Cultural Universal

Andrew Engshun

Music

America’s music culture really only has only a few genres we did not copy: Rock ‘n’ Roll, Country, and hip hop.. Here is a picture of Johnny Cash and his guitar.

Mariachi bands are famous in Mexico. They usually consist of violins, trumpets, a classical guitar, a vihuela (a high-pitched, five-string guitar), a guitarrón (a large acoustic bass) and, on occasion, a harp or two. Here they are playing in the square behind the theater in Guadalajara, Mexico.

Food/Cooking

Snow cones (shaved ice flavored with syrup) is from Hawaii. Blocks of ice are shaved and chipped into small flakes that we as Americans consume on a hot summer day to cool off.

Absinthe, or the Green Fairy as it has been called, is a drink that originated from France. It was discontinued until in the 1990’s when the European Union reauthorized the sale of Absinthe. It is not a liquor since it is not sweetened. It was illegalized because it caused “literary genius”, madness, homicide, and suicide. Famous artists such as Vincent Van Gogh, Amedeo Modigliani, and writer Ernest Hemmingway were known to drink Absinthe.

Eating Habits

What’s the difference between us and other countries in general? Easy. Fresh foods. Habits are taught to mothers in France before they give birth. They teach the mothers how to prepare up until the Children leave. In Mexico, Everyone mostly walks. Simple as that. Where as America does not teach such a program and we mainly drive or fly everywhere. Asian cultures use lots of fresh vegetables and/or seafood varying by region.

America has a habit of eating large amounts of protein and fatty foods. We mainly have to blame the world wars because our eating habits were to gain muscle while fighting. The rest is just carelessness and poor lack of information to the public.

Modest Enough?

Through out Europe and America, Naturists and/or Nudists have been questionable to our modesty. Religion or our culture says that we should wear clothes, yet in places in Africa, women do not wear a shirt or hide their upper body. It is easy to see why we hide physical attraction, yet we can easily argue why we hide what we are given.