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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.

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.

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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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.

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.

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.

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...

Who Are the Garífuna? The Africans Who Were Never Enslaved

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

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...

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...

 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.

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.

Latest articles

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.

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.

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.

What Are Corridos Tumbados? The Genre That Took Over From LA

What are corridos tumbados? The trap-inflected corridos born in an LA label in 2019 that put Peso Pluma in the Billboard top 5. History, sound, the bans and who to hear now.