Include the Indigenous in Climate Change Talks
Leer en español In the new issue of Americas Quarterly, we asked people, “What would you tell the next U.S. president about Latin America?” To see other authors’ responses, click here. Dear Mister / Madam President, Indigenous communities have contributed the least to climate change, but they have suffered the most from its consequences. Extreme … Read more
Telmary Díaz Demands That You Listen
This article is part of AQ’s debut culture supplement, Cultura. To see the rest of the issue, click here The worldwide influence of Cuban rhythms such as son and rumba can make it easy to overlook how music continues to evolve on the island itself. Telmary Díaz’s 2013 sophomore release, Libre, is a showcase for this … Read more
Ibeyi Is Ready for the World. Is the World Ready for Them?
This article is part of AQ’s debut culture supplement, Cultura. To see the rest of the issue, click here It wasn’t long after they released their eponymous debut in 2015 that the French-Cuban duo Ibeyi was catapulted into pop music consciousness by none other than the Queen B herself, Beyoncé. The reigning queen of pop … Read more
“I Was Destined to Be a Percussionist”
This article is part of AQ’s debut culture supplement, Cultura. To see the rest of the issue, click here This interview originally appeared in Spanish in OnCuba magazine. Music flows through Yissy García’s veins. The daughter of drummer Bernardo García, founding member of the popular band Irakere, García was born in Cayo Hueso in Havana, … Read more
Clara Porset: Revolutionary by Design
This article is part of AQ’s debut culture supplement, Cultura. To see the rest of the issue, click here Legend has it that the idea for Cuba’s national arts schools was born over beers and a round of golf between Fidel Castro and Ernesto “Che” Guevara in the early days of the Communist revolution. Walking … Read more
Portfolio: The Art and Activism of Tania Bruguera
This article is part of AQ’s debut culture supplement, Cultura. To see the rest of the issue, click here Tania Bruguera has had a significant influence on art as performance, social engagement and activism, both in and out of Latin America. Born in Havana in 1968, she has focused on issues of power and control … Read more
El Bote/The Dump
This article is part of AQ’s debut culture supplement, Cultura. To see the rest of the issue, click here El Bote ¿El detritus algo importa? ¿Tampoco la luminosidad por estos páramos? Dondese instalarían las depuraciones. Y polvo en el camino, o fango. ¿Hurgan los moradores? El humo desasido. Moscas. Porque se ha visto revolotear al ave carroñera, y perros, … Read more
Miami, Beyond the Palm Trees
This article is part of AQ’s debut culture supplement, Cultura. To see the rest of the issue, click here The following is an excerpt from Andrés Neuman’s How to Travel without Seeing: Dispatches from the New Latin America, available August 30, 2016 from Restless Books. Guatemala airport. Preboarding zone. American Airlines counter. When the agent … Read more
All Eyes on Cuba in AQ’s New Culture Issue
Americas Quarterly is proud to unveil Cultura, a new twice-yearly supplement featuring contributions from established and emerging voices in Latin American arts and letters. Building on the Americas Society’s 50-year history at the forefront of artistic exchange, we hope to offer a window into the unique energy of our hemisphere. In the inaugural issue, we … Read more
Bratwurst with Avocado
Exactly 500 years ago, in 1516, Germany passed its Reinheitsgebot, or Beer Purity Law — a stringent recipe known for producing high-quality beer using only water, hops and barley. When a wave of Germans migrated to South America during the 19th and 20th centuries, they brought the Reinheitsgebot technique with them. The region has been enjoying the … Read more
Film Review: The Second Mother
Val trails nervously behind as her long-estranged daughter, Jéssica, enters the guest room of Carlos and Bárbara, an upper-class São Paulo couple. “So this is where I’ll be staying?” asks Jéssica, as she bounces on the “good mattress.” Jéssica has just arrived from the northeast and has talked her way into getting a tour of … Read more
Copa América Comes to the U.S.
U.S. soccer fans will make history this summer. In a nod to the sport’s growing popularity among yanquis, Copa América is marking its centennial year by holding the region’s most important soccer tournament in the U.S. for the first time. The Copa América Centenario will be staged in 10 U.S. cities from June 3 to … Read more
10 Things to Do: Medellín
Colombia’s second-largest city, Medellín, has experienced a major transformation in the last 20 years. Once notorious for crime and violence, the “City of Eternal Spring” is now winning acclaim as the poster child for innovation in Latin America, drawing tourists, investors and entrepreneurs from around the world, thanks to significant government investment in transportation and … Read more
AQ Top 5: Young Chefs in Latin America
Leer en español Latin America’s foodie scene really began to take off in the 2000s, led by celebrity chefs such as Peru’s Gastón Acurio and Brazil’s Alex Atala who combined exotic local ingredients with top-shelf craftsmanship, often honed abroad. Thanks to their work, Latin Americans and gringos alike have become acquainted with ingredients such as … Read more
