AQ’s Spring Playlist: A “Most Unconstitutional” New Album Roundup
This selection of recent releases features desert-inspired guitars from Ecuador, folk wisdom from Chile and tongue-in-cheek Brazilian wordplay.
Who Gets to Map Latin America’s Natural World?
A Peruvian artist’s ghostly landscapes raise questions about objectivity and authority in documenting the region’s environment.
Fernanda Melchor’s Gritty Dispatches from Veracruz
In a darkly humorous collection of stories and “crónicas,” the Mexican writer channels life in this chaotic port city.
The Complex Legacy of Brazilian Explorer Cândido Rondon
The general was an early advocate for Indigenous people—but reality has fallen brutally short of his ideals.
The Intergenerational Heartbreak of Bolivia’s Urbanization
Alejandro Loayza Grisi’s “Utama” looks at the human side of environmental crisis in the Bolivian highlands.
The “Bolivian Schindler” Who Saved Thousands of Jews—Then Faced Imprisonment
A new book details how mining titan Moritz “Mauricio” Hochschild helped Jews escape the Nazis in Bolivia, only to be scapegoated himself.
The Great De-platforming of the Mexican Intellectual
How the internet and the government conspired to drown out public discourse at just the moment Mexican democracy truly needs it.
Explaining Evangelicalism’s Uneven Political Success
A new book sheds light on why evangelical Christianity has generated greater electoral power in some Latin American countries than in others.
Mariana Enríquez’s Meaningful Monsters
An Argentine novel uses the supernatural to explore abuses of power in the country’s past and present.
AQ’s Winter Playlist: Mellow Music for the Southern Summer
A selection of new Latin American releases, to warm a cold Northern night or dance a Southern summer night away.
Inside the Vicious Cycle of Mexico’s Disappearances
A new film by Lorenzo Vigas probes the cruel process by which victims of violence can become participants.
Windows Onto a “Hidden City”: Bogotá’s Creative Districts
Renewing distressed areas and recognizing bohemian haunts, these districts in Colombia’s capital have been praised—and also criticized.
Arthur Bispo do Rosario Wanted to Contain the World in Art
Living in a psychiatric institution, the Brazilian artist used found materials to catalog the world.
Pelé Was a Genius at More Than Soccer
The king of futebol was not an easy man to know—but he could be generous in unexpected ways.
Argentina Could Really Use a Win
Politics and soccer mix everywhere, but this year it’s not just the government hoping for a championship to lighten the national mood.
