Latin America & the Caribbean History and Culture

Photos of the Day

Aztecs Mayans Incas PYRAMIDS TIKAL MACHU PICHHU Steep sides, flat top with temple Spectacular Mayan city in Guatemala Ancient Incan city

EUROPEAN INFLUENCES In 1494, SPAIN and PORTUGAL signed a TREATY that divided control of SOUTH AMERICA. Portugal gained the present-day territory of BRAZIL – it became Portugal’s largest COLONY

In the 1500s, Europeans arrived and CONQUERED the AZTECS and INCAS Aztecs were conquered by HERNANDO CORTES and Spanish CONQUISTADORS in 1521 Incas were conquered by FRANCISCO PIZARRO in the early 1500s

By the 19th century, the Caribbean islands were claimed by FIVE different EUROPEAN nations: SPAIN FRANCE GREAT BRITAIN NETHERLANDS DENMARK

When Europeans colonized Latin America and the Caribbean, they brought with them their: 1. LANGUAGE: mostly SPANISH & PORTUGUESE, but also ENGLISH, FRENCH, and DUTCH *There are also hundreds of INDIGENEOUS languages still spoken in Latin America today

2. Religion: ROMAN CATHOLICISM Dominant religion of MEXICO and CENTRAL AMERICA BRAZIL has the LARGEST Catholic population in the world Many beautiful CATHEDRALS can be found in Latin America

AFRICAN INFLUENCES After establishing colonies, Europeans ENSLAVED native peoples in the CARIBBEAN and BRAZIL to work on SUGAR PLANTATIONS After many natives DIED from DISEASE and MISTREATMENT, Europeans brought AFRICANS over the ATLANTIC OCEAN by force to REPLACE the natives → this began the ATLANTIC SLAVE TRADE

More Africans were brought to BRAZIL than to any other area in the Americas → an estimated 3.6 MILLION total (nine times as many brought to the English colonies) By 1820, EIGHT TIMES as many Africans as Europeans had arrived in the Caribbean and SIX TIMES as many Africans as Europeans had arrived in Brazil.

SOCIAL STRUCTURE Eventually the NATIVES, EUROPEANS, and AFRICANS began to INTERMARRY. This led to a very rigid SOCIAL STRUCTURE MESTIZO: Someone who is part NATIVE (Indian) and part EUROPEAN (Spanish)

MUSIC REGGAE (JAMAICA) CALYPSO (TRINIDAD) STEEL DRUMS (TRINIDAD)

TRADITIONAL DANCES MERENGUE → origins in Haiti and D.R. BOLERO → Spanish in origin, adapted in Cuba CHA-CHA → Cuban, derived from the mambo MAMBO → Cuban, grew popular at end of WWII MERENGUE → origins in Haiti and D.R.

SALSA → developed by Puerto Ricans in New York SAMBA → native Brazilian dance TANGO → originated in Argentina

FUTBOL The game of FUTBOL (Spanish) or FUTEBOL (Portuguese) is played throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. In the United States the game is called SOCCER PELE is one of the most famous soccer players in history. He scored 1,281 goals in his 22-year career.

FOOD Caribbean meals often include SPICES, BEANS, RICE, FRUIT, and COCONUT MILK. Popular Caribbean dishes include ARROZ con POLLO (chicken with rice), Jamaican JERK CHICKEN, and CURRIED GOAT STEW.

Ingredients in Mexican dishes include CORN, TOMATILLOS, FRIJOLES, and CHILES Popular Mexican dishes are TACOS, ENCHILADAS, EMPANADAS, and QUESADILLAS

ART & LITERATURE DIEGO RIVERA FRIDA KAHLO GABRIEL GARCIA MARQUEZ

POPULATION & CITIES Years of colonization led to a DISPARITY (GAP) of income DISTRIBUTION and contributed to an extreme DIVIDE between the RICH and those in POVERTY In Latin America there is NOT a large MIDDLE CLASS

Part of the reason for the DISPARITY OF INCOME DISTRIBUTION is because a very SMALL % of the population owns MOST of the land in Latin America Since most people do not own a lot of land, they can only grow enough food to survive on. This is known as SUBSISTENCE FARMING. In addition, some people in Mexico work on EJIDOS (COMMUNALLY OWNED and operated farms)

Latin America has been experiencing RAPID POPULATION GROWTH in recent years because of IMPROVED standards of living. Because of the POVERTY in RURAL areas, people move to the CITIES to find JOBS and have a better life. People moving to cities is called URBANIZATION

Many of the islands in the Caribbean are densely populated More than 85% of people in ARGENTINA, CHILE, and URUGUAY live in cities The steady flow of people into cities has caused several MEGACITIES to form - a megacity has at least 10 MILLION people living there

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina MEXICO CITY, Mexico RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil BUENOS AIRES, Argentina SANTIAGO, Chile

One problem associated with these megacities is POLLUTION One problem associated with these megacities is POLLUTION. Mexico City has a problem with SMOG because the city is surrounded by mountains which trap the polluted air.

Another major problem associated with Latin American megacities is that the INFRASTRUCTURE (systems that serve a city – communication, transportation, schools, etc.) cannot keep up with the growing populations. This leads to people moving out of the cities, known as OUT-MIGRATION. They move to places called SQUATTER SETTLEMENTS.

Squatter settlements are called by several names: - FAVELAS (Brazil) - ranchos (Venezuala) - barriadas (Peru) - colonias letarias (Mexico) A SQUATTER is a person who lives in these settlements because they cannot afford to buy land LEGALLY

Squatter settlements lack services and infrastructure such as CLEAN WATER, ELECTRICITY, SCHOOLS, and market places