Latin America is not often in the news when compared to the USA, UK, Europe or Asia. However, that doesn’t it has little to offer in the world. Consisting of 20 nations from the border of Mexico to the southern tip of South America, including the Caribbean it is unique in terms of people, cultures and history. Here are a few amazing facts about the region.
Brazil – The Amazon in Brazil is home to the most isolated indigenous tribes in the world with 77 un-contacted groups.
Jose MujicaUruguay – Former President Jose Mujica was dubbed the ‘poorest’ president in the world because he donated 90% of his income to charity, rides a 1987 Volkswagen Beetle and wears sandals to meetings.
Bolivia – The first Latin American country to get rid of McDonalds. The chain went bankrupt in 2002 and closed its last franchise there because the locals claimed they would rather buy burgers and fries from local street vendors.
Venezuela – In the last 30 years, Venezuela has won more beauty titles than any other country in the world. It is also in the top three list of Latin American countries with the most cosmetic surgeries.
Ecuador – The first country in the world to grant constitutional rights to nature. This means that the ecosystem can be treated as a defendant in court.
Honduras – In other places, it might rain ‘cats and dogs’ but in Honduras it rains fish. ‘Yoro Fish Rain’ is a phenomenon that happens during the rainy season between May and June.
Paraguay – By law, the only bilingual country in Latin America with both Spanish and the indigenous Guarani spoken. The other nations predominantly speak Spanish but the significant exception is Brazil where Portuguese is the standard.