Reality illustrates something very different.  For example, the cultural mosaic of Latin America rivals that of any of the great world regions, with representation of sizable ethnic groups from across the globe.  Whether a century-old Welsh-Argentine community in the Patagonian town of Gaiman, or Japanese-Peruvian families in Lima, or Arab-Brazilians in Sao Paolo, Latin America is exploding with cultural diversity.

Remember that over half of South America's population speaks not Spanish but Portuguese or a native language as their first tongue while many, eager to join in global trade, are learning English.

While much has been written about the European influence on this region, no analysis can be complete without considering the indigenous populations that were present before the time of Christopher Columbus.  Even today, over 500 years after the initial European conquest of the Americas, native culture is still practiced in many areas.

In Mesoamerica (an area encompassing Central America and Mexico), two of the most important civilizations to have flourished before 1492 were the The Mayan Empire first arose more than 3,000 years ago and occupied  the low-lying tropical plains of what is now Honduras, Guatemala, Belize, and southern Mexico.  The Aztec Empire, which came much later, is thought to have originated in the early 14th century.  This empire stretched from Honduras to the highland areas of central Mexico, its core being in the great city of Tenochtitlan in the Valley of Mexico, an area that is today known as Mexico City.  The Aztec civilization lasted approximately 100 years until Hernan Cortes and the Spanish Conquistadors, and an epidemic of smallpox, effectively destroyed the Aztec Empire in the 1520s.

Of the Civilizations of South America, one of the most important was that of the Incan Empire.  The empire, which originated around the 13th century and lasted nearly 350 years, occupies the highland areas of Peru, Ecuador, and Bolivia.  If you were to travel to these areas of South America today, you may still encounter the ancient Incan language of Quechua.

Agriculture was extremely important to the native peoples of the region.  Their advancements in farming and crop domestication, which were quickly brought back to the old world by European explorers, ultimately helped transform modern Europe.  Can you name a few of the crops that originated in Latin America?  You may be surprised to find that a Midwest summer favorite (mystery crop #1) originally came from Latin America, as well as another crop (mystery crop #2) that most of us associate with Italy, but traces its roots somewhere else!

As with most other land areas, the political geography has changed over time in Latin America.  Take a look at some Historical Maps of the Americas provided by The University of Texas at Austin to gain a better understanding of how political boundaries have shifted over the past 200 years.  Look carefully.  Do you find any surprises?

The Andes - Among the many major geophysical regions in Latin America, the Andes are one of the more dominant landforms.  Beginning in northwestern Venezuela and ending in Tierra del Fuego, the Andes are relatively young mountains that extend nearly 5,000 miles.  Aconcagua in Argentina, at 23,000 feet in altitude (6,958 meters), is considered the highest peak in the Western Hemisphere.  While the physical geography is obviously quite different from other areas in Latin America, the culture of the Andes is equally distinctive.

When thinking of environmental issues that are present in Latin America (and the world), many of us instinctively think of the problems associated with tropical deforestation.  This is quite understandable considering that many fund-raising efforts and ad campaigns by various organizations in recent years have been directed toward saving these forests.  One of the biggest challenges to saving the forests is altering the agricultural practices of many forest dwellers who still rely on an old, but flawed agricultural system known as “slash and burn.”  While this practice produces strong crop yields for 1 to 3 years after the forest patch is cleared and burned, these fields must then be abandoned because nutrient levels have fallen to unusable levels.  Environmentalists still debate how long it takes for the forest to return to its original state; all agree that forest recovery is not fast enough at current deforestation rates.

            View the effects of tropical deforestation in Rondônia, Brazil as seen from space between 1975 and 1992.

Of course, there are other concerns, whether it is the preservation and protection of coral reefs in Belize, or the concentrated efforts to protect raptors in Argentina.  Many Latin Americans are also faced with a barrage of urban environmental concerns, ranging from air pollution to inadequate water, from waste management to urban sprawl.  A variety of national, international, and regional environmental groups are actively involved  in preservation and protection projects in Latin America.  Though environmental degradation still exists, few will argue that their efforts have not produced measurable results.
 

Take a tour of Belize and explore its national parks, Mayan ruins, and its six political districts.
 
Take a tour of Argentina and learn about Argentine culture through video!  Learn about the gaucho, the tango, and many more cultural icons of Argentina through sound, music, and pictures!  Take a virtual tour through Buenos Aires, the pampas, and Patagonia, and see firsthand the great waterfall at Iguazú.

Take a virtual trip to Brazil and see what life is like in South America’s largest country.
 
 

           
            Brasil 2000 - 107.3 FM - Sao Paolo, Brazil ~ Rock/Músicas
            Caracol Cadena Básica - Bogotá, Colombia ~ News/Talk
            CRE Satelital - 560 AM - Guayaquil, Ecuador ~ Talk/Sports

             You'll need to Download the FREE G2 player to listen in.

Newspapers:

            Buenos Aires Herald On-Line (English) - Argentina
            El Dia - Argentina
            A Noticia - Brazil
            Chip News (English) – Chile
            El Comercio - Ecuador's daily news source for over 90+ years
            Periodico La Hora – Guatemala
            La Republica - Peru
            El Nacional – Venezuela

Weather Forecasts:
 
             [ Central America  |  Satellite image ]
             [ South America  |  Satellite image ]

Embassies in Washington D.C.:

            Argentina
            Colombia
            Ecuador
            Peru
            Venezuela

            For access to embassy Web sites worldwide, try the Embassy & Consulate Search Engine.

Additional Links:

Internet Resources for Latin America
Yale University Library Latin American Collection Links
Latin American Network Information Center (LANIC)

This activity contains 3 questions.

	Are there major differences between the principal indigenous groups of Latin America?  How so?  Keep in mind that there may not only be cultural differences to consider, but also with the geographic distribution of these people. (See Aztec and Maya map and Inca map.)  How does the legacy of the Mayans, Aztecs, and Incas survive today?   To create paragraphs in your essay response, type <p> at the beginning of the paragraph, and </p> at the end.

	As a geographer, you have been asked by a well-known environmental action group to perform a land-cover, land-use change assessment of Rondônia, Brazil.  You have been provided with three satellite images (Brazil images) which have been collected over a period of 17 years.  From these images, what conclusions can be made?  What may explain the linear marks seen on the 1986 and 1992 images?   To create paragraphs in your essay response, type <p> at the beginning of the paragraph, and </p> at the end.

	Each of us has an "environmental perception" of what life is like in a particular place.  Many of us have never been to Latin America, yet each one of us has our own idea of what the cultural and physical geography is of a typical Latin American country.  From your virtual fieldtrip of Argentina and Brazil, describe some of the surprises you encountered that have changed your thinking of these two places.   To create paragraphs in your essay response, type <p> at the beginning of the paragraph, and </p> at the end.

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