Its 7.8 million square miles are home to 20 nations and 569 million people who speak three primary languages and more local dialects than anyone can count. The people who live in Latin America today have ancestral roots that encircle the entire globe and stretch back 14,000 years in time. This diversity of cultures comes together on a continent known for its vibrant and colorful art, architecture, and costumes of its people who exhibit a zest for life in their music and dance traditions. Long without a written language, storytelling and oral history have led to some of the greatest literature written in modern times.
History
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Latin American Archaeological Sites and Cultures: Enjoy this eMuseum tour of ancient Latin America.
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Aztecs Find a Home: The Eagle Has Landed - In this lesson plan, students delve into Aztec legend and discover the link between the ancient city of Tenochtitlan and today’s Mexico City.
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South American Civilizations: The Moche and Inca - When the first European explorers reached the Andes mountain range, they discovered a vast civilization so sophisticated it surpassed their wildest expectations.
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Introduction to Brazil - A slide show featuring life and history in all areas of Brazil; click link below each caption for an English translation.
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Pre-Columbian Medicine: Historical Sources: Artifacts reveal the amazing and sometimes shocking world of medicine in Latin America in a time before Christopher Columbus.
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Pre-Columbian Muslims in the Americas: Was there Muslim settlement of the Americas 500 years before Columbus?
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Catholic Encyclopedia: Pre-Columbian Discovery of America - Did the Vikings frequent American shores as far south as Brazil a thousand years ago?
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Land Cover: Latin America and Caribbean - Culture and lifestyles are influenced by the topography of each region.
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The Economic History of Latin America Since Independence - A scholarly review of economic issues confronting Latin America since its independence from European colonialism.
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Latin American Newsletters - Reporting on Latin American history in the making since 1967.
Music
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Latin American Music Styles: Crank up the volume to hear the sounds of Latin American music.
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Latin Music USA - This PBS television series explores the Latin roots in so much of today’s most popular music in the US.
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Plain Joao: The Man Who Invented Bossa Nova - Meet the man who invented this Brazilian “new thing” style of music and took the world by storm.
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A Brief Summary of Latin-American Popular Music - Native tradition, the African beat, and folk music from Europe merge into Latin American music known the world over.
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The Latin American Stream: Caribbean, South American, and Mexican traditions shape American Music - For a full appreciation of some of today’s hottest sounds in the USA, listen for their very Latin American roots.
Literature
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Reading Pre-Columbian Artifacts - Though not like books we’re familiar with today, the ancient Mayan glyph system tells us the story of life in the time of the Maya with the same clarity one would expect in a contemporary literary work.
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Walking Through Macchu Picchu with Whitman’s Song in Mind - A comparative study of the literature of Peru’s Pablo Neruda and Walt Whitman, of the United States.
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The Solitude of Latin America: Nobel Lecture - Enjoy this English translation of the lecture given by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, of Columbia, upon his acceptance of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1982.
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Poetry Foundation: Pablo Neruda (1904-1973) - Meet another Latin American Nobel Prize Winner (1971, Literature), from Chile.
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Isabel Allende - This Chilean author, writing in the magic realist tradition, has become one of the most widely-read and commercially successful authors writing in the Spanish language today.
Dress
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Carolina Herrera - One of the fashion industries biggest stars, Herrera was born in Venezuela but her fashion empire is headquartered in New York City today.
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Kayapo Indian Headdresses - These vibrantly colored headdresses are made from the feathers of storks and macaw parrots by tribal peoples of northern Brazil.
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Lake Titicaca, Bolivia - Photos of women and a child in traditional Bolivian dress.
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Weaving – Explains the process of weaving and the creation of clothing styles that play an important role in Latin American identity.
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The Pitzer Collection of Mayan Textiles - Click through this multi-page collection of photos, explanations, and fashion secrets of the Mayan culture.
Dance
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Ballet Folklorico de Mexico - This dance group, founded in 1952, strives to keep alive the traditional dance traditions of Mexico.
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The Argentinian Tango - Of all the dance styles associated with Latin America, the Argentinian is the most famous.
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Latin American Music and Dance - Descriptions of the various styles of dance that have made Latin American music famous.
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World Dance Council - This “world authority” for dance features a Latin dance competition.
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The New Pacha: A Brilliant Opportunity for Preserving Original Native Spirit - Click to page links on the left of the screen to find many photos of Bolivians in tribal costumes enjoying traditional dance.
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Wititi: Dances of Andean Arequipa Canyon of the Colca - Learn what the moves mean and the roles the dancers play in this ancient erotic dance from Peru.
Art
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Frida Kahlo - Kahlo’s works, like her life, are filled with tragedy, beauty, and controversy.
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Diego Rivera - Best known for his murals, Rivera is thought to be the inspiration for the many colorful murals in Latino communities in the US.
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The Cultures & History of the Americas - This online exhibition includes works by Diego Rivera and pottery, carvings, furniture, and pottery from artisans of prehistoric Latin America.
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Museum of Latin American Art - This museum in Long Beach, California, is devoted entirely to art from Latin America.
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Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History - Click left and right arrows to see photos of art from Latin America dating from 8,000 BC to the modern age.
Written by Michael S. Atwood