5 most positive Latin American ethnic groups in the world

When was the last time someone told you to look on the bright side of life? Well, imagine that’s something Latin American people don’t hear too often. It’s in their blood. How do we know that? They are active in Arts, Business and Technology. Also, they have better immune system thanks to low stress level, famous laughter and a lot of dancing under the feet, just to count the obvious reasons. You may say “Yes, but many of the Latin American suffer from diabetes.” True, but but that’s a food-story, and not positive attitude towards life. That is… progressive thinking. ;)

It’s old news that [. . .] “suggests an association between mental wellbeing and a mutation of the gene that influences the [. . .] serotonin, which is believed to be linked to human mood.” Basically, much of our happiness, or lack thereof, may be traced to our genetic makeup. In any case, additional research has found that like the Scandinavians, Latin Americans are “more likely to contain a specific allele involved in sensory pleasure and pain reduction.” (Daniel Cubias, huffingtonpost.com)

When we talk about Hispanics being positive, we mean “positive emotions.” We look at their actions on MobileRecharge.com: how their optimistic choices drive their generous actions when they send mobile credit to people back home.

Paraguay – Photo by Niver Vega on Unsplash

Diverse studies published on Google show that the ethnic groups unlikely to report experiencing positive emotions too often are those from Singapore, Armenia and Iraq. On the other hand the first 10 positions are crowded with Latin American divas and machos. Kidding, but not kidding, if you know what we mean…

Gallup, the publication, made a study back in 2011, while travelling to 148 countries. They had 5 questions for those interviewed. If yesterday they felt respected, well-rested, laughed and smiled a lot, and if they learned or did something interesting.

#5 Joyful people from Trinidad and Tobago

It may not be the best idea to include Trinidad on the Latin American list, because English is their official language. But we’re breaking the rules. :)

It takes expertise or an encounter with someone from Trinidad to find out about the existence of this wonderful island. 83% of those originally from Trinidad and Tobago, interviewed by Gallup magazine witness laughter and high self esteem on daily basis. Are they aliens due to the insular motherland? Maybe :)

Multiculturalism is definitely not something that they are scared of, on the contrary. And it’s basic biology that mixed race are stronger races mentally and physically. And yes, this could explain partially the positive attitude and joyful reactions towards diversity and challenge. Trinidad and Tobago meets these criteria. Trinidad may be one of the wealthiest countries in the Caribbean, but it is not a rich country economically speaking. So, simplicity taught them to enjoy whatever is at hand, the little things that Beverly Hills divas lost once they moved in the high-class society. On the other hand, Trinidad is mainly multiracial, while the population of Tobago is primarily Afro-Tobagonian. Nice combination, right?

#4 Venezuelans

With so much beauty around it’s hard not to feel positive. Landscapes are magnificent, plus they have so many women reaching high to be Miss World in the Beauty history. Plus when abroad, Venezuelans are still called the “peninsular whites” and Hispanic discrimination is definitely low. Just our intuition…

San Diego – Photo by Zulmaury Saavedra on Unsplash

Over 600,000 Venezuelans abroad celebrate Latin American heritage, including now this “positive” trace, and many are part of the MobileRecharge.com community. :)

#3 Salvadorans

They are among the most generous and joyful customers we know on MobileRecharge.com. Not only do they constantly (monthly) support their relatives in El Salvador with mobile credit they send from abroad, but they are active Facebook fans too. Yes, there are also many good Deals hard to refuse, which makes it easier to stay positive.

84% of the Salvadorans interviewed by Gallup magazine reported enough laughter and sleep, respect and optimism on regular basis. Who knows if that was a circumstance luck, or if their attitude leads to this conclusion…

#2 People from Paraguay

85% of those born in Paraguay, interviewed by the Gallup magazine said yes to the questions related to their recent well being. Here we go again… Is it the culture, the childhood’s relaxing heat, faith, or that gene we talked about earlier? They should know better! 

Paraguay – Photo by Niver Vega on Unsplash

There are over 14,000 Paraguayan Americans in the U.S. population now, while there were only 5,500 in the 1990. And many more immigrants from Paraguay worldwide. Genetically speaking, they carry on what they’ve experienced early in their culture, right? And they experienced simplicity and challenges from early times, when the Guarani indigenous encountered the violent Spanish conquistadors. Could this be the information that keeps them cheerful and alert for better and for good? Don’t mind us if we’re far away from the truth. Just a presupposition.

#1 People born in Panama

85% of people interviewed in Panama said yes. They have high self esteem (“respect from others”), get enough rest and experience a joyful mood daily. Could be the fruit rich in vitamin C they had for long, or the gene Mr. Daniel Cubias talks about in his article on huffingtonpost.com: “Why Are Latinos More Likely to Be Happy?”

People feel respected when they inspire respect by feeling easy-going and correct. While joyfulness is an act of will, of subjective reaction. Is it the culture, the relaxing heat of home-sweet-home or their strong catholic faith and education? You tell us!

Panama City – Photo by Maria Fernanda Gonzalez on Unsplash

What we know is that almost 4% of the Panamanians have left the country looking for the brighter side of life. Not the bright side, because most of them report a very happy childhood and loving parents despite having a “helicopter dad” and a tough mom. They saw the military side of the family as “education” and necessary discipline. Especially that many families have several kids to manage. The grown ups keep good relationships with their parents, aunties and uncles, cousins and remote relatives, and we can see that in the frequency they support them with mobile credit. They are also in top 20 MobileRecharge.com top uppers.

Takeaways for Latin American we know & those we’ll meet

So, next time you meet a Latin American guy or lady, don’t ask them if they had enough sleep.

1. They don’t need that much because serotonin is too strong to keep them away from exploring new places, new business possibilities or stepping down from the dance floor.

2. Their moms asked them this all their life. Give them a break! They’re fine. Probably much better than you! They rank high in top happiest ethnic groups in the world, no matter if they still live in their native lands, or abroad. Btw, that is very helpful in the adaptation process as an expat. They make new friends easily… interact easily and take up challenges easily. Does it make sense? :)

Anyhow, you can see it naked eye. Optimism, faith, adaptability and the need to interact seem to be the Latin American social medicine.