Portal:Latin America

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Latin America often refers to the regions in the Americas in which Romance languages are the main languages and the culture and Empires of its peoples have had significant historical, ethnic, linguistic, and cultural impact. It is "commonly used to describe South America (with the exception of Suriname, Guyana and the Falkland islands), plus Central America, Mexico, and most of the islands of the Caribbean". In a narrow sense, it refers to Spanish America, and often it may also include Brazil (Portuguese America). The term "Latin America" may be used broader than Hispanic America, which specifically refers to Spanish-speaking countries; and narrower than categories such as Ibero-America, a term that refers to both Spanish and Portuguese-speaking countries from the Americas, and sometimes from Europe. It could also theoretically encompass Quebec or Louisiana where French is still spoken and are historical remnants of the French Empire in that region of the globe.

The term Latin America was first used in Paris at a conference in 1856 called "Initiative of America: Idea for a Federal Congress of the Republics" (Iniciativa de la América. Idea de un Congreso Federal de las Repúblicas), by the Chilean politician Francisco Bilbao. The term was further popularized by French emperor Napoleon III's government of political strongman that in the 1860s as Amérique latine to justify France's military involvement in the Second Mexican Empire and to include French-speaking territories in the Americas, such as French Canada, Haiti, French Louisiana, French Guiana, Martinique, Guadeloupe and the French Antillean Creole Caribbean islands Saint Lucia, and Dominica, in the larger group of countries where Spanish and Portuguese languages prevailed.

The region covers an area that stretches from Mexico to Tierra del Fuego and includes much of the Caribbean. It has an area of approximately 19,197,000 km² (7,412,000 sq mi), almost 13% of the Earth's land surface area. In 2019, Latin America had a combined nominal GDP of US$5.1 trillion and a GDP PPP of US$10.2 trillion. (Full article...)

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Kirchner in 2005

Néstor Carlos Kirchner Ostoić (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈnestoɾ ˈkaɾlos ˈkiɾʃneɾ] ^ⓘ; 25 February 1950 – 27 October 2010) was an Argentine lawyer and politician who served as the President of Argentina from 2003 to 2007. A member of the Justicialist Party, he previously served as Governor of Santa Cruz Province from 1991 to 2003, and mayor of Río Gallegos from 1987 to 1991. He later served as the first ever (and still only) First Gentleman of Argentina during the first tenure of his wife, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner Ideologically, he identified himself as a Peronist and a progressive, with his political approach called Kirchnerism.

Born in Río Gallegos, Santa Cruz, Kirchner studied law at the National University of La Plata. He met and married Cristina Fernández at this time, returned with her to Río Gallegos at graduation, and opened a law firm. Commentators have criticized him for a lack of legal activism during the Dirty War, an issue he would involve himself in as president. Kirchner ran for mayor of Río Gallegos in 1987 and for governor of Santa Cruz in 1991. He was reelected governor in 1995 and 1999 due to an amendment of the provincial constitution. Kirchner sided with Buenos Aires provincial governor Eduardo Duhalde against President Carlos Menem. (Full article...)

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... that Uruguay was the first winner of the FIFA World Cup, in 1930?

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WikiProjects

WikiProject South America
WikiProject Latin America (semi-active)

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Rescue efforts at the mine on 10 August 2010

The 2010 Copiapó mining accident, also known then as the "Chilean mining accident", began on 5 August 2010, with a cave-in at the San José copper–gold mine, located in the Atacama Desert 45 kilometers (28 mi) north of the regional capital of Copiapó, in northern Chile. Thirty-three men were trapped 700 meters (2,300 ft) underground and 5 kilometers (3 mi) from the mine's entrance, and were rescued after 69 days.

After the state-owned mining company, Codelco, took over rescue efforts from the mine's owners, exploratory boreholes were drilled. Seventeen days after the accident, a note was found taped to a drill bit pulled back to the surface: "Estamos bien en el refugio los 33" ("We are well in the shelter, the 33 of us"). (Full article...)

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... that despite an attempted "extermination" of homosexuals in the 1960s and 1970s, the LGBT community in Argentina is now the most accepted in Latin America?
... 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 Tural, the setting of the expansion pack Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail, is inspired by Latin America and Southeast Asia?
... 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?

General images

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

Image 1Villa de Leyva, a historical and cultural landmark of Colombia (from Culture of Latin America)
Image 2Exhumation of corpses in the aftermath of the Guatemalan genocide (from History of Latin America)
Image 3Left-leaning leaders of Bolivia, Brazil and Chile at the Union of South American Nations summit in 2008 (from History of Latin America)
Image 4Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet and U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger (from History of Latin America)
Image 5Fidel Castro and his men in the Sierra Maestra, 2 December 1956 (from History of Latin America)
Image 6Agrarian reform poster, Guatemala 1952 (from History of Latin America)
Image 7Countries in Latin America by date of independence (from History of Latin America)
Image 8A 17th-century map of the Americas (from History of Latin America)
Image 9Calls for justice in the wake of the Guatemalan genocide (from History of Latin America)
Image 101903 political cartoon: President Roosevelt intimidating Colombia to acquire the Panama Canal Zone. (from History of Latin America)
Image 11The joropo, as depicted in a 1912 drawing by Eloy Palacios (from Culture of Latin America)
Image 12Fiambre, Guatemalan traditional dish, eaten on November 1, the Day of the Dead (from Culture of Latin America)
Image 13The Guadalajara International Film Festival is considered the most prestigious film festival in Latin America. (from Culture of Latin America)
Image 14Pope Paul VI and Salvadoran cleric Oscar Romero (now St Oscar Romero) (from History of Latin America)
Image 15Holy week, Ouro Preto-MG, 2010. Chrome. Photo: Guy Veloso. (from Culture of Latin America)
Image 16Comandanta Ramona of the Zapatista Army of National Liberation, Mexico (from History of Latin America)
Image 17In 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 18Che Guevara Cuban revolutionary poster (from History of Latin America)
Image 19Monument to Cuauhtémoc, Mexico City (from Culture of Latin America)
Image 20Instituto Arnoldo Gabaldón, declared August 30, 1984, as a National Historic Landmark (from Culture of Latin America)
Image 21Intermediate level international-style Latin dancing at the 2006 MIT ballroom dance competition. A judge stands in the foreground. (from Culture of Latin America)
Image 22Map of Countries in Latin America with Socialist regimes during the Cold War c. 1985 (from History of Latin America)
Image 23The 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 24Roll-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 25The 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 26Mexican Stock Exchange (from Culture of Latin America)

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Selected panorama

Credit: Christian.maier

Panorama of Chichen Itza, a large pre-Columbian archaeological site built by the Maya civilization located in the northern center of the Yucatán Peninsula, Yucatán state, present-day Mexico; and an UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Kukulkán Pyramid can be seen in the right.

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Gaucho

Credit: Library of Congress

Portrait of an Argentine gaucho, a term commonly used to describe residents of the South American pampas, chacos, or Patagonian grasslands, found principally in parts of Argentina, Uruguay, Southern Chile, and Southern Brazil.

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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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