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...)
Nahuatl has been spoken in central Mexico since at least the seventh century CE. It was the language of the
Mexica, who dominated what is now central Mexico during the Late Postclassic period of
Mesoamerican history. During the centuries preceding the
Spanish and Tlaxcalan conquest of the Aztec Empire, the Aztecs had expanded to incorporate a large part of central Mexico. Their influence caused the variety of Nahuatl spoken by the residents of
Tenochtitlan to become a
prestige language in Mesoamerica. (Full article...)
... 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 Brazilian computer science researcher and internet pioneer Tadao Takahashi negotiated with
drug lords to install internet equipment in his country?
... that Tural, the setting of the expansion pack Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail, is inspired by Latin America and Southeast Asia?
General images
The following are images from various Latin America-related articles on Wikipedia.
Image 3Intermediate level international-style Latin dancing at the 2006 MIT ballroom dance competition. A judge stands in the foreground. (from Culture of Latin America)
Image 19In 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)
The mola or molas, forms part of the traditional outfit of a
Kuna woman, two mola panels being incorporated as front and back panels in a blouse. The full costume traditionally includes a patterned wrapped skirt (saburet), a red and yellow headscarf (musue), arm and leg beads (wini), a gold nose ring (olasu) and earrings in addition to the mola blouse (dulemor).
In
Dulegaya, the Kuna's native language, "mola" means "shirt" or "clothing". The mola originated with the tradition of Kuna women painting their bodies with geometrical designs, using available natural colors; in later years these same designs were woven in cotton, and later still, sewn using cloth bought from the European settlers of
Panama.
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...)
Nahuatl has been spoken in central Mexico since at least the seventh century CE. It was the language of the
Mexica, who dominated what is now central Mexico during the Late Postclassic period of
Mesoamerican history. During the centuries preceding the
Spanish and Tlaxcalan conquest of the Aztec Empire, the Aztecs had expanded to incorporate a large part of central Mexico. Their influence caused the variety of Nahuatl spoken by the residents of
Tenochtitlan to become a
prestige language in Mesoamerica. (Full article...)
... 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 Brazilian computer science researcher and internet pioneer Tadao Takahashi negotiated with
drug lords to install internet equipment in his country?
... that Tural, the setting of the expansion pack Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail, is inspired by Latin America and Southeast Asia?
General images
The following are images from various Latin America-related articles on Wikipedia.
Image 3Intermediate level international-style Latin dancing at the 2006 MIT ballroom dance competition. A judge stands in the foreground. (from Culture of Latin America)
Image 19In 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)
The mola or molas, forms part of the traditional outfit of a
Kuna woman, two mola panels being incorporated as front and back panels in a blouse. The full costume traditionally includes a patterned wrapped skirt (saburet), a red and yellow headscarf (musue), arm and leg beads (wini), a gold nose ring (olasu) and earrings in addition to the mola blouse (dulemor).
In
Dulegaya, the Kuna's native language, "mola" means "shirt" or "clothing". The mola originated with the tradition of Kuna women painting their bodies with geometrical designs, using available natural colors; in later years these same designs were woven in cotton, and later still, sewn using cloth bought from the European settlers of
Panama.
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Antigua and Barbuda
Argentina
Aruba
Bahamas
Barbados
Belize
Bolivia
Brazil
Chile
Colombia
Costa Rica
Cuba
Curaçao
Dominica
Dominican Republic
French Guiana
Ecuador
El Salvador
Grenada
Guatemala
Honduras
Guyana
Haiti
Jamaica
Martinique
Mexico
Montserrat
Nicaragua
Panama
Paraguay
Peru
Puerto Rico
Saint Kitts and Nevis
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Suriname
Trinidad and Tobago
Uruguay
Venezuela
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