I've really thought too long about this question... haha and I'm not sure I've really formulated a coherent thought. In another thread we were reminded that residents of the United States have co-opted the term American, when really, it is used to describe pretty much everyone living in the Northwestern and Southwestern hemispheres.
Luca was expecting something different when he crossed the border into El Norte, but what he discovered is that the dirt was exactly the same- -as I'm sure the dirt down the mountain and out of the cloud forest was the same. So American dirt in Central America is the same as American dirt in Mexico is the same as American dirt in the United States. Maybe we are too focused on the differences, rather than the similarities.
Just like people. No matter what America a person is from, it seems to me they all want to be safe; not be violated or have their homes ransacked; make a living that allows them to support their families; and be treated with dignity.