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edit   Latin America was a name coined by "Emperor of Mexico" Maximilian I in an effort to gain legitimacy, since his patron, Napoleon III, spoke French, a Latinate tongue like Spanish and Portuguese. Maximilian did not last, but the coinage of "Latin America" is one of the most successful of all time. Latin America is traditionally defined as the regions of the Americas where Spanish, the language of Spain, and Portuguese, the language of Portugal, were spoken -- in other words, every part of the Western Hemisphere, with the exception of Suriname and a few small islands that speak Dutch, that was not Anglo America. (English is a Germanic language.) Therefore, virtually all of the Western Hemisphere except the United States, Canada, and the non-Hispanophone countries of the Caribbean and South America have tended to come under the heading of Latin America. Other areas where languages derived from Latin, such as Papiamento and Creole, predominate are sometimes included and sometimes excluded from Latin America, depending on the speaker. See also: Latino, Hispanic, and Ibero-America Show new selections below (purge) edit   Selected panorama Panorama of The Ruins of Sacsayhuamán, a main sight in the City of Cusco, the historic capital of the Inca Empire and Peru. It is a major tourist destination and receives almost 1.5 million visitors a year. edit   Selected article The 1910 Cuba hurricane, popularly known as the Cyclone of the Five Days, was a destructive and unusual tropical cyclone which struck Cuba and the United States in October 1910. It formed in the southern Caribbean on October 9 and intensified as it moved northwestward, becoming a hurricane on October 12. After crossing the western tip of Cuba, it peaked on October 16, corresponding to Category 4 on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale. It moved in a counterclockwise loop and hit Cuba again. It then tracked toward Florida, landing near Cape Romano. After moving through the state, it hugged the coast of the Southeastern United States on its way out to sea. Due to its unusual loop, initial reports suggested it was two separate storms that developed and hit land in rapid succession. Its track was subject to much debate at the time; eventually, it was identified as a single storm. Analysis of the event gave a greater understanding of weather systems which took similar paths. The storm is considered one of the worst natural disasters in Cuban history. Damage was extensive and thousands were left homeless. It also had a widespread impact in Florida, including the destruction of houses and flooding. Although total monetary damage from the storm is unknown, estimates of losses in Havana, Cuba exceed $1 million and in the Florida Keys, $250,000. At least 100 deaths occurred in Cuba alone. edit   Did you know... ... that Frida Kahlo was bisexual, and had affairs with both men and women, including Josephine Baker? ... that the cinema of Argentina is one of the most important in the Spanish-speaking world, has had six Academy Award nominations, and has won twice? ... that Guinea pigs are so important to Andean cuisine that a painting of the Last Supper in Cusco shows Jesus eating one? edit   Subportals for geopolitical entities Territories (in bold), dependencies, and subnational entities of a country not located primarily in Latin America are italicized. Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Aruba Bahamas Barbados Belize Bolivia Brazil Chile Colombia Costa Rica Cuba Curaçao Dominica Dominican Republic Ecuador El Salvador Grenada Guadeloupe Guatemala Guyana Haiti Honduras Jamaica Martinique Mexico Montserrat Nicaragua Panama Paraguay Peru Puerto Rico Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Suriname Trinidad and Tobago Uruguay Venezuela edit   Latin American News October 2, Colombia: A referendum rejected the peace deals with the FARC (pictured), by 50.2% to 49.8%.BBC August 25, Colombia: The Colombian conflict comes to an end with a peace deal between the government of Colombia and the FARC (pictured).The Guardian August 5, Brazil: The 2016 Summer Olympics open in Rio de Janeiro. June 7, Peru: Pedro Pablo Kuczynski narrowly defeats Keiko Fujimori in the presidential elections.The Guardian May 31, Organization of American States: Luis Almagro, head of the Organization of American States, request an evaluation of democracy in venezuela, which may cause their suspension from the body.The Guardian May 31, Brazil: Fabiano Silveira, minister of acting president Michel Temer, resigns after scandal of leaked tapes.The Guardian edit   Selected picture Machu Picchu is a 15th-century Inca citadel situated on a mountain ridge 2,430 metres (7,970 ft) above sea level. It is located in the Cusco Region, Urubamba Province, Machupicchu District in Peru, above the Sacred Valley, which is 80 kilometres (50 mi) northwest of Cuzco and through which the Urubamba River flows. Most archaeologists believe that Machu Picchu was built as an estate for the Inca emperor Pachacuti (1438–1472). Often mistakenly referred to as the "Lost City of the Incas" (a title more accurately applied to Vilcabamba), it is the most familiar icon of Inca civilization. The Incas built the estate around 1450 but abandoned it a century later at the time of the Spanish Conquest. Although known locally, it was not known to the Spanish during the colonial period and remained unknown to the outside world until American historian Hiram Bingham brought it to international attention in 1911. edit   Categories ▼ Latin America ► Caribbean ► South America ► Latin America templates ► Central America ► Communications in Latin America ► Crime in Latin America ► Human rights in Latin America ► Latin American countries ► Latin American culture ► Latin American history ► Latin American people ► Latin American studies ► Latin America-related lists ► Mesoamerica ► Military history of Latin America ► Oil fields of Latin America ► Organizations based in Latin America ► Race in Latin America ► Spanish language in the Americas ► Stock exchanges in Latin America ► Works about Latin America ► Writers on Latin America ► Latin American law stubs edit   Associated Wikimedia Wikipedia's Portals All Portals Overview Glossaries Indexes Lists Outlines Categories Reference Culture Geography Health History Mathematics Nature People Philosophy Religion Society Technology Featured portals About portals