AboutClaudia Reyes-Hull Expertise I have lived in both the US and México. I am familiar with both cultures and languages. I now reside in the mountain town of Coatepec, Veracruz but have traveled extensibly (with and without kids) throughout Mexico and can answer to general questions on culture, travel, people, etc.
Experience Mexican National with experience as a guide for professional architects from the US and Worldwide. Extensive travel through Mexico with and without kids.
Education/Credentials Masters degree in Architecture
Certified translator/ interpreter English/Spanish
Art Teacher
Personal Chef
Question I have had the opportunity to study Spanish and travel in Mexico on multiple occasions and am now fairly conversant in Spanish. I may consider returning to Mexico again during my next vacation, and my preference would be to attend a language school and stay in a homestay so that I have maximum opportunity to speak Spanish and be immersed in the culture.
My question is: What cities are best to experience mainstream Mexican culture?
My desire is to see a city that is representative of real Mexican culture and that has its own cultural, economic, and political importance to Mexico as a country. Not a city built for tourism.
It's like this: If a Mexican told me he wanted to experience mainstream Anglo-American culture, I would much sooner tell him to go to Minneapolis-St. Paul than to go to Miami or Las Vegas.
It might not have the glitter and glamour, but it is a lot more representative of the life most people in the USA experience.
What are your thoughts? Thank you very much and I would look forward to your reply.
Answer Hi, Seth:
First of all, thanks for being so clear with your question. I understand what you are looking for and I would also look for the same arrangement. The only real way of learning a language is when you get to really experience it in conjunction with the culture!
First I will list places you probably want to stay clear off: Monterrey and Mexico City. They have the best language schools, but the cities are more americanized than what you probably would like. Forget about resort towns (no Puerto Vallarta and no CanCun), although Puerto Vallarta is a very charming town -the resort area is separated from the real town- it is starting to be very much of an English speaking zone.
Now for the areas I would look at:
San Cristobal de las Casas Chiapas as the best. It has a number of good language schools, but most importantly, it is one of the most Mexican experiences you can look forward to. Second I would say Oaxaca, it does have a huge tourism core, but this has permitted it to keep the traditional Mexican culture alive- it's tourism is about showing real Mexican indigenous culture-. Next I would say either Guadalajara or Cuernavaca or San Miguel de Allende. Yeah, there is a lot of tourism in this cities and towns, but it is again cultural tourism. The only problem about this places is that there is a big English speaking community of expats, but they stay together. Finally, the place that is just starting to grow on language students is Xalapa in the State of Veracruz, there are not too many English speakers around and the city is very authentic (a little dirty, not geared towards much tourism just yet), but it can also disenchant you since it is what a Mexican city is really like now, yeah, it has not been fixed for touristic delight and it battles with reality every day.
Hope this helps and leads you to research more about this destinations.
