Portal:Latin America

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Latin America often refers to the regions in the Americas in which Romance languages are the main languages. It is "commonly used to describe South America (with the exception of Suriname, Guyana and the Falkland islands), plus Central America, Mexico, and most of the islands of the Caribbean". In a narrow sense, it refers to Spanish America, and often it may also include Brazil (Portuguese America). The term "Latin America" may be used broader than Hispanic America, which specifically refers to Spanish-speaking countries; and narrower than categories such as Ibero-America, a term that refers to both Spanish and Portuguese-speaking countries from the Americas, and sometimes from Europe. It could also theoretically encompass Quebec or Louisiana where French is still spoken and are historical remnants of the French Empire in that region of the globe, or even the majority Papiamento-speaking Dutch Caribbean islands of Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao (ABC Islands).

The term Latin America was first used in Paris at a conference in 1856 called "Initiative of America: Idea for a Federal Congress of the Republics" (Iniciativa de la América. Idea de un Congreso Federal de las Repúblicas), by the Chilean politician Francisco Bilbao. The term was further popularized by French emperor Napoleon III's government of political strongman that in the 1860s as Latin America to justify France's military involvement in the Second Mexican Empire and to include French-speaking territories in the Americas, such as French Canada, Haiti, French Louisiana, French Guiana, Martinique, Guadeloupe and the French Antillean Creole Caribbean islands Saint Lucia, and Dominica, in the larger group of countries where Spanish and Portuguese languages prevailed. (Full article...)

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The Olmec colossal heads are stone representations of human heads sculpted from large basalt boulders. They range in height from 1.17 to 3.4 metres (3.8 to 11.2 ft). The heads date from at least 900 BC and are a distinctive feature of the Olmec civilization of ancient Mesoamerica. All portray mature individuals with fleshy cheeks, flat noses, and slightly-crossed eyes; their physical characteristics correspond to a type that is still common among the inhabitants of Tabasco and Veracruz. The backs of the monuments are often flat.

The boulders were brought from the Sierra de Los Tuxtlas mountains of Veracruz. Given that the extremely large slabs of stone used in their production were transported more than 150 kilometres (93 mi), requiring a great deal of human effort and resources, it is thought that the monuments represent portraits of powerful individual Olmec rulers. Each of the known examples has a distinctive headdress. The heads were variously arranged in lines or groups at major Olmec centres, but the method and logistics used to transport the stone to these sites remain unclear. The heads all display distinctive headgear and one theory is that these were worn as protective helmets, maybe worn for war or to take part in a ceremonial Mesoamerican ballgame. (Full article...)

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... that Frida Kahlo was bisexual, and had affairs with both men and women, including Josephine Baker?

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WikiProject South America
WikiProject Latin America (semi-active)

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The Panama Canal Zone (Spanish: Zona del Canal de Panamá), also simply known as the Canal Zone, was a concession of the United States located in the Isthmus of Panama that existed from 1903 to 1979. It consisted of the Panama Canal and an area generally extending five miles (8 km) on each side of the centerline, but excluding Panama City and Colón. Its capital was Balboa.

The Panama Canal Zone was created on November 18, 1903 from the territory of Panama; it was established with the signing of the Hay–Bunau-Varilla Treaty, which allowed for the construction of the Panama Canal within the territory by the United States. The zone existed until October 1, 1979, when it was incorporated back into Panama. (Full article...)

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... that Franz Grave, the first bishop of Essen born in Essen, focused on intercultural dialogue with Latin America?
... that Brazilian computer science researcher and internet pioneer Tadao Takahashi negotiated with drug lords to install internet equipment in his country?
... that Tural, the setting of the expansion pack Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail, is inspired by Latin America and Southeast Asia?
... that UK prime minister Rishi Sunak complained when a joint declaration was made at a summit between the EU and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States that used the term Islas Malvinas?

General images

The following are images from various Latin America-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Agrarian reform poster, Guatemala 1952 (from History of Latin America)
Image 21903 political cartoon: President Roosevelt intimidating Colombia to acquire the Panama Canal Zone. (from History of Latin America)
Image 3Holy week, Ouro Preto-MG, 2010. Chrome. Photo: Guy Veloso. (from Culture of Latin America)
Image 4Calls for justice in the wake of the Guatemalan genocide (from History of Latin America)
Image 5Pope Paul VI and Salvadoran cleric Oscar Romero (now St Oscar Romero) (from History of Latin America)
Image 6Instituto Arnoldo Gabaldón, declared August 30, 1984, as a National Historic Landmark (from Culture of Latin America)
Image 7Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet and U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger (from History of Latin America)
Image 8Intermediate level international-style Latin dancing at the 2006 MIT ballroom dance competition. A judge stands in the foreground. (from Culture of Latin America)
Image 9Comandanta Ramona of the Zapatista Army of National Liberation, Mexico (from History of Latin America)
Image 10In blue countries under right-wing governments and in red countries under left-wing and centre-left governments as of 2023 (from History of Latin America)
Image 11Exhumation of corpses in the aftermath of the Guatemalan genocide (from History of Latin America)
Image 12Che Guevara Cuban revolutionary poster (from History of Latin America)
Image 13Monument to Cuauhtémoc, Mexico City (from Culture of Latin America)
Image 14The name Augusto Sandino, Nicaraguan nationalist hero for his struggle against the United States, was taken by leftist guerrillas as the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN). (from History of Latin America)
Image 15The Guadalajara International Film Festival is considered the most prestigious film festival in Latin America. (from Culture of Latin America)
Image 16The Basilica of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Aparecida is the second largest in the world, after only of the Basilica of Saint Peter in Vatican City. (from Culture of Latin America)
Image 17Fidel Castro and his men in the Sierra Maestra, 2 December 1956 (from History of Latin America)
Image 18The joropo, as depicted in a 1912 drawing by Eloy Palacios (from Culture of Latin America)
Image 19Mexican Stock Exchange (from Culture of Latin America)
Image 20Countries in Latin America by date of independence (from History of Latin America)
Image 21Left-leaning leaders of Bolivia, Brazil and Chile at the Union of South American Nations summit in 2008 (from History of Latin America)
Image 22Fiambre, Guatemalan traditional dish, eaten on November 1, the Day of the Dead (from Culture of Latin America)
Image 23Map of Countries in Latin America with Socialist regimes during the Cold War c. 1985 (from History of Latin America)
Image 24Plaquita, a Dominican street version of cricket. The Dominican Republic was first introduced to cricket through mid-18th century British contact, but switched to baseball after the 1916 American occupation. (from Culture of Latin America)
Image 25Villa de Leyva, a historical and cultural landmark of Colombia (from Culture of Latin America)
Image 26A 17th-century map of the Americas (from History of Latin America)
Image 27Roll-on/roll-offships, such as this one pictured here at Miraflores locks, are among the largest ships to pass through the Panama Canal. The canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. (from History of Latin America)

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Credit: Martin St-Amant

Panorama of the Iguazú Falls, in the Brazilian side. Walkways allow close views of the falls from both Brazil and Argentina. The falls, an UNESCO World Heritage Site, are located on the border of the Brazilian State of Paraná and the Argentine Province of Misiones.

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Alpamayo

Credit: Brad Mering

Alpamayo, one of the most conspicuous peaks in the Cordillera Blanca mountain range of the Peruvian Andes. It is a steep, almost perfect pyramid of ice, one of a number of peaks that compose the northernmost massif of the Cordillera Blanca..

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Territories (in bold), dependencies, and subnational entities of a country not located primarily in Latin America are italicized.

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Latin America on Wikiquote	Latin America on Wikibooks	Latin America on Wikisource	Latin America on Wiktionary	Latin America on Wikinews	Latin America on Wikimedia Commons
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