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 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 Venezuelan crisis of 1895 occurred over Venezuela's longstanding dispute with Great Britain about the territory of Essequibo, which Britain believed was part of British Guiana and Venezuela recognized as its own Guayana Esequiba. The issue became more acute with the development of gold mining in the region.

As the dispute became a crisis, the key issue became Britain's refusal to include in the proposed international arbitration the territory east of the "Schomburgk Line", which a surveyor had drawn half-a-century earlier as a boundary between Venezuela and the former Dutch territory ceded by the Dutch in the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1814, later part of British Guiana. The crisis ultimately saw Britain accept the United States' intervention in the dispute to force arbitration of the entire disputed territory, and tacitly accept the US right to intervene under the Monroe Doctrine. A tribunal convened in Paris in 1898 to decide the matter, and in 1899 awarded the bulk of the disputed territory to British Guiana. (Full article...)

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... that the Haitian Revolution is the only successful slave rebellion in history?

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WikiProjects

WikiProject South America
WikiProject Latin America (semi-active)

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S. i. subgrisescens at San Francisco Zoo

The emperor tamarin (Saguinus imperator) is a species of tamarin monkey allegedly named for its beard's resemblance to that of the German emperor Wilhelm II. It lives in the north Brazilian states of Acre and Amazonas and the southwest Amazon Basin, in east Peru, north Bolivia.

The fur of the emperor tamarin is predominantly grey colored, with yellowish speckles on its chest. The hands and feet are black and the tail is brown. Outstanding is its long, white beard, which extends to both sides beyond the shoulders. The animal reaches a length of 23–26 centimetres (9–10 in), plus a 35–41.5 cm (13.8–16.3 in) long tail. It weighs approximately 500 grams (18 oz). (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, soon after the American Continental Workers' Association was established, the rise of dictatorships throughout Latin America left it unable to function?
... that the Dominican folktale of the ciguapa was propagandized by the Rafael Trujillo regime to promote race mixing?
... 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?
... that, as part of Operación Estrella Polar III, Chilean president Gabriel Boric became the first Latin American leader to visit the South Pole?

General images

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

Image 1Countries in Latin America by date of independence (from History of Latin America)
Image 2Agrarian reform poster, Guatemala 1952 (from History of Latin America)
Image 3The joropo, as depicted in a 1912 drawing by Eloy Palacios (from Culture of Latin America)
Image 4Comandanta Ramona of the Zapatista Army of National Liberation, Mexico (from History of Latin America)
Image 5Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet and U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger (from History of Latin America)
Image 61903 political cartoon: President Roosevelt intimidating Colombia to acquire the Panama Canal Zone. (from History of Latin America)
Image 7A 17th-century map of the Americas (from History of Latin America)
Image 8Che Guevara Cuban revolutionary poster (from History of Latin America)
Image 9Plaquita, 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 10Roll-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 11Fiambre, Guatemalan traditional dish, eaten on November 1, the Day of the Dead (from Culture of Latin America)
Image 12The Guadalajara International Film Festival is considered the most prestigious film festival in Latin America. (from Culture of Latin America)
Image 13Pope Paul VI and Salvadoran cleric Oscar Romero (now St Oscar Romero) (from History of Latin America)
Image 14Left-leaning leaders of Bolivia, Brazil and Chile at the Union of South American Nations summit in 2008 (from History of Latin America)
Image 15Exhumation of corpses in the aftermath of the Guatemalan genocide (from History of Latin America)
Image 16Map of Countries in Latin America with Socialist regimes during the Cold War c. 1985 (from History of Latin America)
Image 17Monument to Cuauhtémoc, Mexico City (from Culture of Latin America)
Image 18Instituto Arnoldo Gabaldón, declared August 30, 1984, as a National Historic Landmark (from Culture of Latin America)
Image 19The 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 20Villa de Leyva, a historical and cultural landmark of Colombia (from Culture of Latin America)
Image 21Calls for justice in the wake of the Guatemalan genocide (from History of Latin America)
Image 22In 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 23Intermediate level international-style Latin dancing at the 2006 MIT ballroom dance competition. A judge stands in the foreground. (from Culture of Latin America)
Image 24The 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 25Holy week, Ouro Preto-MG, 2010. Chrome. Photo: Guy Veloso. (from Culture of Latin America)
Image 26Fidel Castro and his men in the Sierra Maestra, 2 December 1956 (from History of Latin America)
Image 27Mexican Stock Exchange (from Culture of Latin America)
Image 28Ethnic distribution by country. (from Culture of Latin America)

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Selected panorama

Credit: Luis Argerich

Skyline of the City of Buenos Aires, capital and largest city in Argentina, and the most visited city in South America. This picture shows specifically the district of Puerto Madero.

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Cueva de las Manos

Credit: Mariano

Cueva de las Manos (Spanish for Cave of Hands) is a cave or a series of caves located in the province of Santa Cruz, Argentina, 163 km (101 mi) south of the town of Perito Moreno. It is famous for (and gets its name from) the paintings of hands. The art in the cave dates from 13,000 to 9,000 years ago.Several waves of people occupied the cave, and early artwork has been carbon-dated to ca. 9300 BP (about 7300 BC). The age of the paintings was calculated from the remains of bone-made pipes used for spraying the paint on the wall of the cave to create silhouettes of hands. The site was last inhabited around 700 AD, possibly by ancestors of the Tehuelche people. It was entered on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1991.

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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

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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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