Perhaps one could say that I was brought up in such a "extreme" culture. The cult of Mary was ingrained at school since kindergarten: daily Rosary (more than once, if you misbehaved), novenas, daily prayer to her... And it wasn't only the school. Life in Spain would come to a stand still every day at noon, the church bells would ring and all radio stations broadcasted the angelus! And the relics!! Many years later, when I was getting ready to defend my PhD dissertation, my mom mailed me a ribbon that had touched a rock that tradition said Mary had stood upon! She wanted me to carry the ribbon with me to ensure that I would do good in my presentation! I could go on and on, but you get the idea. I don't have anything against Mary, I respect her and certainly I don't fear her. When people ask me if I believe she's the mother of God, I always answer that she is the mother of the human side of Jesus. But when I pray, I follow Paul's advice and approach boldly the Throne of Grace (Heb. 4:16) and my only mediator is Jesus (1 Tim 2:5).
FWIW, I don’t view the Angelus as Marian. I think of it more as “Incarnational.”
Many years ago, in a class in my college in East Texas, I reminded my (protestant) instructors that there is a difference between Spanish and German Catholicism, between Irish and Italian, and Vietnamese and French. Myself, I grew up in a largely Protestant environment, in small Catholic Church of about five hundred families most connected with the oil business. Until 1931, no Catholics in the town. We had Germans, and Czechs, and Irish, and Cajuns and Poles, and just plain American, owing to mixed marriages. Our priests were Irish-Americans from Massachusetts of the LaSallette Order. my Dad was a South Texas German from San Antonio, and wheh he was growing up, there were still more German-speakers than Mexican-speakers (none of this Hispanic craps in those days). Baptized in a German Church where until 1947 sermons were still preached in German. The devotion emphasis in a German church is toward our lady is there, but not as strong. Liturgically the Benedictine influence was already there. The Rosary is common to all cultures, and so is the reason. To speak of Mary as the Mother of God—Theotokos—is a shibboleth, which separates Catholics —and Orthodox—from non-Chalcedon Christians —which includes many Protestants, although they may not know it. I happen to believe that Nestorius failed to see that his formulation —which was really directed against Alexandria— represents a slid back to that arch heretic Arios. Down play Mary and you down play the divinity of Jesus. In a way, we Catholics have chosen to elevate Mary to the top of creation toe pretty much the same spot where Arios placed the Christ, with this difference. We never forget the maid of Nazareth even as we speak of the queen of heaven. We also never forget the central mess age of the Sistine Chapel: that Christ is both Lord and Savior. Ironically the Protestants, or at least the liberals, in neglecting Mary chose to put in her place an androgynous Christ,