When I was living by Metro Juanacatlan of CDMX, I was getting my luggage together with my last girlfriend, Brenda.
I was about to move to Cuatro Caminos area.

Long story short, I put away a wet raincoat into the closet, closed the door and it grew mold all over my backpack and suitcase.

“How could there be so much mold?!?!” she cried in horror to the Aztec gods.
Her natural womanly duties to clean and make me a sandwich kicked in.
If it wasn’t for her, I probably would’ve had mold still on the suitcase and backpack but she took that shit downstairs and scrubbed it down nicely.
Socks being the issue actually.

Had a few holes.

Still, on one particular afternoon, she stopped me in the street and submitted a FORMAL DEMAND that I buy new socks already.

Though that was approximately 1.5 USD less that I could’ve invested in bitcoin, I will say that the new socks felt nice.
Well, dirty Matt keeps on being dirty.
I don’t flush the toilet after a piss.

And, during days where the alcohol consumption is strong, I might even miss a day of showering!

That’s been a habit of mine since I was a kid.

So who am I to complain about the dirty Mexicans?
Though, among some expats who have traveled around Latin America like myself, there’s one side observation I’ve heard made repeatedly.
This is a statement I’ve heard among a few folks from time to time.
The idea being that folks in South America are not at all dirty and are much cleaner than folks in Central America and Mexico.
Well, I’ve seen people litter in places like Bolivia before.
Though, in my time living in South America, I never saw huge piles of garbage on the side of the street nor have I ever seen cockroaches in my apartment before coming to Mexico.
And, when I think of the very few places I’ve seen in Central America, some were noticeably dirty and others not as much.
For example, the Nicaraguan capital of Managua and Guatemala City were noticeably dirtier than Panama City in my experience.
Granted, Panama City is noticeably richer than both of the other cities in question.
So wealth concentration might have something to do with it also.
Either way, I have seen dirtier habits like littering more commonly done in South America than the US but, in my brief experience in South America, my memory does make me believe that there might be some truth to the idea that Mexico and Central America are dirtier.
I’m not going to stand 100% behind the statement because it’s been almost 6 years since I’ve been to South America so my memory is fuzzy on just how clean the streets were.
Still, there’s another topic to bring up also that comes to mind.
Finally, it also needs to be said that cultural norms of cleanliness need to be remembered.
While some things like showering and not littering might be more objectively seen as clean across most cultures, there are some disagreements also across cultures regarding what is clean.
As a result, it’s easy to see how a Latino could see a gringo as dirty if said gringo doesn’t comply with some of the cultural standards of cleanliness that said Latino has.
For example, I’ve heard some folks in some parts of Latin America like to shower multiple times a day.
During my time in Colombia, that was something I heard.
That one should shower 2 or maybe 3 times a day?
At least more than once.
On top of that, my last Colombian girlfriend, Marcela, was insistent on having me shave my pubic hair and legs during the initial days of our relationship.
Though I never did, it was something that she wouldn’t drop for the first month.
She wasn’t harassing me too much but it was a minor thing she would bring up maybe once a week or something.
In my words, it looks more manly.
What dude shaves his legs?
There’s actually an interesting online forum I found online here that touches that subject.
So, when talking about who is the dirty one, just remember that some more subjective ideas of cleanliness will influence any person from whatever background they are from.
It doesn’t mean their idea is right necessarily but will influence how they see you.
Final Verdict: Whose the Dirty One?
Look, the US is a big country with a wide range of different people.
Latin America is noticeably bigger than the US with even a wider range of different people.
Making a generalized statement on this topic is a little bit difficult because of that.
Having said that, I might be a little bit biased in saying gringos are less dirty because I am a gringo.
And also because examples of dirtiness are MUCH more evident and IN YOUR FACE in Mexico City than life back home.
Granted, life back home means a small town and not a large city of 20 some million people so that’s not a fair comparison.
Still, even when I went to small towns in Latin America, examples of dirtiness were evident also (though you could likely explain away some of those cases due to issues stemming from lesser economic development depending on what rural area of Latin America you are talking about).
Anyway, when it comes to “public cleanliness,” I think it’s not unreasonable to say that the US is generally cleaner.
Whenever I fly to Chicago or Columbus and leave the airport by taxi, I’m always impressed by how green and clean the outside of my taxi window is.
It’s something a Mexican chick named Paola told me once years ago during my first months in Mexico when I lived by Roma Norte.
She had spent time in some city in California (San Francisco?) and noted to me how clean California looked compared to Mexico.
On the flip side, as I said, it does seem to me like other parts of Latin America might look cleaner than others as not all of Latin America is the same.
And, when it comes to personal hygiene, maybe Latin Americans win the point on this one?
At least those who take multiple showers a day.
I have no idea how many actually do that but, if many are, then that is objectively cleaner than taking a shower once a day.
Even though, as a gringo, I would say multiple times a day is unnecessary unless you went to the gym or did some heavy labor like construction or something.
Generally, the US is cleaner in my opinion in public spaces versus Latin America broadly speaking.
When it comes to personal hygiene, some Latin Americas win depending on their habits.
But plenty of dirty people on both sides of the aisle!
That’s all I got to say for now anyhow.
It’s a small topic on life in Latin America but not much more to say.
Sing a new song to the LORD! Let the whole earth sing to the LORD! Psalm 96:1 (NLT).
The music ministry must understand the place of songs in the church of God, and the role it plays in the life of every child of God, hence, she must be ready to champion always singing a new song unto the Lord so that the church can keep enjoying the fullness of the blessings of God.
There is joy in singing a new song unto the Lord for everyone washed in the blood of Jesus. This is also the major duty the angels in heaven are doing, they sing continuously to glorify God and worship His majesty.
What is a new song unto the Lord? It is proclaiming the greatness of God through a new understanding of who He is, and what He can do. There is no other group of people better positioned to receive this kind of understanding than those in the music ministry. David was a musician, an anointed one indeed, and by virtue of this position, he was able to receive great revelations from God, which he put into songs to preserve for posterity.
Every Christian musician must wait upon God to receive new revelations from Him, which they will express in songs.
Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song unto the Lord, and spoke, saying, I will sing unto the Lord, for he hath triumphed gloriously: the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea…Who is like unto thee, O Lord, among the gods? who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders? Ex 15:1-11 (KJV).
This was a new song on the day the Israelites sang it. Apart from the words of the song, the circumstances surrounding the singing tell of the mood of the singers on that day.
For over 4 centuries they were in serious bondage with no hope of ever getting free, each day brought more suffering, misery, and hopelessness. But the Lord came to deliver them after punishing the land with 10 serious plagues.
The people of God left with a high hand, but not without spoiling the Egyptians of their gold, and silver. They collected the wages of 400 years in one night.
When Pharaoh taught on these, he decided to give them a chase with 600 chosen chariots and riders, he pursued heard after them and met them just by the edge of the red sea. His intention was to pursue, overtake, and destroy, but God had another thing in mind, He had drawn Pharaoh and his soldiers out to prove to His people that He can save to the uttermost and that even the sea does obey