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Acacoyagua is a small town in Chiapas, Mexico, although at first glance you might think you took a wrong turn to Japan. This picturesque town is the first community of Japanese immigrants that settled in Chiapas in 1897, following a treaty between both nations. Those first immigrants and their descendants had to overcome many obstacles through the years, but now Mexican and Japanese traditions liv...

Every November 1st and 2nd, thousands of Ecuadoreans gather at cemeteries bringing food, flowers, candles, and personal objects of the deceased to celebrate  Día de los Finados . The Day of the Dead celebration combines Ecuador's ancestral indigenous traditions with Catholic practices to create a unique celebration of life and death that strengths community bonds and keeps the memory of their dear...

Lola Álvarez Bravo was the first Mexican female photographer. She learned the art and trade of photography from her renowned husband Manuel Álvarez Bravo, but soon she started to develop her own style. In an art world dominated by male artists, Lola made a name for herself by capturing the everyday life of post-revolution Mexico in black and white. Rural schools, street markets, children playing a...

The Nazca are an ancestral culture from modern-day Peru. This highly sophisticated culture made great technological advances in ceramics, textiles and agriculture, including the development of underground aqueducts. However, most people around the world know them for the so-called Nazca Lines. These mysterious lines carved into the ground, forming complex and detailed shapes only seen from high ab...

Queen Isabella I of Spain is one of the most prominent and controversial figures in the history of Spain. Better known as Isabella the Catholic, she and her husband Ferdinand the Catholic reigned during key global transformational periods such as the political and religious unification of Spain, the end of Muslim rule in the Iberian Peninsula, and the 'discovery' of the New World. Queen Isabella n...

Assata Shakur was the first woman to appear on the FBI Most Wanted Terrorists list. She was a controversial political activist, first within the Black Panther Party and later with the Black Liberation Army. She fought against the systemic oppression of her community and the injustices of the American legal system. After a daring prison break, Assata escaped to Cuba and was granted political asylum...

Back in the 1950's a family abuse case shocked Mexican society to its core. A man by the name of Rafael Pérez Hernández kept his wife and kids locked in the family house for over a decade under terrible conditions. Hernández saw himself as a 'free thinker' and claimed to be protecting his family from the evils and dangers of the corrupt outside world. While in reality, Hernández deprived his famil...

The Valdivia culture originated centuries ago in the north shore of modern-day Ecuador. The Valdivia civilization developed sophisticated agriculture and pottery tools and techniques never seen before. In fact, the Valdivian culture is considered the first pottery-making civilization in the American continent. Among the many exquisite pieces recovered are the so-called Venuses, feminine figurines...

El asado argentino is more than a delicious barbecued meal: is a ritual passed down from generation to generation that fuses the country's past, present and future. Understanding Argentina's passion for asado is understanding its history, from the first horses and cattle introduced by the Spanish colonizers to the rich tradition of los gauchos who were the first Argentineans to normalize grilling...

The Great Pyramid of Cholula in Puebla, Mexico, is not as tall as some of the famous Egyptian pyramids, but its surface is so wide that it is the biggest in the world! This magnificent pyramid offers many insights into the lives, social and religious practices of the ancient peoples that lived in this area, yet for centuries it remained completely hidden by vegetation. In fact, for years people mi...

Born in extreme poverty in post-Civil War Spain, when he was around 8, Marcos Rodríguez Pantoja was left to survive alone deep in the Andalusian mountains range. He befriended a pack of wolves and other creatures, hunted and foraged for food to survive. Years later, he was captured by the Civil Guard and taken into the city for the long, slow and very difficult process of re-entering the society t...

Miami is known for its vibrant night life, incredible beaches, and predominantly Latino population that goes back hundreds of years. While the arrival of thousands of Cubans escaping Castro's regime not only influenced the language, cuisine and economy of the city, it also opened the door for the waves of Latin American immigrants that followed and turned Miami in the capital of Latin America. Cli...

The Chapulín Colorado is a Mexican fictional superhero very popular all over Latin America.  El Chapulín is a beloved character created in the 1970s by Roberto Gomez Bolaño: Short, clumsy, not particularly good looking or strong, but with a good heart and noble, el Chapulín is an antihero character that won the hearts of Spanish-speaking audiences of all ages. Originally born as a parody of the in...

Luis Espinal Camps was not an ordinary priest. He was a Spanish Jesuit priest born in Mallorca. Poet, journalist, filmmaker, film critic, and political activist, he dedicated his life to advocating for social justice and equality. After his first TV show was repeatedly censored by Franco's regime, Camps went to Bolivia. There, Camps embraced his role as a human rights defender of the poor and chal...

Tango was born in the impoverished areas of Buenos Aires where local, African and European musical styles merged to create a sound full of longing, love and sorrow. Over time, both the music genre and the dance crossed borders and were embraced by people of all classes the world over. In recent years, tango has attracted the attention of neuroscientists battling Parkinson's disease and other neuro...

The Nobel laureate poet Pablo Neruda is without a doubt one of the most important and influential writers in Latin American literature and the world at large. He also had an active role in Chile's political life, serving as diplomat and senator for the Communist Party. In 1973, two years after receiving the Nobel Prize in Literature, Pablo Neruda died. Cancer was the official cause, but the timing...

Maria Zambrano is one of the brightest minds in the Spanish-speaking region. She was an essayist and philosopher, originally from Spain. Her life was marked, first, by the Spanish Civil War and then by World War II, conflicts that forced her into exile and strongly influenced her work. She lived in Spain, France, Italy, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Chile and more places, all while constantly writing...

In Latin America the advancements of modern medicine and science coexist with ancient beliefs that blame different physical ailments on 'spiritual forces'. These evils usually manifest as negative energies found in certain locations (abandoned buildings, crossroads, accident sites, etc) or used by other people to cause harm. Perhaps el mal de ojo (evil eye) is the better known one, but all through...

Pepe Mujica was not an ordinary politician. As a young man, his pursuit for equality, social justice, and the defense of human rights, led him to join a guerrilla group. As a consequence, Mujica spent 12 years imprisoned, beaten, tortured, and isolated during the Uruguayan dictatorship, but they could not break his spirit or his principles. Once democracy returned to Uruguay, Mujica dedicated his...

The 'burundanga' , better known in English as angel's trumpet, is a cursed flower. This beautiful, delicate, and fragrant flower is extremely toxic and it can cause hallucinations, disorientation, control loss, memory loss, paralysis, induce comas and even death. Historically, this flower was used for medical and shamanistic purposes only. However, in recent times, this toxic flower has gained pop...

Jesús Arriaga, better known as 'Chucho el Roto' , is a popular figure in Mexican culture. Class inequalities in Mexican society forced him into a life of crime early on, but Chucho el Roto became a bandit with a strict code of honor: steal from the rich, give to the poor, and no use of violence. A true master of disguise and deceit, soon enough the spectacular deeds of this 'Mexican Robin Hood' ea...

In Mexico, las historietas (comics) emerged in the 20th century as the ideal narrative media for the middle and lower classes. Thanks to their low cost, las historietas were able to reach a massive audience serving both as entertainment and as a reflection of the realities of Mexican society. Witty, sarcastic, and full of endearing characters, las historietas used humor to bring attention to impor...

For centuries, women had a prominent role in Latin American societies, but the 20th and 21st centuries in particular saw them rise to power to the highest office in Chile, Argentina, Bolivia, Panama, Peru, and other countries in the region. This coming Sunday, April 13th, Ecuador is having a presidential election and Luisa González is a strong candidate to become the next president of Ecuador, add...

Located deep in the Guatemalan rainforest, Tikal was a political, religious and economic hub for the Maya civilization. Dating back to approximately 750 BC, this metropolis -known by the Maya as Yax Mutul - soon started to take shape thanks to its impressive temples full of ornamental and architectural features that continue to dazzle many centuries later. Nowadays, Tikal constitutes one of the la...

In 1987, after a mountain in Ecuador was partially detonated, a shocking discovery was made. There, carved on the stone, was a massive face with horns, a prominent nose and fangs. This colossal sculpture sent shockwaves through the country and the speculations about its origins and significance ran wild. The real story behind this figure, however, was a true testament to the power of art and the d...