandito}}s riding around on horses who will refer to you as either a "gringo" ("stranger"), "amigo" ("friend") or "señor/señorita" ("sir, "lady"). Every few minutes there's a "revolución" or an execution by firesquad going on. While one dictator is replaced by another tyrant groups of guerrilleros prepare the local defenseless villagers for the next military coup. To round it all off all the gunslingers will have a MexicanStandoff. Much of this imagery is derived from ''Series/{{Zorro}}'', [[{{WesternAnimation/SpeedyGonzales}} Speedy Gonzales]] and dozens of Western movies.
* {{Spexico}}: Some stereotypes about Mexicans are similar to those about Spaniards. They all enjoy singing and dancing, eat foods comprised of beans and hardened corn and peppers [[FirebreathingDiner too spicy for foreigners to handle]], drink tequila and watch bull fights. Most of their time is spent taking a siesta in hammocks, against a wall or even against a cactus, if neccessary.
* Some stereotypes of Mexicans are much like stereotypes of Americans (USA), namely being fat and lazy.
* Typical Mexican dishes are tamales, tacos, pineapple, avocado, guava, mangos, enchiladas, tabasco (which actually come from Louisiana), tequila and burritos (which actually come from California).
* MaskedLuchador: Apart from bull fighting Mexico is also known for a particular type of wrestling, named "Lucha Libre". One wrestler, Wrestling/ElSanto, has pratically become a FolkHero larger than life and has starred in countless local B-movies.
* Mexicans are often shown playing guitar serenades underneath a balcony, while singing and dancing ''jarabes, corridos'' or ''mariachi'' to the melodies of ''La Cucaracha'' and/or ''The Mexican Hat Dance''. Or they engage in piñata smashing.
* HigherUnderstandingThroughDrugs: Another stereotype is that Mexicans will spent the night around a campfire enjoying the hallucinogenic effects of peyote. Often in presence of some MagicalNativeAmerican, nearby an ancient temple. A SpiritAdvisor may appear.
* In the United States Mexicans are mostly seen as [[TheIllegal illegals]] who try to sneak over the border and move to the U.S.
* Especially in American media, Mexicans will always be depicted as ''mestizo'', even in some of the more northern areas of Mexico where whites are just as common.
* Mexican characters are common in (beat 'em up) video-games and are prevalently depicted as [[MaskedLuchador masked luchadors]] in all of the main series, likely because Lucha Libre is the nation's most iconic national sport. Examples come in two distinct flavours: There's the [[HeroicBuild stacked]], [[JusticeWillPrevail heroic]], [[TheFaceless mysteriously faceless]], FriendToAllChildren type, which includes King from the VideoGame/{{Tekken}} series and the Aztec inspired, eagle-masked Tizoc from VideoGame/FatalFury - both fight to help fund and support local orphanages. The other type is far closer to real life and almost the exact opposite, being depicted as ''very'' [[TheNapoleon short in stature]], [[LargeHam loud]], [[ArrogantKungFuGuy gobby]] and HotBlooded, with [[ThemeNaming examples including]] El Fuerte from ''Street [=Fighter=]'' (who's voiced like a pitched-down Speedy [=Gonzales=]), El Stingray from VideoGame/SaturdayNightSlamMasters and El Blaze from ''VideoGame/VirtuaFighter''. Angel, from ''VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters'' (whose favourite foods are "tequila and raw cactus slices", according to her offical bio), represents a female Mexican luchadora, albeit without the usual mask.
* All Mexicans either ride donkeys or eat them.
* Every Mexican owns a chihuahua (toy breed of dog) as a pet dog. In Chihuahua (largest Mexican state), of course!
* Mexico City is the only place that exists in fiction. Acapulco, Cancun, and Puerto Vallarta might get a mention. Ditto Tijuana, but instead would be depicted more as a WretchedHive, where whorehouses, cheap tequila and donkeys are the main attractions.
* Mexicans tends to [[SelfDeprecation stereotype themselves in a way that could sound extremely racist or insulting]] [[NWordPrivileges if they were depicted by people from other countries]]. Even the worst stereotypes depicted in non-Mexican media, like in Hollywood, are normally ''tamer'' compared how Mexicans themselves are [[SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism depicted in their own films, especially the most recent ones since the 90s, whose tends to go on the cynical side]].
* Due to the geographical closeness with the U.S., Mexicans are normally depicted, at least in the rest of Latin America, with the same stereotypes normally depicted [[EagleLand for Americans]], except "like to hide behind their inflated military budget" part is swapped out for "[[SmallNameBigEgo like to hide behind their oversized egos]]". Unlike with Americans, this is normally PlayedForLaughs. In a less funny version of this, Mexicans are sometimes stereotyped as being subservant to Americans, a statement normally considered a BerserkButton for Mexicans for obvious reasons.

* All novels written in Latin America are written in MagicRealism. All adaptations of those novels have a minimalist and endlessly weepy soundtrack by [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_Glass Philip Glass]].

* Mexico is usually reduced to 19th century stereotypes. All men wear large sombreros, colorful ponchos or serapes and have [[MagnificentMoustachesOfMexico long thick black moustaches]]. They may be gauchos, desperados or {{Bandito}}s riding around on horses who will refer to you as either a "gringo" ("stranger"), "amigo" ("friend") or "señor/señorita" ("sir, "lady"). Every few minutes there's a "revolución" or an execution by firesquad going on. While one dictator is replaced by another tyrant groups of guerrilleros prepare the local defenseless villagers for the next military coup. To round it all off all the gunslingers will have a MexicanStandoff. Much of this imagery is derived from ''Series/{{Zorro}}'', [[{{WesternAnimation/SpeedyGonzales}} Speedy Gonzales]] and dozens of Western movies.

* Typical Mexican dishes are tamales, tacos, pineapple, avocado, guava, mangos, enchiladas, tabasco, tequila and burritos.

* Every Mexican owns a chihuahua as a pet dog. In Chihuahua, of course!
* Mexico City is the only place that exists in fiction. Acapulco might get a mention and Tijuana, but more as a WretchedHive, where whorehouses, cheap tequila and donkeys are the main attractions.

* Cubans are often lampooned for their self-given impression that they are more closely related to the Spaniards than the rest of Latin America and don't like to be reminded that there are Tainos and Blacks in their country; truth is, almost ''everyone and their mothers'' in Latin America are descendants of the Spanish with varying degrees of generational removal and it's just a fact of life, not particularly noteworthy.

* Musically Cuba is best known for producing several catchy band leaders, singers and dancers, such as Pérez Prado, Benny Moré, Celia Cruz and the Music/BuenaVistaSocialClub.

[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/image_027.jpg]]

[[caption-width-right:350:Creator/RitaMorena really does just like to dance]]

* Generally referred to as '''Latin America''', because so many countries in this continent either speak Spanish, Portuguese or French (French Guyana). As a result, many Hispanic stereotypes about Spain and Portugal will also be used for Latin-Americans: people prefer having siestas, sing serenades while playing the guitar, women are SpicyLatina and men are [[LatinLover latin lovers]],... Despite this, not all countries in Central and South America have a Latin language based native tongue. There are also some Dutch speaking states (Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao, Sint Maarten, Sint Eustachius, Suriname,...) and English ones (Guyana, Jamaica, The Falklands,...). And, of course, indigenous people also have their own languages.

* Generally referred to as '''Latin America''', because so many countries in this continent either speak Spanish, Portuguese or French (French Guyana). As a result, many Hispanic stereotypes about Spain and Portugal will also be used for Latin-Americans: people prefer having siestas, sing serenades while playing the guitar, women are SpicyLatina and men are [[LatinLover latin lovers]],... Despite this, not all countries in Middle and South America have a Latin language based native tongue. There are also some Dutch speaking states (Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao, Sint Maarten, Sint Eustachius, Suriname,...) and English ones (Guyana, Jamaica, The Falklands,...). And, of course, indigenous people also have their own languages.

'''Middle America'''