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Portal:Latin America/Selected article/1
The
Republic of Peru is a country in western
South America. It is bordered on the north by
Ecuador and
Colombia, on the east by
Brazil, on the southeast by
Bolivia, on the south by
Chile, and on the west by the
Pacific Ocean. Peruvian territory was home to the
Norte Chico civilization, one of the oldest in the world, and to the
Inca Empire, the largest state in
Pre-Columbian America. The
Spanish Empire conquered the region in the 16th century and
established a Viceroyalty, which included most of its South American colonies. After
achieving independence in 1821, Peru has undergone periods of political unrest and
fiscal crisis as well as periods of stability and economic upswing. Peru is a
representative democratic republic divided into
25 regions. Its geography varies from the arid plains of the Pacific coast to the peaks of the
Andes mountains and the tropical forests of the
Amazon Basin. It is a
developing country with a high
Human Development Index score and a poverty level around 36%. Its main economic activities include agriculture, fishing, mining, and manufacturing of products such as textiles. The Peruvian population, estimated at 29.5 million, is
multiethnic, including
Amerindians,
Europeans,
Africans, and
Asians. The main spoken language is
Spanish, although a significant number of Peruvians speak
Quechua or other
native languages. This mixture of cultural traditions has resulted in a wide diversity of expressions in fields such as art, cuisine, literature, and music.
Portal:Latin America/Selected article/2
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.
Portal:Latin America/Selected article/3
A
South American dreadnought race between
Argentina,
Brazil, and
Chile was kindled in 1907 when the Brazilian government announced their intention to purchase three
dreadnoughts—powerful
battleships whose capabilities far outstripped older vessels in the world's navies—from the British company
Armstrong Whitworth. Two ships of the
Minas Geraes class were laid down immediately with a third to follow. The Argentine and Chilean governments immediately canceled a naval-limiting pact between them, and both ordered two dreadnoughts (the
Rivadavia and
Almirante Latorre classes, respectively). Meanwhile, Brazil's third dreadnought was canceled in favor of an even larger ship, but the ship was laid down and ripped up several times after repeated major alterations to the design. When the Brazilian government finally settled on a design, they realized it would be outclassed by the Chilean dreadnoughts' larger armament, so they sold the partly-completed ship to the
Ottoman Empire and attempted to acquire a more powerful vessel. By this time the
First World War had broken out in Europe, and many shipbuilders suspended work on dreadnoughts for foreign countries, which halted the Brazilian plans. Argentina's two dreadnoughts were delivered, as the United States remained neutral in the opening years of the war, but Chile's two dreadnoughts were purchased by the United Kingdom. In the years between the First and
Second World War, many naval expansion plans, some involving dreadnought purchases, were proposed. While most never came to fruition, in April 1920 the Chilean government reacquired one of the dreadnoughts taken over by the United Kingdom. No other dreadnoughts were purchased by a South American nation, and all were sold for
scrap in the 1950s.
Portal:Latin America/Selected article/4
Dom Pedro II (2 December 1825 – 5 December 1891), nicknamed "the
Magnanimous", was the
second and last ruler of the
Empire of Brazil, reigning for over 58 years. Born in
Rio de Janeiro, he was the seventh child of Emperor Dom
Pedro I of Brazil and Empress
Dona Maria Leopoldina and thus a member of the Brazilian branch of the
House of Braganza (Portuguese:
Bragança). Inheriting an empire on the verge of disintegration, Pedro II turned
Portuguese-speaking
Brazil into an emerging power in the international arena. The nation grew to be distinguished from its
Hispanic neighbors on account of its political stability, zealously guarded freedom of speech, respect for civil rights, vibrant economic growth and especially for its form of government: a functional,
representative parliamentary monarchy. Brazil was also victorious in three international conflicts (the
Platine War, the
Uruguayan War and the
Paraguayan War) under his rule, as well as prevailing in several other international disputes and domestic tensions. Pedro steadfastly pushed through the abolition of slavery despite opposition from powerful political and economic interests.
Portal:Latin America/Selected article/5
Chagas disease is a
tropical parasitic disease caused by the
flagellate protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi.
T. cruzi is commonly transmitted to humans and other mammals by an insect
vector, the
blood-sucking insects of the subfamily
Triatominae (family
Reduviidae) most commonly species belonging to the
Triatoma,
Rhodnius, and
Panstrongylus genera. The disease may also be spread through
blood transfusion and
organ transplantation, ingestion of food contaminated with
parasites, and
from a mother to her fetus. The symptoms of Chagas disease vary over the course of an infection. In the early, acute stage, symptoms are mild and usually produce no more than local swelling at the site of infection. The initial acute phase is responsive to
antiparasitic treatments, with 60–90% cure rates. After 4–8 weeks, individuals with active infections enter the chronic phase of Chagas disease that is asymptomatic for 60–80% of chronically infected individuals through their lifetime. The antiparasitic treatments also appear to delay or prevent the development of disease symptoms during the chronic phase of the disease, but 20–40% of chronically infected individuals will still eventually develop life-threatening heart and digestive system disorders. The currently available antiparasitic treatments for Chagas disease are
benznidazole and
nifurtimox, which can cause temporary side effects in many patients including skin disorders, brain toxicity, and digestive system irritation.
Portal:Latin America/Selected article/6
The
Andean Condor (
Vultur gryphus) is a species of South American bird in the
New World vulture family
Cathartidae and is the only member of the
genus Vultur. Found in the
Andes mountains and adjacent Pacific coasts of western South America, it has the
largest wingspan (at 3.2 m or 10.5 ft) of any land bird. It is a large black vulture with a ruff of white feathers surrounding the base of the neck and, especially in the male, large white patches on the wings. The head and neck are nearly featherless, and are a dull red color, which may flush and therefore change color in response to the bird's emotional state. In the male, there is a wattle on the neck and a large, dark red
comb or caruncle on the crown of the head. Unlike most
birds of prey, the male is larger than the female. The Andean Condor is a national symbol of
Peru,
Argentina,
Bolivia,
Chile,
Colombia, and
Ecuador, and plays an important role in the
folklore and
mythology of the Andean regions. The Andean Condor is considered
near threatened by the
IUCN. It is threatened by habitat loss and by
secondary poisoning from carcasses killed by hunters.
Captive breeding programs have been instituted in several countries.
Portal:Latin America/Selected article/7
ARA Moreno was a
dreadnought battleship (Spanish:
acorazado) designed by the American
Fore River Shipbuilding Company for the
Argentine Navy (
Armada de la República Argentina). Named after
Mariano Moreno, a key member of the first independent government of Argentina, the
First Assembly (
Primera Junta),
Moreno was the second ship in the
Rivadavia class. Argentina placed orders for
Moreno and her only
sister ship,
Rivadavia, in response to a Brazilian naval building program and border disputes, particularly in the
River Plate area. During their construction, the two dreadnoughts were subject to numerous rumors involving Argentina selling the two battleships to a country engaged in the
First World War, but these proved to be false. After
Moreno was completed in March 1915, a series of engine problems occurred during her
sea trials which delayed her delivery to Argentina to May 1915. The next decade saw the ship based in
Puerto Belgrano as part of the Argentine Navy's First Division before sailing to the United States for an extensive refit in 1924 and 1925. During the 1930s the ship was occupied with diplomatic cruises to Brazil, Uruguay, and Europe until the
Second World War broke out. During this time,
Moreno was employed little as Argentina was neutral.
Decommissioned in 1949,
Moreno was
scrapped in Japan beginning in 1957.
Portal:Latin America/Selected article/8
Cerro Azul (blue hill in Spanish), sometimes referred to as Quizapu, is an active stratovolcano in the Maule Region of central Chile, immediately south of Descabezado Grande. Part of the South Volcanic Zone of the Andes, it rises 3,788 meters (12,428 ft) and is capped by a summit crater that is 500 meters (1,600 ft) wide and opens to the north. Beneath the summit, the volcano features numerous scoria cones and flank vents. Cerro Azul is responsible for South America's largest recorded eruptions, in 1846 and 1932. In 1846, an effusive eruption formed the vent at the site of present-day Quizapu Crater on the northern flank of Cerro Azul and sent lava flowing down the sides of the volcano, creating a lava field 8–9 square kilometers (3–3.5 square miles) in area. Phreatic and Strombolian volcanism between 1907 and 1932 excavated this crater. In 1932, one of the largest explosive eruptions of the 20th century occurred at Quizapu Crater and sent 9.5 cubic kilometers (2.3 cu mi) of ash into the atmosphere. The volcano's most recent eruption was in 1967. The South Volcanic Zone has a long history of eruptions and poses a threat to the surrounding region. Any volcanic hazard—ranging from minor ashfalls to pyroclastic flows—could pose a significant risk to humans and wildlife. Despite its inactivity, Cerro Azul could again produce a major eruption; if this were to happen, relief efforts would probably be quickly organized. Teams such as the Volcanic Disaster Assistance Program (VDAP) are prepared to effectively evacuate, assist, and rescue people threatened by volcanic eruptions.
Portal:Latin America/Selected article/9
Rongorongo is a system of glyphs discovered in the 19th century on Easter Island that appears to be writing or proto-writing. It cannot be read despite numerous attempts at decipherment. Although some calendrical and what might prove to be genealogical information has been identified, not even these glyphs can actually be read. If rongorongo does prove to be writing, it could be one of as few as three or four independent inventions of writing in human history. Two dozen wooden objects bearing rongorongo inscriptions, some heavily weathered, burned, or otherwise damaged, were collected in the late 19th century and are now scattered in museums and private collections. None remain on Easter Island. The objects are mostly tablets shaped from irregular pieces of wood, sometimes driftwood, but include a chieftain's staff, a bird-man statuette, and two reimiro ornaments. There are also a few petroglyphs which may include short rongorongo inscriptions. Oral history suggests that only a small elite was ever literate and that the tablets were sacred. Authentic rongorongo texts are written in alternating directions, a system called reverse boustrophedon. In a third of the tablets, the lines of text are inscribed in shallow fluting carved into the wood. The glyphs themselves are outlines of human, animal, plant, artifact and geometric forms. Many of the human and animal figures, such as 200 
and 280 
, have characteristic protuberances on each side of the head, possibly representing ears or eyes. Individual texts are conventionally known by a single uppercase letter and a name, such as Tablet C, the Mamari Tablet. The somewhat variable names may be descriptive or indicate where the object is kept, as in the Oar, the Snuffbox, the Small Santiago Tablet, and the Santiago Staff.
Portal:Latin America/Selected article/10
Selena Quintanilla-Pérez (April 16, 1971 – March 31, 1995), known simply as Selena, was a Mexican American singer-songwriter. She was named the "top Latin artist of the '90s" and "Best selling Latin artist of the decade" by Billboard, for her fourteen top-ten singles in the Top Latin Songs chart, including seven number-one hits. The singer also had the most successful singles of 1994 and 1995, "Amor Prohibido" and "No Me Queda Más". She was called "The Queen of Tejano music" and the Mexican equivalent of Madonna. Selena released her first album, Selena y Los Dinos, at the age of twelve. She won Female Vocalist of the Year at the 1987 Tejano Music Awards and landed a recording contract with EMI a few years later. Her fame grew throughout the early 1990s, especially in Spanish-speaking countries. Selena was murdered at the age of 23 by Yolanda Saldívar, the president of her fan club. On April 12, 1995, two weeks after her death, George W. Bush, governor of Texas at the time, declared her birthday "Selena Day" in Texas. Warner Bros. produced Selena, a film based on her life starring Jennifer Lopez, in 1997. Selena's life was also the basis of the musical Selena Forever starring Veronica Vazquez as Selena. In June 2006, Selena was commemorated with a museum and a bronze life-sized statue (Mirador de la Flor in Corpus Christi, Texas), which are visited by hundreds of fans each week. She has sold over 21 million albums worldwide.
Portal:Latin America/Selected article/11
The
flag of Mexico (
Spanish:
Bandera de México) is a vertical
tricolor of
green,
white, and
red with
the national coat of arms charged in the center of the white stripe. While the meaning of the colors has changed over time, these three colors were adopted by
Mexico following
independence from
Spain during the country's
War of Independence, and subsequent
First Mexican Empire. The current
flag was adopted in 1968, but the overall design has been used since 1821, when the First National Flag was created. The current law of national symbols,
Law on the National Arms, Flag, and Anthem, that governs the use of the
national flag has been in place since 1984. Red, white, and green are the colors of the national liberation army in Mexico. The central emblem is the Aztec pictogram for
Tenochtitlan (now
Mexico City), the center of their empire. It recalls the legend that inspired the Aztecs to settle on what was originally a lake-island. The form of the coat of arms was most recently revised in 1968. A ribbon in the national colors is at the bottom of the coat of arms. Throughout history, the flag has changed four times, as the design of the coat of arms and the length-width ratios of the flag have been modified. However,
the coat of arms has had the same features throughout: an
eagle, holding a
serpent in its
talon, is perched on top of a
prickly pear cactus; the cactus is situated on a
rock that rises above a
lake. The coat of arms is derived from an
Aztec legend that their gods told them to build a city where they spot an eagle on a
nopal eating a serpent, which is now
Mexico City. The current national flag, the Fourth National Flag, is also used as the Mexican
naval ensign by ships registered in Mexico.
Portal:Latin America/Selected article/12
The Revolution Will Not Be Televised (Spanish: La revolución no será transmitida), also known as Chávez: Inside the Coup, is a 2003 documentary focusing on events in Venezuela leading up to and during the April 2002 coup d'état attempt, which saw President Hugo Chávez removed from office for two days. With particular emphasis on the role played by Venezuela's private media, the film examines several key incidents: the protest march and subsequent violence that provided the impetus for Chávez's ousting; the opposition's formation of an interim government headed by business leader Pedro Carmona; and the Carmona administration's collapse, which paved the way for Chávez's return. The Revolution Will Not Be Televised was directed by Irish filmmakers Kim Bartley and Donnacha Ó Briain. Given direct access to Chávez, the filmmakers intended to make a fly-on-the-wall biography of the president. They spent seven months filming in Venezuela, following Chávez and his staff and interviewing ordinary citizens. As the coup unfolded on 11 April, Bartley and Ó Briain filmed on the streets of the capital, Caracas, capturing footage of protesters and the erupting violence. Later, they filmed many of the political upheavals inside Miraflores, the presidential palace.
Portal:Latin America/Selected article/13
The
Galápagos tortoise or
Galápagos giant tortoise (
Chelonoidis nigra) is the largest living species of
tortoise, reaching weights of over 400 kg (880 lb) and lengths of over 1.8 meters (5.9 ft). With life spans in the wild of over 100 years, it is one of the longest-lived
vertebrates. A captive individual lived at least 170 years. The tortoise is native to seven of the
Galápagos Islands, a volcanic
archipelago about 1,000 km (620 mi) west of the
Ecuadorian mainland. Spanish explorers who discovered the islands in the 16th century named them after the Spanish
galápago, meaning tortoise. Shell size and shape vary between populations. On islands with humid highlands, the tortoises are larger, with domed shells and short necks. On islands with dry lowlands, the tortoises are smaller, with "saddleback" shells and long necks. These island-to-island differences played a role in the
inception of Charles Darwin's theory of evolution. Tortoise numbers declined from over 250,000 in the 16th century to a low of around 3,000 in the 1970s. The decline was caused by hunting for tortoise meat and oil,
habitat clearance for agriculture, and introduction of non-native animals such as rats, goats, and pigs. Seven
subspecies of the original ten survive in the wild. An eighth subspecies (
C. n. abingdonii) has only a single living individual, in captivity, nicknamed
Lonesome George. Conservation efforts beginning in the 20th century have resulted in thousands of
captive-bred juveniles being released onto their home islands, and it is estimated that numbers exceeded 19,000 at the start of the 21st century. Despite this rebound, the species as a whole is classified as "Vulnerable" by the
International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
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and 280 
, have characteristic protuberances on each side of the head, possibly representing ears or eyes. Individual texts are conventionally known by a single uppercase letter and a name, such as Tablet C, the Mamari Tablet. The somewhat variable names may be descriptive or indicate where the object is kept, as in the Oar, the Snuffbox, the Small Santiago Tablet, and the Santiago Staff.
