Arts & Culture Archives - Page 15 of 27

Brazil Finds Remnants of Its Dictatorial Past in a Radio Show

If you’re driving in Brazil on a weekday evening and want some music for your drive, you should probably pack a CD. Chances are you’ll catch A Voz do Brasil, the country’s longest-running radio show, if you turn on the radio between 7 p.m. and 8 p.m. This is because Brazilian law mandates that radio … Read more

A ‘School of Rock’ in Rio’s Biggest Favela

Kids from Rio de Janeiro’s largest favela are reaching new heights – literally. Equipped with grippy shoes, hand chalk and encouragement from renowned climbers worldwide, young people from the Rio neighborhood of Rocinha are increasingly taking to the city’s tallest mountains in search of recreation, thrills and, for some, a way to avoid the pitfalls … Read more

Speaking Guaraní, Don Quixote Rides into Paraguay

Don Quixote is riding into Paraguay, but he’s not just tilting at windmills. The idealistic knight from La Mancha has a new quest: to defend the indigenous Guaraní language. The first-ever Guaraní translation of Miguel de Cervantes’ classic novel Don Quixote was completed in June by a team of four Paraguayan scholars who labored eight years … Read more

AQ Top 5 Latin American Academics: Mónica Ponce de León

Leer en español See the rest of the AQ Top 5 As a child growing up in booming, prosperous 1970s Caracas, Mónica Ponce de León found inspiration for a future career in the modernist architecture springing up around her. “Everyone felt that the buildings represented the progressive culture of the city,” Ponce de León, now … Read more

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

A Stylish Debut from Jazz Singer Daymé Arocena

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A powerful debut from one of Cuba’s most versatile jazz singers.

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