Understanding Class Division In Latin America

Latin American is a very large region with a population almost double that of the United States. However, most of the countries in Latina America share one thing in common: a very pronounced class division based on economic prosperity. Certain countries like Costa Rica and Chile have less income and wealth inequality, therefore their class division isn’t as pronounced, but practically every other country in Latin America has these pronounced social borders that separate the different economic classes.

Much of this class division stems from the fact that Latin America is the most unequal region in the world in terms of income distribution. Although the level of poverty, violence, and underdevelopment is no where near many of the African countries the reasons why Latin America is the most unequal region is because very few people hold untold amounts of wealth, while the rest of the population gets by on very little. This doesn’t mean that most of the people in Latin America are starving, but it does mean that many people struggle economically, meanwhile the wealthy live like kings and take vacations to Europe, and North America like it’s nothing.

Most of the inequality in Latin America is not due a lack of talent, or willingness to work of the general public. The lack of progress in equalizing the wealth in these countries is due mostly in part to due to a continuing cycle of inequality, where corrupt governments promise change, only to rob and steal from the people and allying themselves with a few powerful interests and looting the countries coffers for themselves.

When you interact with a foreigner or a foreign girl, her outlook on life and her attitude will depend largely on which social class she belongs in her country.

Upper Class:
These are the minority and the wealthiest people in any country. The upper class throughout Latin America is very small but they’re also very very wealthy. Upper class people enjoy perks, and lifestyles that 95% of their countrymen don’t.

When it comes to meeting and dating an upper class Latin American girl, it may be much like dating an American woman. In many cases it’s because these women have had lavish lifestyles, and maybe even spent time abroad, for example getting an education at an American university. Overall I’ve noticed the most Americanized social class is the upper class, and for this reason when I’m in Latin America it’s just not my thing. Having said all this, if upper class women are your thing, I’m sure you’ll be able to find some humble, down earth, upper class Latin woman, if you look hard enough, but I wouldn’t overlook the middle, and upper middle class women.

Middle Class:
The middle class is larger then the upper class and can range anywhere from 10% to 30% of the population but is still very small compared to the middle class of other regions of the world, particularly the United States. Middle class people are generally more humble then their upper class counterparts. These are generally the people who vacation locally or to countries near by, they may have a family car and live in a decent home, and study at the 2nd tier universities. In general I find middle class women the best choices for dating abroad.

Lower Class:
The lower class population is usually the largest segment in most Latin American countries. In general this segment of the population lives in the more dangerous sections of town. Although they aren’t starving, they get by on very little. Usually it’s tough to get an college education because of the need to help the family out and work even starting at a young age, and because of the lack of money for an education.

The problem you’ll have with these women is the fact that they live in dangerous neighborhoods and the fact the most important thing for them may be economic stability. However, if you know how to navigate these waters, you’ll be able to weed out the the women who are only gold digging. Other then that, these women are easy to please material wise, they’re humble, and hard working.

My Strategy:
I generally like to meet and date women from the range of “lower-upper class” all the way through the “upper-lower class” (if that makes sense). If we broke up the social classes into 6 divisions, 1 being the lowest and six being the highest (wealthiest), like they do in Colombia, I would probably say I aim to stay in the range from 2 through 5.

Learn How To Dance And Score Huge Points With Latin Women

This post is aimed at all the non-Latino men who read my blog. If you’re North American, Australian, or European or from any other region outside of Latin America, and not of Latino background, you’re generally not expected to know how to dance. In fact those that have traveled to Latin America before you, and have dared to go on the dance floor, have established a perception across Latin America that “gringos” don’t know how to dance.

In general a “gringo,” is a term used to refer to any foreigner, although it started as a term used to refer to North Americans, mainly from the United States. Today the common perception is that if you’re a gringo aka foreigner, and not of Latino background, you will most likely not know how to dance. Most women and men are already use to seeing “gringos” dance in their own funny and weird way so you won’t loose any points if you don’t know how to dance.

So don’t be scared that you’ll make a fool of yourself by trying to dance to the music. The perception is already in place that you will not know how to dance, so just have fun. By hitting the dance floor and dancing to Latin rhythms you’ll appear to be fun and carefree, and even confident even though you know that you don’t know how to dance. Since everyone will not expect you to know how to dance you won’t loose any points by trying.

The real game changer comes in, if you DO know how to dance. If you’ve taken the time to go into salsa, or Latin dance classes back at home, before you travel. And if you’ve taken the time to learn how to move to Latin music and the rhythms you will score HUGE points with the women. Since you’re not expected to have one dancing bone in your body, the women will be amazed that you know how to dance, and you will stand out from all the other gringos who’ve ever traveled to Latin America.

What To Learn?
I suggest learning how to dance salsa and merengue and a bit if reggeaton. Salsa music can be found just about anywhere you go in Latin America and in many other regions of the world. Salsa can come in handy almost anywhere you travel even in places as far off as Asia, and Europe. Merengue has in recent years broken outside of just the Caribbean into other regions of Latin America. Reggeaton is a lot easier and is another genre of Latin music that has caught on big all over Latin America. I recommend starting with these three because they will be most useful and are the most widely accepted types of music and dance throughout Latin America. If you’re interested in learning how to dance Latin music, check out my post on Five Steps to Learning Latin Dance.

What If You’re Black or Latino
If you’re black you may or may not be expected to know how to dance. For example if you’re in Colombia, people might think you’re from Cartagena, and they may expect you to know how to dance better then the average gringo. If you’re in Brazil, people might think your from Salvador and they may expect you to know how to dance better then the gringo as well.

If you’re Latino, you’re expected to know how to dance just about anywhere you go. The good news is that most people of Latin American background know how to dance, even if they were born and raised outside of Latin America. However even if your of Latin American background and you don’t know how to dance, you do have an excuse… you grew up abroad.

Latin American Block Party – Barranquilla Carnavales 2010

I took a small video here in Barranquilla on the second to last day of Carnavales, which was a Monday night. People were partying outside of my apartment until the sun came up. It’s not uncommon to see block parties like this one, not just in Carnavales but for birthdays, holidays like New Years as well as other festive dates. This isn’t exclusive to Colombia. It’s a common to see block parties all over Latin America especially during New Years and Carnaval season.

Taking The Bus In Barranquilla Vs Taking The Bus In New York

I was on my way to a mall to do some grocery shopping. I was dressed casual, nothing fancy. A blue hat, a white t-shirt, some blue jeans and my comfy sneakers. Most of the time I would have taken a taxi, but this time I decided to take the bus for kicks. Sometimes taking the bus can be a great way to meet women.

I knew where the bus stop was, a few blocks over. As I got closer I noticed a very nice looking woman who was dressed like she had just gotten out of work from the office. She was looking very professional yet attractive. I sort of knew what bus to take, and what to do, but I decided to ask her for help just to see if I could start a conversation.

I asked her if this was where I can take the bus, and she said told me that it was. I made a comment that I didn’t know the bus routes yet, so I had to ask around all the time, I said this with a smile. She asked where I’m from? And I told her I was from the U.S. and that I was just visiting. I asked her if she was from Barranquilla and she mentioned that she wasn’t. She was from a city about 3 hours away, but she was living there because of work and University.

At this point we had only talked for about 30 seconds and bus came. I let her get in first and she sat down at on the first seats. I got on and paid my bus fair and then sat across the isle, but right next to her. After I sat down she got up, and paid her fair, and then sat down in the isle behind me. I was about to put my right arm back and over the chair so I could turn and still engage her in conversation, but before I could move, she asked me to come sit next to her. This was a surprise. I’ve spoken with women in New York and New Jersey on the bus before, I’ve never had a woman ask me to come sit next to her.

I take a seat next to her and we chat some more for about 2 minutes before we get to our final destination. It turns out we were both going to the mall. She was going to meet a friend to talk about a job opportunity and I was going to do my grocery shopping. When I mentioned the grocery shopping she mentioned that if I wanted one day she would come help me do some shopping because she knew where to get the best prices. Again, another surprise: An attractive young professional, educated woman offering to help me with my groceries only minutes after meeting me. I thanked her and told her I’d take her up on her offer. We exchanged a few more sentences and then she invited me over for lunch the next day at her apartment. She asked me if I had a phone, and of course I do, so she asked me to take down her number and call her the next morning so we can arrange a time for lunch.

I use to work in New York, and I use to take the bus into the city from various places in New Jersey, and back to New Jersey from New York. I struck up conversations with many women on the bus, at the port authority, and bus stops, but in my five plus years working in the city and taking the bus to work, I never had an interaction that flowed as easily, and effortlessly as this one.

This is just one of many examples of what the women are like in foreign countries. YES I know not every interaction will be this positive or flow this effortlessly, but it just goes to show you what’s possible with international dating and foreign women. Even if just 2 out of every 10 interactions flow like this in Colombia, back in New Jersey/New York, it’s never this easy, effortless, and fun!

Obesity: One of the Reasons It’s Harder to Date Attractive Women

A large chunk of my first book, The Global Dating Revolution, revolves around explaining the differences between different dating environments around the world. The truth is dating environments in various regions around the world differ for many reasons. Some reasons are economic, some are cultural, some are demographic, I get in the nitty gritty of all of this in my book. I call these negative environmental differences (from a man’s point of view), handicaps or sometimes “whammies.” If you can think of a better name for them please let me know!

One of the most frightening handicaps in the United States and other wealthy regions of the world is the obesity problem. The following excerpt is taken from page 72 of The Global Dating Revolution:

As the chapter continues I go onto explain some of the other effects obesity has on your dating environment. Keep in mind this is only one of the many handicaps that you might be facing in your local dating environment. Of course there will always be some men that can overcome all the handicaps and date many attractive women, but not everyone can be Michael Jordan.

But in places like Costa Rica, Colombia, Brazil, Ukraine, Russia and others, obesity and other handicaps aren’t as big of an issue or present at all. These are the REAL reasons why the dating environment in many foreign countries is actually skewed towards the men, instead of towards the women, like it is in most places in the USA.

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Why Do These Girls Get So Dressed Up For The Airport?

“Why do these girls get so dressed up for the airport?” That’s what the two American girls behind me were saying about the Latin women who were also waiting on the check in line for our flight to miami. There was a stark difference between the two. The American girls looked like they just hoped out of bed. They both had baggy sweats and baggy sweaters on. Their hair was a mess and they honestly couldn’t care less.

It was a 6:40 am flight and I can understand that maybe they didn’t bother because the flight was so early, but from their attitude I wouldn’t be surprised if they would show like that for a 4:00 PM flight. Even though it was an early flight, the Latin women on the line found the time to “dress up”.

On the flip side, the Latin women were all very presentable and some were even very dressed up. I wouldn’t expect less. An “Americanized” Latin girl may step out in public in her sweats and baggy shirt, with her hair all over the place, but a real Latin woman wouldn’t dream of leaving her house if she doesn’t fix helself up a bit.

It’s part of the Latin American culture. In Latin America there is much more competition among females. I explain in full detail why this is the case in my book, “The Global Dating Revolution“, but I also touched on the subject in a post I made about American Vs Latin women in Miami.

American women “slack off” because they can. But foreign women never let their guard down in this aspect. Even though foreign women may not have as much income to give themselves a Jenny Jones makeover, they do their best with the tools they have to always look their best and always try to draw the attention of men as well as the women they feel they’re competing with. If you doubt my point of view, you can read an article from an American girl who agrees with me, its called It’s not easy being a white girl in Miami.

You Have a College Degree: So What?

In wealthy countries such as the United States, many things that were once highly valued (and still are valued abroad) have lost their glitter. One example of this is a college Education. Not too long ago a College education was a big deal. But these days, it’s practically the equivalent of a high school diploma.

Many things in the U.S. like education, now have diminished value, and a College education is one perfect example. These days you not only been a bachelors degree to get a decent job, in many cases you need a Masters degree, MBA or PHD.

According to the world bank, approximately 31% of the U.S. population has completed post secondary education. Compared to 8.2% in 1950. The U.S. has the highest level of college graduates, even among other highly developed nations. For example Germany is at 11%, and Japan is at 15%.

But the numbers get even lower if we look at developing nations. In Brazil for example the number of post secondary educated people in the country is just 5.7%, Colombia is at 6.7%, Italy is 8.3%, Cuba is at 8.6% and Poland is at 9.6%.

It’s pretty clear that in the U.S., since so many people now have college degrees, having one really doesn’t say much about you. But, I always like to view things on a global level. Many things that are taken for granted in the U.S. like a college degree, a good job, economic stability, and an education among other things are still valued very highly by society in places where these things aren’t so common.

Tell an American girl you just graduate with a degree in economics, and she’ll shrug. But tell a Brazilian girl the same thing and she might be a bit impressed. By the same token, there many college graduates that can’t even get a job once they graduate in the U.S. But if you take that degree abroad, it has much more clout and weight with employers.

Although a College education may be scoffed at by some people in the U.S., it’s nothing to be laughed at on a global level. One of the measures of manhood is the ability to set, and achieve goals. Obtaining a degree is by no means an easily obtainable goal, and it does deserve it’s merits. Also, in today’s technology driven society, most of the man’s productivity, is now done on a mental level. We no longer run around the forest killing our food with bows, arrows, and sticks. In today’s world a man’s productivity, and a mans ability to provide the most basic needs of food, shelter, and stability is his ability to earn a living and earn wages. Wages are directly correlated to the level of education.

As with everything else on my website and blog, I don’t just look at things from an American perspective. Many American guys are closed off to the notion that things abroad including society and culture are much different and operate at different levels. What applies in the U.S. doesn’t always apply abroad.

The truth is that in many foreign countries including European ones, a degree, and an education makes you stand out both with employers but also with the opposite sex. Globally the post secondary education rate is 9.1%. If you hold a degree consider yourself among that top 9.1% most educated of the world population, congratulations.

Nice Guys Finish Last But Who Are These Nice Guys?

I run into it all the time… Comments, emails and messages on Internet forums of women, as well as men who state that the only men who would be willing and “desperate” enough to look abroad for love, romance, and dating are the ultimate “loosers”. The most undesirable genetic material that no “empowered” American woman would touch with a ten foot pole. But let’s look at the reality and not the assumptions.

The reality is that a great majority of the men who are looking abroad are those nice guys! Yes the guys that are finishing last next to the bad boys. The guys that play the main role in most romantic comedies. These are good, decent looking, successful men, who probably spent too much time educating themselves or involved in their careers, or other things to really learn how to interact with American women.

Most American women undeniably like the bad-boy. And practically all of the attractive ones could give two shits that you’re a lawyer, small business owner, or any career oriented type of man. I wrote a post about why money may becoming more important during the recession, but I still think American women often pick bad boys over money boys.

They’re looking for the guys that give them some excitement, not some boring educated man who spent his whole life saving his money, educating himself and dedicating himself to his profession. How boring is that? Saving? lol, where’s the risk in that? An education? Ohh how “nice”…

The truth is that American women are bypassing great guys, guys who have great careers, stable futures, and good educations. But American women don’t want that… stability is too boring, education is too tame, and nice guys aren’t exciting.

So when I see comments like this on youtube:

I laugh. The haters have no clue.

Just like the smart money is exiting the country right now towards foreign investments, the smart “nice guys” are leaving for foreign women.

As a result of writing my book, “The Global Dating Revolution,” I’ve met, spoken to, and interchanged emails with thousands of men. A majority of the guys I’ve interacted with seem like they’re very well educated, many of them are working for respectable companies, while others are running small business etc. Most of them would be considered successful and very educated. So what’s going on here?

Yes, unfortunately with American women, nice guys finish last. But American women should reconsider who their passing up because the world is getting smaller and nice guys are tired of being “just friends”. Nice guys now have the option to look abroad where women have totally different attitudes towards successful educated men.

What Happens To Game And Pickup During A Recession?

When it comes to dating in such a highly competitive environment such as the United States, you need stand out from the rest of the pack in order to date the most desirable women. It’s social Darwinism (for men). In the beginning of my book on international dating, I go into all the factors that make your local dating scene an uphill battle with many chips stacked against you, which practically forces you to work to stand out in some way, or stay single.

If you’re very wealthy, you’ll be able to meet and date the most sought after women because of your wealth. If you have great looks, this helps you stand out too, and you’ll meet women this way. If you have sophistication, and “game”, you’ll also stand out from the crowd and date the most desirable women.

Popular belief in the online dating community and seduction community holds that “game” trumps everything. In other words a guy who is really smooth, and sophisticated will get better results with women then a guy with a ton of money or guy with looks like a male model.

Whether or not this is true, one thing is for certain. As the economy continues it’s downward slide, money and wealth will become much more important than both looks or game, and here’s why:

First of all, let’s look at the past circumstances. In a country like the United States, a country with one of the highest recent standards of living, the average income is about 40k/year. Material possessions are common; credit is usually easy to come by. Having a nice car, or even your own small apartment doesn’t really make you stand out. In an area like Northern New Jersey/New York City where the average income is 50k/year if you make 60k/year, you’re just a little above average. That doesn’t sound like an income that really makes you stand outside of the pack, at least not where I live…

My point is, that in the past, “game” may have been more important then money. Why? Because when times were good, everyone had a good amount of money. What guy didn’t have money to spend on drinks for his date? What guy didn’t have money to buy dinner? Most men had money to buy a nice car. Most men had money to spend on the women they were dating, and most guys overspent. Which is one of the reasons why the seduction community teaches men not to spend money or buy drinks or dinner, so that they can stand out from all the other guys that DO buy drinks and dinner and overspend.

So, when money was falling out of trees, having a bit of it really didn’t set you apart. So maybe having “game” would set you apart more then having money.

But what happens during this long term downward trend where massive amounts of wealth is being lost, many men are loosing their jobs, credit is tight, and standards of living are dropping?

The truth is money isn’t as easy to come by as it use to be in the United States. And as money and wealth become scarcer, the law of supply and demand dictates that they will also become more sought after.

I’ll give you one small example (although I have many). I have many female friends back in New Jersey and while I’m back here in New Jersey, I’ve caught up with a lot of them. One of the biggest complaints I’ve heard about boyfriends and guys they’re dating is that they’re being cheap, or that they’re broke. One friend specifically mentioned that she was about to dump her boyfriend because he doesn’t buy her anything and because he’s being cheap. But guys aren’t the only ones feeling the pinch. For example girls that were working in bars or as waitresses aren’t making as much money as they use, just to name one small industry.

The good old days of the “game” trump card are over. And as this economic downturn is expected to span at least a 5 to 10 year period if not more, you can expect that money and wealth will be what sets you apart from the pack the most, going forward.

Ever heard of phrase “cash is king”? It’s certainly starting to look that way.

An American Girl In Miami Can’t Compete With All The Latinas

I ran into an interesting article over at visavisamag.com titled: “It’s not easy being a white girl in Miami“. It was interesting article about an American woman who doesn’t feel she can compete for the attention of men in Miami because of all of the feminine Latin women who among other things, stay in shape, don’t gain weight, dress to impress, and aren’t afraid to show their feminine curves.

The article didn’t surprise me one bit. And one particular part of the article really struck a cord with me. Lyn Millner, the author of this article writes: “Miami pulses, thrums and throbs with sex. The climate helps, but mainly it’s the café-con-leche goddesses with full lips, unruly hair and inviting eyes. These women would look gorgeous if they made no effort at all. But they dress up even when they go to the dry cleaners – in body hugging T-shirts, low-slung jeans, short skirts and strappy heels. Having a less-than-perfect figure doesn’t stop a Latina. She simply knows what to do. She is never overweight; she is unapologetically curvaceous. OK, so I’m generalizing, but this is what Miami looks like through a white girl’s eyes. There’s a negative way of looking at it. Val says the women in Miami dress like prostitutes.”

Everything in that article makes sense, however that last sentence is something that I’ve heard before word for word. Many years ago one of my good Latino friends named Javier was dating an American white girl from Northern New Jersey. They met in college and dated for many years. When they first met, his girlfriend was slim and attractive, but over time, as happens with many American women, she put on a lot of weight. A few years into their relationship my friend Javier who was from Santa Cruz Bolivia decided to take a trip back home. His girlfriend was madly in love with him so she decided to surprise him by going herself to Santa Cruz Bolivia.

What she found when she arrived in Santa Cruz Bolivia was definitely not to her liking. Santa Cruz much like many other foreign cities is a city well known for it’s fierce female competition. Ladies compete amongst themselves by staying in shape, flirting aggressively, and overall being very very feminine and girly. If Miami is the equivalent to a AK-47 then a city like Santa Cruz is an A-bomb.

Javier’s girlfriend had a tough time dealing with all the sexy Latin women who were flirting with her boyfriend. When she came back from Bolivia I asked her how her trip was, and guess what: She said she hated it, and that she’s never going back to Bolivia. And much like many American women’s defensive reactions to foreign women, she stated that “Bolivian women were sluts and that they dressed like prostitutes.”

Sound familiar?

It seems that now and days American women fall into two groups. One group accepts the fact that foreign women are more feminine, sexy, and attractive in many ways. They look to foreign women as an example of femininity, and try to learn from them. Then you have another group, which is probably the larger of the two, who feels threatened by these foreign ladies. Their only defense mechanism is to attack foreign women with generalizations, insults, and negativity.

I’ll end this blog post with one final excerpt from the article:

“I teach a class once a week at Florida International University in North Miami. The students are mostly women – from Argentina, Venezuela, Chile, Puerto Rico, all points Caribbean – and, always, there are one or two male students who look stunned the first day and spend the entire semester sneaking furtive looks at the females.

In Miami, men pay attention to exotic women. It’s all about dark. Dark hair, dark eyes, dark skin, dark mystery. White girls can’t compete. If we look like soccer moms, it’s because that’s the best we can do. At a party one time, a hot guy struck up a conversation with me by asking whether I had kids. When I said, “No. Why do you ask?” he told me I looked like the perfect mom. Seeing my reaction and sensing he’d said something wrong, he backpedaled. “I meant that in a good way. A pretty mom.”

You can read the full article over at visavisamag.com titled: “It’s not easy being a white girl in Miami.”