This is a silly fun question. I think cultures have varying levels of gothness, for example Canada is significantly less goth than India, which is in turn not as goth as Italy. I don’t make the rules, this is simply obvious to any observer. Of course these are all countries which contain diverse cultures within them, but if we’re talking the average cultural gothness level for the country. Ireland is gother than England, I don’t know why it just is. So yeah, what country in Latam is the gothest?
Edit to clarify: I do not mean has the most members of the goth subculture (though the gothest country could also have a lot of goths) but like overall vibe, like what country has the most ghost stories, cultural motifs associated with things other people think are spooky, etc. Vampire legends and traditional clothing that involves a lot of black or lace would add to a place’s gothness. I live in New England in the US, our old gravestones have skulls on them, which increases their gothness. Factors like “amount of romantic looking ruins” and “a greater cultural appreciation of opera” could also be factored in. A place’s level of gothness is neither a positive or negative, it’s merely a facet of culture, like the way introversion and extroversion have cultural elements.
The city of Dunedin in New Zealand has a gothy vibe because it’s dour, and rainy, and everything is decaying a bit, and it has a bunch of mosaics with bats for example. The country’s largest goth scene in in Aukland, but Aukland’s vibe is much less goth than Dunedin’s.
Comments
I would say that LATAM in general is one of the least goth regions. If I had to choose, I would go for countries like Argentina, Chile Uruguay and maybe Paraguay and Brazil, as they tend to have european influence in their architecture, and big cities usually adopt such subcultures too.
Edit: Spelling
Chile, absolutely Chile
By goth do you mean gothic era architecture or do you mean goth as in the popculture trend?
For the architecture I would not say there is anything like that since all of our architecture from Europe is Spanish or Portuguese.
For the popculture trend I would say Argentina/Uruguay. Young people seem to be more in tune with foreign trends and rock era music is still popular.
there are entire shopping malls dedicated to goth/alt culture, in buenos aires there’s a mall called galería bond street.
México and Chile
If we talking about Goth as the subculture
Mexico has Dia de Muertos, Santa Muerte, and spooky folklore like La Llorona. Goth-adjacent bands from Mexico include Caifanes, Santa Sabina, La Castañeda for old school and Ritualz, Amduscias, and Hocico for eletronic/industrial.
Lamest, you mean? Uruguay or Chile.
What the heck does India have to do with Goths where it’s significantly more Goth than Canada lol
If it’s about goth culture we still have a good amount of them. Young kids are joining the ranks as well, and we still have a couple of bars and disco that make goth parties regularly.
Goth scene in Colombia is small but sturdy. MDE and Bat Beat are top quality.
Probably Chile. Even if we got the Bond Street in Argentina, which once gathered tons of alt Goth, Emo, Otaku, and Floggers (Fotolog users who dressed all sorts of neon and bright colored skinny pants around the LMFAO/SKRILLEX era) you don’t see them anymore, you can probably catch sight of a rolinga (Rolling Stones, National Rock and Punk subculture) more often.
Mexico hands down. Foro Bizarro in CDMX is goated and Voltaire is going to be there next month. He did a video a couple years ago of some popular goth places to visit in CDMX.
Mexico?
Edit: only somewhat related but, in any case, I think most people from LATAM will agree with me when I say that LATAM is probably the nerdiest/geekiest continent.
The city of Santiago de Chile gives off a lot of gothic vibes, with a gray winter and the snowy mountain range as a backdrop.
It’s great because on that date people take out their winter wardrobe and dark colors predominate on the streets.
Mexico has to be up there.
The whole catrina, la llorona, the day of the dead and the pyramids that were sites of human sacrifice.
So many stories about ghosts and apparitions. So many indigenous women showing indigenous pagan rituals (maria sabina).
Its all pretty goth.
Mexico.
I mean, in Mexico we have narcos making human blood sacrifices to ancient aztec gods, the holy death and a patron saint of narcos, which while fcking horrible in basically every sense, would probably be goth af
Bolivia.
Google “el tío”
Google Bolivian witchcraft, diablada, la ceja, cementerio de elefantes, Samaipata, luzmila carpio
Good question, I’m also interested to know where in Latam the gothic scene exists. I can share that in Germany we have a strong representation in Leipzig, there is the Gotik-Treffen, takes place every year, there is music and goths everywhere, even shopping centers, bakeries, businesses “dressed” gothic for that week, that’s the most gothic place I know.
Mexico is, undeniably, the most goth country in LATAM. Not only that. I think it’s of common knowledge among goths in most of the western world that Mexico is one of the main goth hotspots worldwide.
Brazil is at the bottom of this list lol.
Based on your criteria the whole region is “goth” then since everyone has creepy stories. There is Santeria in the Caribbean, el chupacabras and ghost stories too.
I think you mean gothic?
maybe off topic but mariana enriquez books made me think of argentina in a “goth” way!
Chile for sure
Old, very old school goth here. Been places, lol.
Come visit La Recoleta Cemetery and tell me there’s a gother place than this in Latam.
P.S.: In case such a place exists, I wanna know about it 😁
I have to say Mexico. Their unique relationship with death makes them stand out as the “gothest”
Def Mexico we have dia de los muertos and la santa muerte and some other religions practices we also have our native pagan Catholicism mix
Mexico maybe? Día de los muertos
Haiti, with all the voodoo, superstition and such
Cuba is not goth, but Havana has ruins everywhere 🤷♂️
I’d say latam is not “goth”. We have plenty fantasy and folklore around death and spirits and supernatural beings. But it is quite different from northern culture. I’d never call Mexico “goth”. Mexico is mexico, and it is world apart from english or new england folklore.
it is a great question though. I’d think Buenos Aires, CDMX, Montevideo and Santiago are “gother” than Recife, Medellin or Quito. But Chiloé would be at the same time gothest (folklore) and no-goth (aesthetics).
Coming from a skateboarder: of all the skaters in Latin America, Colombian skaters always look very goth/metal. They always wear all black, tight pants or cut-off shorts with long socks, converses, death metal band tees, buzzed heads, usually tattoos, cut-off sleeves, crop tops, and all that. Mexico would be a close second.
Idk if all that qualifies as “goth,” but they’re definitely hardcore dudes.
Haiti. Voodoo is the largest religious sect.
Based on vibes, I’d say Chile is the gothest in South America
Tf?
Mexico and Argentina
Mexico because of Dias de muertos being a national celebration
I don’t think you can get more goth anywhere in the world