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History

The Latino and Afro-Latino history that gets left out of the textbook — Garifuna resistance and survival, Arturo Schomburg building an archive nobody else would, and what the Battle of Puebla actually was.

Culture

Día de la Raza: Why Most of Latin America Stopped Calling It Columbus Day

Día de la Raza meaning: what October 12 commemorates, why Spain, Mexico and Argentina named it that in the 1910s–20s, and the ten different names Latin America uses for it now.
History

What Is El Grito de Dolores? Mexico’s Independence, Explained

The shout that started Mexico’s war in 1810 — and why the ceremony happens on 15 September while the holiday is the 16th.
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History

Why Do Five Countries Share the Same Independence Day?

Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua all mark 15 September. One document, one room, 1821 — and no war.
History

Afro-Mexican History: Mexico’s Third Root, Finally Counted

Mexico counted its Black population for the first time in 2020 — 2,576,213 people. The heritage is five centuries old; the count is five years old.
History

Arab Last Names in Latin America: Why So Many Latinos Are Lebanese

600,000 Levantine migrants crossed to the Americas before 1914. They were labelled “turcos” — and that label was not the friendly thing it later became.
History

Can Puerto Ricans Vote for President? U.S. Citizens Since 1917, Explained

The short version: Can Puerto Ricans vote for president? Yes and no. Puerto Ricans...
History

Who Are the Garífuna? The Africans Who Were Never Enslaved

The Garifuna (or Garínagu) are a people born from the union of West and...
History

Roberto Clemente Legacy: The Baseball Legend Who Died Delivering Aid

The short version: The Roberto Clemente legacy belongs to the Afro-Puerto Rican right fielder...
History

Is Cinco de Mayo Mexican Independence Day? What It Really Celebrates

The short version: Cinco de Mayo is not Mexican Independence Day. It marks the...
History

 Arturo Schomburg: The AfroPuerto Rican Who Saved Black History

A teacher told Arturo Schomburg that Black people had no history. He spent his life proving her wrong — and built the archive that anchors Harlem today.
History

Juneteenth AfroLatino: 5 Powerful Truths History Erased

Most enslaved Africans never landed in the U.S. — they landed in Latin America. Why Juneteenth's story of Black freedom is a hemispheric one.

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Food

Pan de Muerto Meaning: Why the Bread of the Dead Has Bones on Top

Pan de muerto meaning: the bones, the skull and the circle on top, the Spanish "soul bread" behind it, and the human-sacrifice story historians say isn't true.
Culture

La Catrina: The 100-Year-Old Skeleton Who Was Making Fun of You

La Catrina meaning: José Guadalupe Posada etched her around 1910 to mock Mexicans pretending to be European. Diego Rivera named her in 1947. Now she's the face of Día de los Muertos.
Culture

Is Día de los Muertos “Mexican Halloween”? No. Here’s the Difference

Día de los Muertos vs Halloween: one fears the dead, the other invites them to dinner. Different origins, different dates, different point. Plus the parade a Bond movie invented.
Culture

Día de los Muertos Ofrenda: What Every Item on the Altar Actually Means

Ofrenda meaning, item by item: why the marigolds, the salt, the water, the papel picado, the dog, the levels, and what goes on the altar for children vs adults on Nov 1 and 2.