Culture of Latin America

The diverse traditions, arts, languages, and social practices of Latin American societies, shaped by Indigenous, European, African, and later immigrant influences.

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Indigenous peoples of the Americas: The diverse peoples descended from the original inhabitants of the Americas, with distinct histories, languages, and cultural traditions. Their living communities and heritage form a major source of cultural continuity across Latin America.
Latin American music: The varied musical traditions of Latin America, including Indigenous, African, European, and hybrid forms. Its genres reveal how distinct histories and influences combine differently across the region.
Latin America: A region of the Americas commonly defined by its histories of Spanish and Portuguese colonization and related languages. The region’s shifting boundaries complicate claims that its cultures form one unified whole.
Latin American Catholicism: Forms of Catholic belief and practice developed across Latin America through colonial histories and local adaptation. Catholic institutions and observances have shaped public life while blending with local traditions.
Spanish colonization of the Americas: The conquest and colonial rule by Spain across much of the Americas from the late fifteenth century onward. Spanish rule reshaped language, religion, institutions, and cultural life across much of the region.
Latin American cuisine: The food traditions of Latin America, shaped by Indigenous ingredients and techniques alongside later influences. Regional dishes preserve local ecologies and histories of exchange, colonization, and migration.
Hispanic America: The parts of the Americas where Spanish is the principal historical colonial language. It excludes Portuguese-speaking Brazil, unlike common definitions of Latin America.
Afro-Latin American culture: The cultural traditions and identities of people of African descent in Latin America. It foregrounds contributions often obscured by narratives centered on European and Indigenous heritage.
Portuguese colonization of the Americas: Portugal’s conquest and settlement of Brazil, beginning in the sixteenth century and lasting through the colonial era. Portuguese colonization gave Brazil a distinct language and historical trajectory within Latin America.
Carnival: A festival season preceding Lent, marked in many places by public celebration, costumes, music, and dance. Latin American carnivals adapt Catholic calendars into locally distinctive public traditions.