Portal:Latin America

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P:LAP:LA

Latin America (Spanish: América Latina or Latinoamérica; Portuguese: América Latina) is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish and Portuguese.

Since it is defined according to its cultural identity instead of its geography, Latin America includes countries from both North and South America. For instance, countries from North America like Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala, etc. tend to be included. In fact, most of the countries in Central America, South America and the Caribbean are considered Latin American countries. English or Dutch-speaking countries in South America or the Caribbean like Belize, Guyana, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Suriname, etc. are not considered "Latin American" because they speak Germanic languages. As such, Latin America comprises the Hispanic America along with Brazil. Related terms include the narrower Hispanic America, which exclusively refers to Spanish-speaking nations; and the broader Ibero-America, which includes all Iberian countries in the Americas.

The term Latin America was first introduced in 1856 at a conference named Initiative of the Americas: Idea for a Federal Congress of the Republics (Iniciativa de la América. Idea de un Congreso Federal de las Repúblicas), at Paris. Chilean politician Francisco Bilbao coined the term to refer to countries sharing cultural and linguistic heritage. It gained further prominence during the 1860s under the rule of Napoleon III, whose government sought to justify France's intervention in the Second Mexican Empire. (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 BCE 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 an unrecognized state called The Kingdom of Araucanía and Patagonia was established in the 19th century by a French lawyer and adventurer named Orélie-Antoine de Tounens?

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WikiProjects

WikiProject South America
WikiProject Latin America (semi-active)

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The Panama Canal Zone (Spanish: Zona del Canal de Panamá), also known simply 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. In 1904, the Isthmian Canal Convention was proclaimed, granting the United States in perpetuity the use, occupation, and control of a zone of land and land underwater for the construction, maintenance, operation, sanitation, and protection of the canal. From 1903 to 1979, the territory was controlled by the United States, which had purchased the land from its private and public owners, built the canal and financed its construction. (Full article...)

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... that Antonio Oteiza was a missionary in Latin America but from 1961 focused on creating religious art, which he felt had more impact than sermons?
... that, as part of Operación Estrella Polar III, Chilean president Gabriel Boric became the first Latin American leader to visit the South Pole?
... 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?
... that Diana Vicezar created recycled housing for street dogs, a recruitment platform for international students, and a podcast about Latin American students in Ireland?
... that Tural, the setting of the expansion pack Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail, is inspired by Latin America and Southeast Asia?

General images

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

Image 1A 17th-century map of the Americas (from History of Latin America)
Image 2Holy week, Ouro Preto-MG, 2010. Chrome. Photo: Guy Veloso. (from Culture of Latin America)
Image 3The 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 4Che Guevara Cuban revolutionary poster (from History of Latin America)
Image 5Ethnic distribution by country. (from Culture of Latin America)
Image 6Exhumation of corpses in the aftermath of the Guatemalan genocide (from History of Latin America)
Image 7Countries in Latin America by date of independence (from History of Latin America)
Image 81903 political cartoon: President Roosevelt intimidating Colombia to acquire the Panama Canal Zone. (from History of Latin America)
Image 9Left-leaning leaders of Bolivia, Brazil and Chile at the Union of South American Nations summit in 2008 (from History of Latin America)
Image 10The 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 11Calls for justice in the wake of the Guatemalan genocide (from History of Latin America)
Image 12Monument to Cuauhtémoc, Mexico City (from Culture of Latin America)
Image 13Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet and U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger (from History of Latin America)
Image 14Mexican Stock Exchange (from Culture 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 16Instituto Arnoldo Gabaldón, declared August 30, 1984, as a National Historic Landmark (from Culture of Latin America)
Image 17Fidel Castro and his men in the Sierra Maestra, 2 December 1956 (from History of Latin America)
Image 18Plaquita, 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 19The joropo, as depicted in a 1912 drawing by Eloy Palacios (from Culture of Latin America)
Image 20Pope Paul VI and Salvadoran cleric Oscar Romero (now St Oscar Romero) (from History of Latin America)
Image 21Roll-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)
Image 22Agrarian reform poster, Guatemala 1952 (from History of Latin America)
Image 23Fiambre, Guatemalan traditional dish, eaten on November 1, the Day of the Dead (from Culture of Latin America)
Image 24Comandanta Ramona of the Zapatista Army of National Liberation, Mexico (from History of Latin America)
Image 25Intermediate level international-style Latin dancing at the 2006 MIT ballroom dance competition. A judge stands in the foreground. (from Culture of Latin America)
Image 26Map of Countries in Latin America with Socialist regimes during the Cold War c. 1985 (from History of Latin America)
Image 27In 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 28Villa de Leyva, a historical and cultural landmark of Colombia (from Culture of Latin America)

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Selected panorama

Credit: Rodrigo Achá

Panorama of La Paz, the capital and second largest city in population (after Santa Cruz de la Sierra) of Bolivia. The city hosts numerous local festivities, and is an important cultural center of Bolivia.

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Moai

Credit: Aurbina

Moai are monolithic human figures carved by the Rapa Nui people on Easter Island in eastern Polynesia between the years 1250 and 1500 CE.Nearly half are still at Rano Raraku, the main moai quarry, but hundreds were transported from there and set on stone platforms called ahu around the island's perimeter. Almost all moai have overly large heads three-eighths the size of the whole statue. The moai are chiefly the living faces (aringa ora) of deified ancestors (aringa ora ata tepuna).The statues still gazed inland across their clan lands when Europeans first visited the island, but most were cast down during later conflicts between clans.

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Countries

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

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North and Central America

Caribbean

South America

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Associated Wikimedia

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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