Latin American Culture and Art

Latin America

Due to the relatively young age of the Americas, Latin American culture is often overlooked or dismissed.

Culture in the area is often associated with ecotourism and the empires who lived in the area before the Europeans conquered.

Cultural Differences

Due to the mixture of nationalities that have significantly influenced the region in the last centuries, culture in Latin America is truly unique.

Latin America

From the time that Columbus discovered the new world, Latin America has seen much blood shed by the people of the different countries in their fights for independence, a fact which is reflected by the use of the colour red in many of the country's flags (flag descriptions for each country in Latin America are listed in the Country Guide section).

The end of violence, coupled with the turbulent mix of Latin American governments who have controlled many of the countries, has seen Latin culture take hold in each of the countries relatively recently.

Little in Common

Spanish being the language most commonly spoken throughout Latin America and the relatively close 'founding' dates of each country are the only similarities between the countries.

Latin America

Mexico and in particular Argentina have been financially successful in comparison to their Latin American neighbours.

The Caribbean has been promoted as a destination for tourism since the 19th century, but is relatively new to both Bolivia and Ecuador.

Latin culture is often only acknowledged when thinking about popular Latin food dishes, of which many countries have similar versions of typical dishes or the vibrant Latin rhythms of music and their associated dances which have eminated from Latin America.

The tremendous geographical distance extending down to the outer reaches of the South Pole cannot be defined as simply one culture. The culture of Latin America is unique to each of its countries, although some do share similar influences.