Latin AmericaCultures

What You Need to Know

Ethnic Groups: A Blend

• Latin America was settled by:– Native Americans– Europeans– Africans

• They intermarried.

Mestizo

Mulatto

Main Religion

• Roman Catholic

• Brought to Latin America by Spanish and Portuguese

• Blended with African and Native American beliefs– Day of the Dead (Mexico)– Santeria (Cuba)

Problems

• Whites (European ancestry) get better– Jobs– Health care– Education

• Others have begun to demand equality

Languages• Mostly Spanish (Spanish

conquered a lot of Latin America)

• Portuguese in Brazil (Portuguese conquered Brazil)

• Called “Latin America” because Portuguese and Spanish languages come from Latin.

Hola Olá

Literacy & Standard of Living

• Literate: can read and write

• Illiterate: can’t read or write

Which gets you a better job and better life?

• High Literacy = High Standard of Living

• Illiteracy = Low Standard of Living

• Illiterate people often have – Low paying jobs, less education, lower standard

of living, uneducated kids