Portal:Latin America

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Latin America refers to a cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily in the form of Spanish and Portuguese (excluding Azores islands), and to a lesser extent, Italian dialects, French (excluding Quebec) and its creoles. There is no precise or official inclusion list. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geography, and as such it includes countries in both North and South America. Most countries south of the United States tend to be included: Mexico and the countries of Central America, South America and the Caribbean. Despite being in the same geographical region, English- and Dutch-speaking countries are sometimes excluded (Suriname, Guyana, the Falkland islands, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Belize, etc.). In a narrower sense, it often refers to Spanish America plus Brazil. Related terms are the narrower Hispanic America, which exclusively refers to Spanish-speaking nations, and the broader Ibero-America, which includes all Iberic countries in the Americas and occasionally European countries like Spain and Portugal.

The term Latin America was first introduced in 1856 at a Paris conference titled Initiative of America: Idea for a Federal Congress of the Republics (Iniciativa de la América. Idea de un Congreso Federal de las Repúblicas). Chilean politician Francisco Bilbao coined the term to unify countries with shared 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. Napoleon III extended the term to include French-speaking territories in the Americas, such as French Canada, Haiti, French Louisiana, French Guiana, and the French Antillean Creole Caribbean islands (e.g., Martinique, Guadeloupe, Saint Lucia, and Dominica). This broader conceptualization aligned with France’s geopolitical ambitions to categorize these regions alongside the predominantly Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking countries of the Americas. (Full article...)

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Contemporary portrait of Rosas wearing the full dress of a brigadier general, c. 1850

Juan Manuel José Domingo Ortiz de Rozas y López de Osornio (30 March 1793 – 14 March 1877), nicknamed "Restorer of the Laws", was an Argentine politician and army officer who ruled Buenos Aires Province and briefly the Argentine Confederation. Although born into a wealthy family, Rosas independently amassed a personal fortune, acquiring large tracts of land in the process. Rosas enlisted his workers in a private militia, as was common for rural proprietors, and took part in the disputes that led to numerous civil wars in his country. Victorious in warfare, personally influential, and with vast landholdings and a loyal private army, Rosas became a caudillo, as provincial warlords in the region were known. He eventually reached the rank of brigadier general, the highest in the Argentine Army, and became the undisputed leader of the Federalist Party.

In December 1829, Rosas became governor of the province of Buenos Aires and established a dictatorship backed by state terrorism. In 1831, he signed the Federal Pact, recognising provincial autonomy and creating the Argentine Confederation. When his term of office ended in 1832, Rosas departed to the frontier to wage war on the indigenous peoples. After his supporters launched a coup in Buenos Aires, Rosas was asked to return and once again took office as governor. Rosas reestablished his dictatorship and formed the repressive Mazorca, an armed parapolice that killed thousands of citizens. Elections became a farce, and the legislature and judiciary became docile instruments of his will. Rosas created a cult of personality and his regime became totalitarian in nature, with all aspects of society rigidly controlled. (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
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The Salvadoran military dictatorship was the period of time in Salvadoran history where the Salvadoran Armed Forces governed the country for almost 48 years from 2 December 1931 until 15 October 1979. The authoritarian military dictatorship limited political rights throughout the country and maintained its governance through rigged elections.

The military came to power in El Salvador when the first democratically elected president, Arturo Araujo, was overthrown in a military coup d'état on 2 December 1931. The military appointed Araujo's vice president, Brigadier General Maximiliano Hernández Martínez, as acting president on 4 December 1931. He remained in office until he was forced to resign on 9 May 1944 following strikes and protests by students in the capital of San Salvador. He was followed by three short-lived presidents, who were then succeeded by Óscar Osorio in 1950. His successor, José María Lemus, was overthrown in a military coup d'état in 1960 and was replaced by Julio Adalberto Rivera Carballo in 1962. From 1962 to 1979, the National Conciliation Party (PCN) ruled the country in a de facto one party state; opposition parties existed, but in practice held no real power. The military regime ended on 15 October 1979, when young military officers overthrew President Carlos Humberto Romero and established the Revolutionary Government Junta, a joint civilian-military government which ruled the country from 1979 until the presidential elections of 1982. The fall of the military government marked the beginning of the twelve-year-long Salvadoran Civil War which lasted until 1992. (Full article...)

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... that Brazilian computer science researcher and internet pioneer Tadao Takahashi negotiated with drug lords to install internet equipment in his country?
... that Franz Grave, the first bishop of Essen born in Essen, focused on intercultural dialogue with Latin America?
... 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 1The 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 2Instituto Arnoldo Gabaldón, declared August 30, 1984, as a National Historic Landmark (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 4Exhumation of corpses in the aftermath 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 61903 political cartoon: President Roosevelt intimidating Colombia to acquire the Panama Canal Zone. (from History of Latin America)
Image 7Holy week, Ouro Preto-MG, 2010. Chrome. Photo: Guy Veloso. (from Culture 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 9Countries in Latin America by date of independence (from History of Latin America)
Image 10Plaquita, 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 11In 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 12Left-leaning leaders of Bolivia, Brazil and Chile at the Union of South American Nations summit in 2008 (from History of Latin America)
Image 13Map of Countries in Latin America with Socialist regimes during the Cold War c. 1985 (from History of Latin America)
Image 14Villa de Leyva, a historical and cultural landmark of Colombia (from Culture of Latin America)
Image 15Che Guevara Cuban revolutionary poster (from History of Latin America)
Image 16Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet and U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger (from History of Latin America)
Image 17Agrarian reform poster, Guatemala 1952 (from History of Latin America)
Image 18A 17th-century map of the Americas (from History of Latin America)
Image 19Fiambre, Guatemalan traditional dish, eaten on November 1, the Day of the Dead (from Culture of Latin America)
Image 20The joropo, as depicted in a 1912 drawing by Eloy Palacios (from Culture of Latin America)
Image 21Comandanta Ramona of the Zapatista Army of National Liberation, Mexico (from History of Latin America)
Image 22Fidel Castro and his men in the Sierra Maestra, 2 December 1956 (from History of Latin America)
Image 23Mexican Stock Exchange (from Culture of Latin America)
Image 24The Guadalajara International Film Festival is considered the most prestigious film festival in Latin America. (from Culture of Latin America)
Image 25Monument to Cuauhtémoc, Mexico City (from Culture of Latin America)
Image 26Calls for justice in the wake of the Guatemalan genocide (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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Panorama of The Ruins of Sacsayhuamán, a main sight in the City of Cusco, the historic capital of the Inca Empire and Peru. It is a major tourist destination and receives almost 1.5 million visitors a year.

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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..