I know that they are differnt dialects and I noticed some of the mexicans at my old job had some difficulty conversing with the south american spanish speaking people. I speak Moderate Mexican-Spanish not fluent and was wondering if that would get me by in spain, Travelling mind you not trying to work or anything

I know they are two different countries. Spain conquered Mexico in 1561 or something and Spain is Europe and Mexican culture is American. But, like is there a difference in the foods, culture, people, dialects of language, and traditions?

I know in Mexican Culture, there's the evil eye and quinceaneras? What about Spanish?

Okay, please do not be offended, (no racism intended) but I've noticed that Mexican Spanish speakers tend to talk really fast and I have a hard time understanding them, but I can understand other dialects just fine, (Cubans, Argentineans, Chileans, Spanish, etc.)

So my final two questions are why can't I understand Mexican Spanish as well as other dialects and are Spanish speakers from Mexico known to have the fastest Spanish speaking dialect?

1. How many major dialects are there in Mexican Spanish?

2. Is there such thing as "Standard Mexican" or "Neutral Mexican accent"? If there is, which area(estado) speaks the neutral/general Spanish?

3. Is Mexican accent totally different from Guatemalan accent(Mexico's neighbor) and Cuban accent?
Do you think this is Mexican Spanish?

http://media.putfile.com/Espanol-93

city because of the time of the spanish conquistadors. in mexico city you will find mexicans with blond hair and blue eyes that can pass for 100% white people. the border town mexicans have their own dialects due to the fact that they have mexican indian backgrounds. a mexican american born in texas speaks tex-mex. another dialect derived from the mexican indian language

So I was at the library yesterday with my friend who's from Paraguay. We saw these Learn Portuguese CDs and we both grabbed them- I have Portuguese heritage and I think she wanted to learn. However she grabbed the Brazilian Portuguese CD and I grabbed the European one xD

I'm learning Spanish, and I want to learn Castilian Spanish. However in the US Latin American Spanish (standard, I know there are a lot of dialects) is more important and Latin American Spanish is more widely spoken.

So I'm wondering, what are the main differences between the European languages and the Latin American counterparts? Like if I learned Castilian Spanish would my friend and I be able to understand each other? Same with Portuguese (I realize Brazilian Portuguese is more useful here but I wanna get in touch with my heritage and stuff...)

So what are the main differences? If I learned European and she knows/learned Latin American, would we be able to understand eachother or are they like completely different..... Even she didn't really know when it came to Portuguese (and she says the it's pretty much just pronunciation with Castilian and Latin American Spanish)
People I'm NOT asking what language I should learn even though I've asked that before.... We weren't seriously going to learn we were just interested. Don't say "Learn This learn that" because that's not what I'm asking. Read the question! It's an "IF" example.

In terms of linguistical differences, or differences in the dialects. Or even vocab, or things associated to the language.

Well, actually I'm already near fluent is Spanish, and I have been taught Latin American Spanish. I want to speak peninsular Spanish though because I plan to study a semester in Barcelona or Madrid. The only problem is that I am American, and if I decide to get a job in which I work with Spanish-speaking people, I want to speak more their language (though I realize that both dialects are mutually intelligible).