What Is America? New Corona Beer Ad Challenges Notion Of Who Is American

A Corona beer ad that challenges who is an American and what territory is included under the term America has gone viral amid President Donald Trump's promise to build a wall and shut down illegal immigration. The commercial shows a crowd chanting “Build a wall,” and provides a response to Trump's "Make America Great Again," campaign slogan.

“Great again?” a voice on the commercial asks, before switching to Spanish. “Stop using our name to generate divisions. That’s not what we are.”

The Corona beer ad released late last month explains that “America” is not exclusive to the United States, but rather refers to the North and South American continents, “a land with a billion people.” It includes images of cities, beaches and rivers in Brazil, Peru, Mexico and the North Pole.

“We are the continent that touches both poles, we are the navel of the world, and also its lungs,” the ad narrator says. “We have hands that endure effort and feet that make soccer the most beautiful dance. We are a roaring continent.”

The ad also notes: “We are passion, we are all, we are 35 states united today, under one coat of arms. Because we are all Americans. That’s why America has always been great.”

The ad is part of a larger Corona campaign called "Desfronteriza," or “unborder yourself,” the Washington Post reported. Corona is among a growing number of Mexican companies who are speaking out against Trump's policies. Tecate, another Mexican beer maker, released an ad last year slamming Trump's plans for a border wall.

“The time has come for a wall, a tremendous wall. The best wall. The Tecate beer wall. A wall that brings us together,” the spot says.

The term “America” has been linked to the name of Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci, who toured South America at the turn of the 16th century. There is also a Nicaraguan mountain chain known as Amerrique.

In Latin American Spanish, people from the U.S. are not called Americans, but rather estadounidense. Instead, Latinos generally understand American as a reference to everyone who lives in North and South America.

Corona is part of Mexican brewery Grupo Modelo's brands. The company saw its stocks fall after Trump said in January he would raises taxes on Mexican imports to pay for his wall.

In a statement about the "Desfronteriza," campaign, Corona said: “This campaign is very different from our other applications of the brand. Everyone is familiar with the iconic Corona campaigns but this time we want to pass a clear message to all Mexicans, to break their mental frontiers and keep progressing. We hope the message we’re sharing resonates not only with generations of Mexicans but with people around the world.”