1. People and Society Latin America is a growing society
Brazil is generally considered the most populated and most ethnically diverse
Mexico City is one of the most populated cities (23 million)
307 million in the U.S. today
Brazil has 191 million+

3. Most Latin Americans are either:
European
Amerindian
African
A mix of any of the above
Compared to other South American countries, the people of European descent are more of a majority in Argentina,[24] Chile,[25][26] and Uruguay,[27] and are about half of the population of Brazil.[28][29][30]
Population in the area is mostly:
Indian (10%)
European (8%)
Mestizo (70%)
African/Creole (9%)
Asian (.5%)
South America is also home to one of the largest populations of Africans. This group is also significantly present in Guyana, Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela, Suriname, French Guiana, and Ecuador.[31]
Mestizos (mixed white and Amerindian) are the largest ethnic group in Paraguay, Venezuela, Colombia and Ecuador and the second group in Peru.
East Indians form the largest ethnic group in Guyana.
Brazil followed by Peru also have the biggest Japanese, Korean and Chinese communities in South America.[32]
Brazil is the most diverse country in South America and arguably the world, with large population of Whites, Mulattos, Mestizos, a significant population of Blacks, as well as a sizeable community of Middle Easterners and East Asians.
East asian and south asian
Plantation owners searched halfway around the world for new laborers
Asians are only found on the Caribbean islands as they came to replace African workers following the end of slavery in the region

4. Many people are mestizo or mulatto
MESTIZO: a mix of European and Indian ancestors (majority)
MULLATO: a mix of white and black ancestry
Mixed European and Indian background
3/5ths of the people of Central America are of mixed European and Indian ancestors (mestizo)
Most people in Central America are mestizo…
Especially in El Salvador and Nicaragua
Mestizo:
(in Latin America) a man of mixed race, esp. the offspring of a Spaniard and an American Indian.
Mulatto:
noun: mulatto; plural noun: mulattoes; plural noun: mulattos 1.
a person of mixed white and black ancestry, esp. a person with one white and one black parent.
They worked on the Caribbean islands on big banana plantations…and helping to build the Panama Canal
And some of them are runaway slaves who escaped from Jamaica and neighboring Caribbean islands
This group has made central American more diverse in language as well as cookery (African and indigenous food preferences)
African Americans found their way to the region from former slavery

5. Peru, Bolivia, and Guatemala have the largest populations of native Amerindian people
Still practice traditional lifestyles of subsistence agriculture or hunters/gatherers
There are still some uncontacted tribes residing in the Amazon Rainforest
Guatemala has the most native indian people in it today whereas the Caribbean islands have few to none
50% of the population in Guatemala

6. Religiously, most South American people are Christian (Catholic mostly)
Brazil is the most Catholic country in the world
80% Catholic
90% Christian, in general
The conquistadors converted most native people on the continent to this Faith
Christ the redeemer statue rio de janero brazil
Besides Christianity, Hinduism and Islam are the next most popular religions

7. Keeping a watchful eye over the people of Rio de Janeiro, the Statue of Christ the Redeemer (or Cristo Redentor) sits atop Corcovado 2,300 feet (700 meters) above the city. It was voted one of the New Seven Wonders of the World in 2007.
The largest art deco statue in the world, it is 130 ft (39 m) tall and the arms measure 98 ft (30 m) across. Made of reinforced concrete and sandstone the statue was unveiled in 1931.
On a clear day the views from the base of the statue are fantastic. At night the statue is lit up and seemingly hovers over the city as the mountain it stands on is dark.  If it is cloudy the clouds light up and the effect can be quite spectacular and ethereal.
The idea of placing a large Christian monument atop Corcovado peak in Rio dates back to the 1850s, when a local Catholic priest requested funds from Princess Isabel to build one. The princess was not enthusiastic and the plan was scrapped entirely with the founding of the Republic of Brazil in 1889, which separated church and state.
In 1921, the Catholic Circle of Rio began to collect signatures and donations for a privately-funded Christian monument. Various designs were considered, including a large cross and a statue of Christ holding a globe, but ultimately an image of Christ with his arms wide open was chosen.
Construction began in The statue of Christ the Redeemer was designed by local engineer Heitor da Silva Costa and sculpted from concrete and soapstone by Paul Landowski, a Frenchman. After nine years and a cost of $250,000, the statue opened to the public on October 12, 1931.
120 feet high on a 2,000 foot high cliff

9. In the Caribbean islands and elsewhere in Latin America, other practiced religions include:
Lutheranism
Hinduism
Islam
Voodoo
Protestantism is growing
Areas inhabited by Indians see a mix of traditional and Roman Catholicism
The largest religious groups in the region are: Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Rastafari, Santería, and Voodoo among others.
Rastafari is perhaps the most widely known of Caribbean religions. The religion's influence vastly exceeds its numbers in its original Jamaica or even elsewhere in the Caribbean, to include persons in Europe (particularly the United Kingdom), Latin America, and the United States. Most notably preacher-leaders Leonard Howell, Joseph Hibbert, Archibald Dunkley, Paul Earlington, Vernal Davis, Ferdinand Richetts, and Robert Hinds. Cuban Santeria combines European and African beliefs and practices, but, unlike voodoo, Santeria is inspired mainly by one African tradition — the Yoruba. In Santeria, the Yoruba influence is marked in music, chants, foodstuffs, and by animal sacrifice.

10. Spanish is the primary language of the region
English is more common on the Caribbean coast of Nicaragua, Honduras, Costa Rica, and Panama too
There are also many native Indian languages spoken in rural areas (some in danger of disappearing)
Because of the history of Spanish colonization, most of the land-locked countries have Spanish as the official language
Belize’s is English
Spanish (in the West and Central Caribbean)
Dutch (on the islands that are part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in the Southeast Caribbean)
English (North, Central and East)
French (Central and East)
Portuguese-based Creole language: Papiamento (mainly in Southern Kingdom of Netherlands)
On the islands, four languages are common:
Spanish
Dutch
English
French

11. Most of the people in Latin America fit into two categories:
Panama and Costa Rica are the wealthiest countries in Central America…while the Bahamas is the richest Caribbean island group
Wealthy are a small portion
Plantations owners and are European or mestizo
The wealthy dominate government and politics
2/3 of all central Americans are poor and lack political power
farmers who have little or no land
Laborers who earn low wages on plantations
Most of the indians and native americans are poor
There are middle class, but it is small
Most of the people in Latin America fit into two categories:
Wealthy
Poor