1. Latin American Culture
Unit 6 Notes

2. What does this image tell you about
Latin America’s culture?

3. Diversity in Latin America
• Latin America’s cultures are diverse.
– Each region has its own history, languages, customs,
beliefs, foods, music, etc.
• Latin America also has diversity in its races:
– Europeans, Africans, and Native Americans are the
largest groups.
– Members of these groups have intermarried and
developed unique cultures over time.

4. Native Americans
• Europeans began colonizing the Americas in
the 1500s.
– They forced the natives to work on plantations & in mines.
– Many native populations were completely wiped out by
European weapons and diseases.
• Some natives were able to preserve their cultures by
moving to remote regions.
• Many people in Venezuela are mestizos (ancestors
were both European and Native American).

5. Africans
• Europeans brought Africans to the New World
and forced them to work as slaves.
• Descendants of these people still live in Latin
America today.
– Many live in Brazil, Panama, and islands in the
Caribbean.

6. Religion
• The main religion in Latin America is Roman
Catholic.
• However, practices of Native Americans &
Africans have blended with Christian beliefs.
– Example: “Day of the Dead” in Mexico—blends
Native American beliefs about the afterlife with
Christian beliefs.
El Dia de los

7. Cultural Controversy…
• People with European ancestors often have
better paying jobs, better education and
health care, and more money than people of
Native American or African descent.
• Other culture groups have begun to demand
equality in their countries.
– Example: In Bolivia in 2005, a Native American
was elected president for the first time.

8. Cultural Collage!
• You are going to create a collage of cultural information
regarding Latin America.
• You may include words on your collage, but the majority of
space must be filled with interesting and vivid pictures. It is
important that all aspects of culture are represented in your
collage, so you must include pictures for each of the following
examples of culture:
• art
• music/dance
• food
• language
• religion

9. Cultural Collage
• You can use your class notes, as well as The World and Its People textbook
to find information for your collage. The following pages can be used to
find information about the diverse culture in Latin America:
• Mexican Culture pages 203-204
• Cultures of the Caribbean pages 219-223
• Brazil's Culture and History pages 235-237
• Argentina's People page 241
• Venezuela's People page 244
• Columbia's Culture page 257
• Peru's Culture page 267-268
• Ecuador's People page 269
• Bolivia's People pages 272-273
• Chile's Culture page 274