Mexico’s First Liberated City Commemorates Its Founding
The City of Yanga was founded after a group of enslaved Africans, led by Gaspar Yanga, rebelled against colonial rule.
The Women (Real and Imagined) Resisting Caudillos
In Latin America and the Caribbean, women's groups have acted to oppose military dictatorships. In fiction, their roles are rarely that of protagonist.
How Mexican and Cuban Music Influenced the Blues
The pianist and composer Jelly Roll Morton once told an ethnomusicologist that real jazz tunes needed "tinges of Spanish."
The Mexica Didn’t Believe the Conquistadors Were Gods
The indigenous Mexica (Aztec) people were overwhelmed by a superior technological force ruthlessly used against them.
La Pelona: The Hispanic-American Flapper
Flapperismo was no more appreciated by Hispanic guardians of traditional femininity than it was by Anglo-American ones.
The Monroe Doctrine’s Checkered Past
This 1823 policy initially focused on preventing European colonization in the Americas. But different U.S. presidents have used it to mean different things.
A Mesoamerican Ball Game Returns
An ancient ball game called Ulama is making a comeback in Mexico. What do we know about the earlier iteration of the game?
Brazil’s Museu Nacional Was More Than Just a Museum
Brazil's oldest natural history museum has burned down. The institution played a crucial part in creating Brazil's identity as a country.
Preserving South America’s Uncontacted Tribes
There are still tribes living in the Amazon rain forest who carry on their traditional way of life and rebuff attempts at contact.