   #copyright

Latin America

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Central & South American
Geography

   Latin America

   Area 21,069,501 sq km
   Population 548,500,000
   Countries 20
   Dependencies 4
   GDP $2.26 Trillion ( exchange rate)
   $4.5 Trillion ( purchasing power parity)
   Languages Spanish, Portuguese, French, Quechua, Aymara, Nahuatl, Mayan
   languages, Guaraní, Italian, English, German, Welsh, Dutch, Haitian
   Creole, many others
   Time Zones UTC -3:00 (Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay) to UTC -8:00 (Mexico)
   Largest Cities Mexico City
   São Paulo
   Buenos Aires
   Bogotá
   Lima
   Rio de Janeiro
   Santiago
   Caracas

   Latin America (Portuguese/Spanish: América Latina) is the region of the
   Americas where Romance languages — those derived from Latin — are
   officially or primarily spoken. Latin America is distinct from
   Anglo-America, a region of the Americas where English, a Germanic
   language, predominates.

Definition

   There are several definitions of Latin America:
     * From a strict cultural and linguistic perspective, it would include
       all countries and territories where Romance languages — Spanish,
       Portuguese, French, and their creoles — are spoken.

     * The most common view is that Latin America includes territories in
       the Americas where Spanish or Portuguese prevail: Mexico and most
       of Central America, South America, and (per land area and
       population) the Caribbean. The acronym "LACRO" refers to this view.
       The English-speaking American countries are not considered to be
       part of Latin America. Territories where other Romance languages
       such as French (e.g., Quebec in Canada) or Kreyol (e.g. Haiti,
       Martinique and Guadeloupe) predominate are frequently not
       considered to be part of Latin America from this perspective,
       despite the French origins of the concept. The former Dutch
       colonies Suriname, Netherlands Antilles and Aruba are not
       considerend parts of Latin America, even though in the latter two,
       the predominantly Iberian-influenced language Papiamentu is spoken
       by the majority of the population.

     * Sometimes, particularly in the United States, the term "Latin
       America" is used to refer to all of America south of the U.S.,
       including countries such as Belize, Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana,
       Jamaica, Barbados and Suriname where non-Romance languages prevail.
       Conversely, it is often used in Brazil to designate the
       Spanish-speaking countries within this area, which are often known
       as Hispanic America.

   Geopolitically, Latin America is divided into 20 independent countries
   and several dependent territories. Spanish is predominant and an
   official language in most Latin American countries, with the exception
   of Brazil where Portuguese prevails.

Etymology

   A terrain map of Latin America
   Enlarge
   A terrain map of Latin America

   Originally a political term, Amerique Latine was coined by French
   emperor Napoleon III, who cited Amerique Latine and Indochine as goals
   for expansion during his reign. While the term helped him stake a claim
   to those territories, it eventually came to embody those parts of the
   Americas that speak Romance languages initially brought by settlers
   from Spain, Portugal and, in a minor extent, France in the 15th and
   16th centuries. An alternate etymology points to Michel Chevalier, who
   mentioned the term in 1836.

   In the United States, the term was not used until the 1890s, and did
   not become a common descriptor of the region until early in the
   twentieth century. Before then, Spanish America was more commonly used.

   The term Latin America has come to represent an expression equivalent
   to Latin Europe and implies a sense of supranationality greater than
   those implied by notions of statehood or nationhood. This supranational
   identity is expressed through common initiatives and organizations,
   like the South American Community of Nations. It is important to
   observe that the terms Latin American, Latin, Latino, and Hispanic
   differ from each other.

   Many people in Latin America do not speak Latin-derived languages, but
   native ones or languages brought over by immigration. There is also the
   blend of Latin-derived cultures with indigenous and African ones
   resulting in a differentiation in relation to the Latin-derived
   cultures of Europe.

   Quebec, other French-speaking areas in Canada and the United States
   like Acadia, Louisiana, Saint-Pierre and Miquelon, and other places
   north of Mexico are traditionally excluded from the sociopolitical
   definition of Latin America, despite having significant populations
   that speak a Latin-derived language, due in part to these territories'
   not existing as sovereign states or being geographically separated from
   the rest of Latin America. French Guiana, however, is often included,
   despite being a dependency of France and not an independent country.

   As alluded to above, the term Ibero-America is sometimes used to refer
   to the nations that were formerly colonies of Spain and Portugal, as
   these two countries are located on the Iberian peninsula. The
   Organization of Ibero-American States (OEI) takes this definition a
   step further, by including Spain and Portugal (often termed the Mother
   Countries of Latin America) among its member states, in addition to
   their Spanish and Portuguese-speaking former colonies in America.

History

   Countries in Latin America by date of independence
   Enlarge
   Countries in Latin America by date of independence

   The Americas are thought to have been first inhabited by people
   crossing the Bering Land Bridge, now the Bering strait, from northeast
   Asia into Alaska more than 10,000 years ago. Over the course of
   millennia, people spread to all parts of the continent. By the first
   millennium AD/CE, South America’s vast rainforests, mountains, plains
   and coasts were the home of tens of millions of people. Some groups
   formed permanent settlements, such as the Chibchas (or "Muiscas" or
   "Muyscas") and the Tairona groups. The Chibchas of Colombia, the
   Quechuas of Peru and the Aymaras of Bolivia were the three Indian
   groups that settled most permanently.

   The region was home to many indigenous peoples and advanced
   civilizations, including the Aztecs, Toltecs, Caribs, Tupi, Maya, and
   Inca. The golden age of the Maya began about 250, with the last two
   great civilizations, the Aztecs and Incas, emerging into prominence
   later on in the early 14th century and mid-15th centuries,
   respectively.

   With the arrival of the Europeans following Christopher Columbus's
   voyages, the indigenous elites, such as the Incans and Aztecs, lost
   power to the Europeans. Hernán Cortés destroyed the Aztec elite's power
   with the help of local groups who disliked the Aztec elite, and
   Francisco Pizarro eliminated the Incan rule in Western South America.
   European powers, most notably Spain and Portugal, colonized the region,
   which along with the rest of the uncolonized world was divided into
   areas of Spanish and Portuguese control by the Line of Demarcation in
   1493, which gave Spain all areas to the west, and Portugal all areas to
   the east (the Portuguese lands in America subsequently becoming
   Brazil). By the end of the 16th century, Europeans occupied large areas
   of Central and South America, extending all the way into the present
   southern United States. European culture and government was imposed,
   with the Roman Catholic Church becoming a major economic and political
   power, as well as the official religion of the region.

   Diseases brought by the Europeans, such as smallpox and measles, wiped
   out a large proportion of the indigenous population, with epidemics of
   diseases reducing them sharply from their prior populations. Historians
   cannot determine the number of natives who died due to European
   diseases, but some put the figures as high as 85% and as low as 20%.
   Due to the lack of written records, specific numbers are hard to
   verify. Many of the survivors were forced to work in European
   plantations and mines. Intermarriage between the indigenous peoples and
   the European colonists was very common, and, by the end of the colonial
   period, people of mixed ancestry (mestizos) formed majorities in
   several colonies.

   By the end of the 18th century, Spanish and Portuguese power waned as
   other European powers took their place, notably Britain and France.
   Resentment grew over the restrictions imposed by the Spanish
   government, as well as the dominance of native Spaniards (Iberian-born
   peninsulares) over the major institutions and the majority population,
   including the Spanish descended Creoles (criollos). Napoleon's invasion
   of Spain in 1808 marked the turning point, compelling Creole elites to
   form juntas that advocated independence. Also, the newly independent
   Haiti, the second oldest nation in the New World after the United
   States, further fueled the independence movement by inspiring the
   leaders of the movement, such as Simón Bolívar and José de San Martin,
   and by providing them with considerable munitions and troops. Fighting
   soon broke out between the Juntas and the Spanish authorities, with
   initial Creole victories, such as Father Miguel Hidalgo's in Mexico and
   Francisco de Miranda's in Venezuela, crushed by Spanish troops. Under
   the leadership of Simón Bolívar, José de San Martin and other
   Libertadores, the independence movement regained strength, and by 1825,
   all of Spanish Latin America, except for Puerto Rico and Cuba, gained
   independence from Spain. Brazil achieved independence with a
   constitutional monarchy established in 1822. During the same year in
   Mexico, a Spanish military officer, Agustín de Iturbide, led
   conservatives who created a constitutional monarchy, with Iturbide as
   emperor (shortly followed by a republic).

Political divisions

          See the Interactive Map of Politics in Latin America.

   Latin America is often seen as encompassing the following regions:
        Countries       French Dependencies Netherlands Dependency United States
                                                                   Dependency
   * Argentina
   * Bolivia
   * Brazil
   * Chile
   * Colombia
   * Costa Rica
   * Cuba
   * Dominican Republic
     * Ecuador
     * El Salvador

   * Guatemala
     * Haiti
     * Honduras
     * Mexico
     * Nicaragua
     * Panama
     * Paraguay
     * Peru
     * Uruguay
     * Venezuela

   * French Guiana
     * Guadeloupe
     * Martinique

   * Aruba
     * Bonaire
     * Curaçao

   * U.S. Virgin Islands
     * Puerto Rico

   In addition, some might add Belize, the Falkland Islands, Guyana,
   Trinidad & Tobago, and Suriname to this list, but they are not
   culturally or linguistically Latin American — although much of Belize's
   population is. They maintain economic ties with nearby countries, and
   are grouped by the United Nations in the predominantly Latin American
   region (South. However, all except Suriname are also the objects of
   long-standing territorial claims by their Latin American neighbors.

Population

   The population of Latin America is an amalgam of racial and ethnic
   groups. The composition varies from country to country; some have a
   predominance of a racially mixed population, some have a high
   percentage of people of Amerindian origin, some are dominated by
   inhabitants of European origin and some populations are primarily of
   African origin. Most or all Latin American countries have Asian
   minorities.

Demographics

   Latin America has a very diverse population, with many ethnic groups of
   different ancestries or races, the majority of which are either of
   European, Amerindian, or African descent, or a mix of any of these.

   Only in three countries do the Amerindians make up the largest segment
   of the population: in Guatemala and Bolivia they represent a majority
   of over 50%, and in Peru they constitute a plurality of just under 50%.
   In the rest of the Continent, most people with a Native American
   lineage are admixed with one or more other racial lineages.

   Since the 16th century a large number of Iberian colonists left for
   Latin America: the Portuguese to Brazil and the Spaniards to the rest
   of the region. An intensive race mixing between the Europeans and the
   Amerindians occurred (mostly in, and after, the 1800s) and their
   descendants, known as mestizos, make up the majority of the population
   in several Latin American countries, such as Mexico, Chile, Colombia,
   Ecuador, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, and Venezuela.

   Starting in the late 16th century, a large number of black African
   slaves was brought to Latin America, the majority of whom were sent to
   the Caribbean and Brazil. Nowadays, African descendants make up the
   majority of the population in most Caribbean countries. Many of the
   African slaves in Latin America mixed with the Europeans, and their
   descendants, known as Mulattos, make up the majority of the population
   in some countries such as the Dominican Republic and Cuba, and a large
   proportion of the populations of Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela, and
   Belize. Mixing between Africans and Amerindians also occurred, and
   their descendants are known as Zambos, found primarily in Venezuela and
   Colombia. Many Latin American countries also have a substantial
   tri-racial population, their ancestry being a mix of European,
   Amerindian, and African, most notably in Dominican Republic, Puerto
   Rico, Venezuela, and Brazil.

   Millions of European immigrants arrived in Latin America in the late
   19th and early 20th centuries, most of them settling in Argentina,
   Uruguay and southern Brazil. The majority population of this combined
   region is composed of Whites, most of whom, more than 90%, are
   descendants of the top five groups of European immigrants: Italians,
   Spaniards, Portuguese, Germans and Irish. Some of the other groups are
   Poles, Russians, Welsh, Ukrainians, French, Croatians and European
   Jews. In all, more than two thirds of Latin America's overall white
   population resides in this region. (See Immigration to Argentina and
   Immigration to Brazil)

   In this same period, many immigrants came from the Middle-East and
   Asia, including Indians, Lebanese, Syrians, and, more recently,
   Koreans, Chinese and Japanese (mainly to Brazil). In the late 19th
   century, a small wave of Americans, mostly from the former Confederate
   States or the Southern U.S., settled in Brazil and fewer across Latin
   America.

   This diversity of Latin America has profoundly influenced religion,
   music, and politics, and gave rise to a weak feeling of identity. This
   opaque cultural heritage and identity is called Latin or Latino in
   United States' English. Outside of the U.S., and in many languages
   (especially romance ones) " Latino" just means "Latin", referring to
   cultures and peoples that can trace their heritage back to the ancient
   Roman Empire. Latin American is the proper term.

Racial Origins

   These figures include 19 of the 20 Latin American nations. Venezuela is
   not included as it does not include race on its census.

   Total Population 522.8 million. Racial groups: 174 million White (33.3%
   of the total population), 133.8 million Mestizo (25.6%), 90.3 million
   Mulatto (17.3%), 60.8 million Amerindian or Native Peoples (11.6%),
   31.5 million White/Mestizo (6%; a few countries count Whites and
   Mestizos together), 24.8 million Black (4.7%), 1.4 million Asian (0.3%;
   this figure may be much lower than the actual one), 6.2 million Other
   and Unknown (1.2%). [Note: Venezuela's population is 26,749,000.
   Applying to this the country's 1998 race ratios (mestizo 67%, white
   21%, black 10%, Amerindian 2% ( )) yields, for the entire region:
   Population 549,549,000; White 32.7%, Mestizo 27.6%, Mulatto 16.4%,
   Amerindian or Native Peoples 11.2%, White/Mestizo 5.7%, Black 5%, Asian
   0.3%, Other and Unknown 1.1%]. As these numbers show, although almost
   every Latin American country has a majority population, that is not the
   case for the region as a whole. Another fact they show is that more
   than 80% of Latin Americans range from having a significant amount of
   European admixture to being of fully European origin.

Language

   Romance languages in Latin America: Green-Spanish; Blue-French;
   Orange-Portuguese
   Enlarge
   Romance languages in Latin America: Green-Spanish; Blue-French;
   Orange-Portuguese

   Spanish is the predominant language in the majority of the countries.
   Portuguese is spoken primarily in Brazil, where it is both the official
   and the national language. French is also spoken in smaller countries,
   in the Caribbean, and in French Guiana. Dutch is the official language
   on various Caribbean islands and in Suriname on the continent; however,
   as Dutch is a Germanic language, these territories can not be
   considered part of Latin America.

   Several nations, especially in the Caribbean, have their own Creole
   languages, derived from European languages and various African tongues.
   Native American languages are spoken in many Latin American nations,
   mainly Peru, Guatemala, Bolivia, Paraguay, and to a lesser deegree in
   Mexico and Ecuador. Note that the lesser degree of indigenous speakers
   in Mexico is proportional to that country's population. In real
   numbers, however, Mexico harbours the largest population of indigenous
   speaker of any country in the Americas, surpassing Amerindian majority
   countries of Guatemala, Bolivia and the Amerindian plurality country of
   Peru. The population of speakers of indigenous languages in other
   countries is tiny or non-existent.

   In Peru, Quechua holds official language status, alongside Spanish and
   any other indigenous language in the areas where they predominate. In
   Bolivia, Aymara, Quechua and Guaraní hold official status alongside
   Spanish. Guarani is, along with Spanish, the official language of
   Paraguay, and is spoken by a majority of the population who are for the
   most part mestizos bilingual in Spanish. In Ecuador, while holding no
   official status, Quichua is a recognized language of the indigenous
   people under the country's constitution, however, it is only spoken by
   a few groups in the Sierra region of the country. Colombia, while
   having fewer than 1% of its population as speakers of indigenous
   languages, recognizes all indigenous languages spoken within its
   territory as official. Nahuatl is only one of the 62 native languages
   spoken by indigenous people in Mexico, which are officially recognised
   by the government as "national languages", along with Spanish.

   European languages, other than Spanish and Portuguese, that are spoken
   include; Italian in Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Venezuela; German in
   southern Brazil, Argentina, and two German-speaking villages, one in
   southern Chile and another in northern Venezuela; Welsh in southern
   Argentina.

Religion

   The primary religion throughout Latin America is Roman Catholicism.
   Latin America, particularly Brazil, is active in developing the
   quasi-socialist Roman Catholic movement known as Liberation Theology.
   Practitioners of the Protestant, Pentecostal, Evangelical, Mormon,
   Buddhist, Jewish, Islamic, Hindu, Bahá'í, and indigenous denominations
   and religions exist. Various Afro-Latin American traditions, such as
   Santería, and Macumba, a tribal- voodoo religion are also practiced.
   Evangelicalism in particular is increasing in popularity.

Economy

   Below is a table showing the Gross domestic product (GDP) per capita at
   purchasing power parity (PPP) prices and the GDP (PPP) of each Latin
   American country. This can be used to roughly gauge the standards of
   living in the region. Data compiled from the year 2005. The Latin
   American G7 is composed of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico,
   Peru and Venezuela. Income equality data --according to Gini index (the
   higher the number, the higher the inequality) -- is based on List of
   countries by income equality, survey year of data varies.
   GDP (PPP)
   Enlarge
   GDP (PPP)
   Country GDP (PPP) per capita GDP (PPP) Income equality
     international dollars millions of international dollars Gini index
   Flag of Argentina  Argentina 14,109 533,722 52.2
   Flag of Chile  Chile 11,937 193,213 57.1
   Flag of Costa Rica  Costa Rica 10,434 45,137 46.5
   Flag of Mexico  Mexico 10,186 1,072,563 54.6
   Flag of Uruguay  Uruguay 10,028 34,305 44.6
   Flag of Brazil  Brazil 8,584 1,576,728 59.3
   Flag of Colombia  Colombia 7,565 337,286 57.6
   Flag of Panama  Panama 7,283 23,495 56.4
   Flag of Dominican Republic  Dominican Republic 7,203 65,042 47.4
   Flag of Venezuela  Venezuela 6,186 163,503 49.1
   Flag of Peru  Peru 5,983 167,747 49.8
   Flag of Paraguay  Paraguay 4,555 28,342 57.8
   Flag of El Salvador  El Salvador 4,511 31,078 53.2
   Flag of Ecuador  Ecuador 4,316 57,039 43.7
   Flag of Guatemala  Guatemala 4,155 57,000 59.9
   Flag of Nicaragua  Nicaragua 3,636 20,996 43.1
   Flag of Honduras  Honduras 3,009 21,740 55
   Flag of Cuba  Cuba 3,000 33,920 unknown
   Flag of Bolivia  Bolivia 2,817 25,648 44.7
   Flag of Haiti  Haiti 1,783 14,917 unknown
   Latin America 8,105 4,421,569

   Sources: Data from table are from an April 2005 report by the IMF and
   graphics data are from data by the World Bank from 2003 . Data for Cuba
   is a 2004 estimate from the CIA World Factbook. GDP (PPP) per capita
   for Latin America was calculated using population data from List of
   countries by population

Cultural diversity

   Urarina shaman, 1988
   Enlarge
   Urarina shaman, 1988

   The rich mosaic of Latin American cultural expressions is the product
   of many diverse influences, derived mainly from :
     * Native cultures of the peoples that inhabited the continents prior
       to the arrival of the Europeans.
     * European cultures, brought mainly by the Spanish, the Portuguese
       and the French. This can be seen in any expression of the region's
       rich artistic traditions, including painting, literature and music,
       and in the realms of science and politics. The most enduring
       European colonial influence was language. Italian and British
       influence has been important as well.
     * African cultures, who were part of a long history of New World
       slavery. Peoples of African descent have influenced the
       ethno-scapes of Latin America and the Caribbean. This is manifest
       in the Caribbean through dances such as, the rumba, the mambo, the
       samba the bomba, the plena, the candombe, the cumbia, the merengue,
       and the salsa to mention but a few.

Painting

   The development of Latin American painting stemmed originally from the
   styles brought along by Spanish, Portuguese and French Baroque
   Painters, which in turn were following the trends of the Italian
   Masters. This Eurocentrism of the Arts, in general, started to fade in
   the early 20th century, as Latin-Americans began to acknowledge the
   uniqueness of their condition and started to follow their own path.

   From the early 20th century, the art of Latin America was greatly
   inspired by the Constructivist Movement. The Constructivist Movement
   was founded in Russia around 1913 by Vladimir Tatlin. The Movement
   quickly spread from Russia to Europe and then into Latin America.
   Joaquin Torres Garcia and Manuel Rendón have been credited with
   bringing the Constructivist Movement into Latin America from Europe.

   Another important artistic movement generated in Latin America is
   Mexico's Muralismo represented by the world famous painters Diego
   Rivera, David Alfaro Siqueiros, José Clemente Orozco and Rufino Tamayo.
   Some of the most impressive Muralista works can be found in Mexico, New
   York, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Philadelphia.

   Mexican painter Frida Kahlo remains by far the most known and famous
   Latin American artist. She painted about her own life and the Mexican
   culture in a style combining Realism, Symbolism and Surrealism. Kahlo's
   work holds the highest selling price of all Latin American paintings.

Literature

   Latin American literature gained its own identity, evolving from the
   strong European and, at a later stage, Anglo-American influences, and
   is very recognisable internationally, including renowned Nobel Prize
   winners such as the Colombian Gabriel García Márquez ( One Hundred
   Years of Solitude), Mexican Octavio Paz ( The Labyrinth of Solitude),
   Chileans Gabriela Mistral and Pablo Neruda.

   The Argentine Jorge Luis Borges is an influential figure of
   Latin-American letters.

   Other important Latin-American writers are:
    * Isabel Allende
    * Jorge Amado
    * Machado de Assis
    * Miguel Ángel Asturias
    * Mario Benedetti
    * Juan Bosch
    * Alejo Carpentier
    * Julio Cortázar
    * Rubén Darío
    * José Donoso

                              * Roque Dalton
                              * Carlos Drummond de Andrade
                              * Carlos Fuentes
                              * Eduardo Galeano
                              * Rómulo Gallegos
                              * Gabriel Garcia Marquez
                              * Nicolás Guillén
                              * Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz
                              * Clarice Lispector
                              * René Marqués

                                                            * Carlos Monsiváis
                                                            * Amado Nervo
                                                            * Octavio Paz
                                                            * Elena Poniatowska
                                                            * Alfonso Reyes
                                                            * Guimarães Rosa
                                                            * Juan Rulfo
                                                            * Petion Savain
                                                            * César Vallejo
                                                            * Mario Vargas Llosa

Music

   One of the main characteristics of Latin American music is its
   diversity, from the lively rhythms of Central America and the Caribbean
   to the more austere sounds of southern South America. Another feature
   of Latin American music is its original blending of the variety of
   styles that arrived in The Americas and became influential, from the
   early Spanish and European Baroque to the different beats of the
   African rhythms.

   Hispano-Caribbean music, such as salsa, merengue, bachata, etc. from
   Cuba, Panama, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic, are styles of
   music that have been strongly influenced by African rhythms and
   melodies.

   Other main musical genres of Latin American include the Argentine and
   Uruguayan tango, the Colombian cumbia and vallenato, Mexican ranchera,
   Uruguayan Candombe, the Central American (Garifuna) Punta, the French
   Antillean Zouk, the Antillean Soca and Calypso, and the various styles
   of music from Pre-Columbian traditions that are widespread in the
   Andean region. In Brazil, samba, North-American jazz, European
   classical music and choro combined into the bossa nova music. Recently
   the Haitian kompa has become increasingly popular.

   The classical composer Heitor Villa-Lobos (1887-1959) worked on the
   recording of native musical traditions within his homeland of Brazil.
   The traditions of his homeland heavily influenced his classical works.
   Also notable is the recent work of the Cuban Leo Brouwer and guitar
   work of the Venezuelan Antonio Lauro and the Paraguayan Agustín
   Barrios.

   Arguably, the main contribution to music entered through folklore,
   where the true soul of the Latin American and Caribbean countries is
   expressed. Musicians such as Atahualpa Yupanqui, Violeta Parra, Victor
   Jara, Mercedes Sosa, Jorge Negrete, Caetano Veloso, and others gave
   magnificent examples of the heights that this soul can reach.

   Latin pop, including many forms of rock, is popular in Latin America
   today (see Spanish language rock and roll).

   More recently, Reggaeton, a blend of the Jamaican dancehall rhythm Dem
   Bow with Rap music and Hispano-Caribbean music, which originated in
   Panama, Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Dominican Republic, is becoming more
   popular, in spite of the controversy surrounding its lyrics, dance
   steps and music videos. It has become very popular among populations
   with a "migrant culture" influence - both Hispanic populations in the
   U.S., such as southern Florida and New York City, and parts of Latin
   America where temporary migration to the U.S. is common, such as
   Guatemala and parts of Mexico.

Film

   Latin American film is both rich and diverse. The 1950s and 1960s saw a
   movement towards Third Cinema, led by the Argentine filmmakers Fernando
   Solanas and Octavio Getino.

   Mexican movies from the Golden Era in the 1940s are the greatest
   examples of Latin American cinema, with a huge industry comparable to
   the Hollywood of those years. Mexican movies were exported and
   exhibited in all Latin America. More recently movies such as Amores
   Perros (2000), Y tu mamá también (2001) and Babel (2005) have been
   successful in creating universal stories about contemporary subjects,
   and were internationally recognised, as in the prestigious Cannes Film
   Festival. Mexican directors Alejandro González Iñárritu, Alfonso Cuarón
   ( Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban) and screenwriter Guillermo
   Arriaga are some of the most known present-day film makers.

   Argentine cinema was a big industry in the first half of the 20th
   century. After a series of military governments that shackled culture
   in general, the industry re-emerged after the 1976–1983 military
   dictatorship to produce the Academy Award winner The Official Story in
   1985. The Argentine economic crisis affected the production of films in
   the late 1990s and early 2000s, but many Argentine movies produced
   during those years were internationally acclaimed, including Nueve
   reinas (2000), El abrazo partido (2004) and Roma (2004).

   In Brazil, the Cinema Novo movement created a particular way of making
   movies with critical and intellectual screenplays, a clearer
   photography related to the light of the outdoors in a tropical
   landscape, and a political message. The modern Brazilian film industry
   has become more profitable inside the country, and some of its
   productions have received prizes and recognition in Europe and the
   United States. Movies like Central do Brasil (1999) and Cidade de Deus
   (2003) have fans around the world, and its directors have taken part in
   American and European film projects.

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