Writers
Born in the Bronx to Puerto Rican-born parents she is the author of My Beloved World (2013); Turning Pages: My Life Story (2018); Just Ask! Be Different, Be Brave, Be You (2019); Just Help! How to Build a Better World (2022). She is the recipient of the American Library Association's Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults Award (2019). She also sits on the Supreme Court of the United States.
Who is Sonia Sotomayor?
Born in New Mexico and now 97 years old, she is the co-founder of the United Farm Workers Association as well as a leader of the Chicano civil rights movement. She helped organize the 1965 Delano strike of 5,000 grape workers and was the lead negotiator in the workers’ contract. She advocated for: safer working conditions, the elimination of harmful pesticides, unemployment benefits, and healthcare benefits for agricultural workers.
Who is Dolores Huerta?
This country is home to the world's highest waterfall, Angel Falls and the second longest river in South America, the Orinoco. It also has the longest coastline to the Caribbean sea. It is the world's fifth-largest oil exporter and also has vast untapped reserves of natural gas.
What is Venezuela?
Which of these did NOT originate in Latin America? vanilla, potatoes, apples, corn, tomatoes, peanuts?
This Puerto Rican is the first Latin American woman to win an academy award, and she is also the only living EGOT winner to win all four awards as a performer.
Rita Moreno
This Colombian writer is considered one of the most significant authors of the 20th century. He was awarded the 1982 Nobel Prize in Literature. He is best known for his novels One Hundred Years of Solitude/Cien años de soledad (1967) and Love in the Time of Cholera/"El amor en los tiempos del cólera (1985).
Who is Gabriel García Márquez?
Alejandro Celestino Toledo Manrique, the first South American president of indigenous descent to be democratically elected in five hundred years comes from this country.
What is Peru?
Once home to a variety of Indigenous groups that were gradually incorporated into the Inca Empire during the 15th century. Spanish is the official language, though 13 Native languages are also recognized, including Quechua and Shuar. Its capital is located about 25 miles south of the equator.
What is Ecuador?
Discovered 4,000 years ago by the Olmec. They drank it in rituals and used it as medicine. The Mayans called it the drink of the gods and mixed it with chilies, water, and cornmeal. They called it “xocolatl” (bitter water). The Aztecs considered it an aphrodisiac.
chocolate
Born in 1948, this Panamanian musician, singer, composer and actor has won 17 Grammy and Latin Grammy Awards. He ran for President of Panama in 1994 and served as Minister of Tourism 2004-2009.
Ruben Blades
This Chilean poet-diplomat and politician won the 1971 Nobel Prize in Literature. He was a close advisor to Chile's socialist President Salvador Allende. The comedy-drama film, Il Postino / The Postman (1994) tells a fictional story about his exile to a small island in Italy.
Who is Pablo Neruda?
She is a K'iche' Guatemalan human rights activist, feminist, author, and Nobel Peace Prize laureate (1992). She has dedicated her life to promoting Indigenous rights internationally. She is a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador. She ran for president of Guatemala in 2007 and 2011, having founded the country's first Indigenous political party, Winaq.
Who is Rigoberta Menchú Tum?
Once a part of the Maya civilization, this former British colony achieved its independence from the UK on September 21, 1981. It is the only mainland Central American country which is a Commonwealth realm, with King Charles III as its monarch and head of state. It is the only Central American country where English is the official language.
What is Belize?
Mofongo is a popular Puerto Rican dish made with fried and mashed …?
Plantains
This popular genre of music was created in the 19th century by enslaved Africans in Columbia before spreading across the continent.
Cumbia
Born in NYC to Dominican immigrants, she was named the Young People's Poet Laureate by the Poetry Foundation in 2022. She is the author of the young adult novels The Poet X (NY Times bestseller & National Book Award Winner), With the Fire on High, and Clap When You Land. She is the recipient of the Boston-Globe Hornbook Award Prize for Best Children's Fiction of 2018.
Who is Elizabeth Acevedo?
Born in 1989 in the Bronx to a family of Puerto Rican descent she serves in the U.S. House of Representatives. Taking office at age 29, she is the youngest woman ever to serve in the United States Congress. She advocates a progressive platform that includes support for workplace democracy, Medicare for All, tuition-free public college, a federal jobs guarantee, a Green New Deal, and abolishing the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Who is Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC)?
This country declared its indenpendence from Spain on September 15, 1821. It is theorized that this country's name originates in the Nahuatl words: nic-anahuac, which meant 'Anahuac reached this far'; or nican-nahua, which meant 'here are the Nahuas'; or nic-atl-nahuac, which meant 'here by the water'.
What is Nicaragua?
This country created a unique tamale called "pache" made from potato-based masa (dough) instead of the more common maize-based masa.
Guatemala
Formed in 1981, this Mexican rock band holds the recod for the most shows sold out by a single band in the history of Staples Center (Los Angeles). In 2016 they received their star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Mana
Born in Texas in 1942 she is known for her explorations of mestizaje, meaning a state of being beyond the binary, she called for a "new mestiza" - an individual aware of her conflicting and meshing identities. Her references to "borderlands" are geographical as well as related to mixed races, heritages, religions, and sexualities. In 1991 she was the recipient of the Lesbian Rights Award.
Who is Gloria Anzaldúa?
Raised in Florida and of Cuban decent, they were born in 1999. In 2018, they survived the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting, the deadliest high school shooting in U.S. history, and, in response, co-founded the gun-control advocacy group Never Again MSD. They gave a viral speech against gun violence, proclaiming "We call B.S." on the lack of action by politicians funded by the NRA. Subsequently, they continued to be an outspoken activist on gun control, making high-profile media appearances and helping organize the March for Our Lives. They were named one of Time magazine's 100 Most Influential People of 2018.
Who is X González (born Emma González)?
This country generates, on average, more than 99% of its electricity using renewable energy using five renewable sources: hydroelectric, wind, geothermal, biomass and solar energy. It is home to six different kinds of forests: tropical rainforest, cloud forests, tropical dry forests, mangroves, lowland rainforests, and riparian forests.
What is Costa Rica?
This caffeinated beverage has Indigenous roots to the Guarani people of present day Paraguay and is enjoyed globally, especially in Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay.
Yerba Mate
Born and raised in Colombia she is one of the most successful Latin American recording artists in the world and the top-selling female Latin artist of all time. She brought belly dancing to pop culture. With a catalog of 145 songs, this award-winning singer and philanthropist has sold over 95 million records. Her Hips Don’t Lie.
Who is Shakira?