How Spain is Different From Mexico

This post is geared more toward North Americans, who sometimes come to Spain and wonder where the tacos stands are. Sorry to disappoint you, but Spain is not the land of tacos and burritos. That would be Mexico. While there are similarities between the two countries (they share a common language, after all), there are plenty of differences too.

For those of you who already know Spain, you don’t need to worry about these details. For those of you who aren’t as familiar, here’s a list to clue you in on some of the differences between the Mexicans and the Spanish.

1. Mexico is in Latin America, while Spain is in Europe, and is part of the European Union.

2. Spain is more industrialized than Mexico, and the rule of law is stronger there. Mexico is still in some ways a developing country, and beset with problems of violent crime, and powerful drug cartels. Spain’s problems are mostly economic these days.

3. Mexican Spanish has many more English words in it, as well as words that come from indigenous populations living in the Americas before the Europeans arrived, than Spanish from Spain.

4. Spanish food is considered a Mediterranean cuisine, with influences from the Middle East. Saffron, honey, and tons of garlic and olive oil are used extensively. In Mexico, beans and tortillas make up the foundations of the diet, and are consumed much more often then they are in Spain.

5. A lot of Mexican food can be eaten with your hands, like burritos and tacos. In Spain, meals are usually eaten with a knife, spoon and fork.

6. The population of Mexico is mostly mestizo, although there are many different ethnicities living inside of the country. Most Spaniards can trace their ancestry to the Mediterranean or Northern Europe, but of course immigration from other parts of the world has changed the mix some.

7. In Spain, for the most part, people speak a lot faster than they do Mexico, and faster than Latinos in general. There are also big differences in pronunciation. The consonants, like S and Z have a harder edge to them in Mexico, while in Spain they tend to be much softer when spoken aloud.