Hello all!
I’m an American (USA) who is extremely fascinated with the various Latin American cultures and have been considering an extended trip throughout Central and South America. When I was younger I spent some time in metropolitan Colombia (mostly Cartagena and Bogotá) which is where my interest began, but throughout my time spent there most of the things I was doing felt extremely superficial (i.e. guided tours and what have you).
All of this is to ask, what are some things I can do while in Latin America to have the best understanding of what life is like for those living in the communities I visit? What things should I avoid? I speak Spanish well enough to keep up with the news and hold basic conversations so that isn’t an issue.
Additionally, I have a particular curiosity about precolonial history and interesting geographic features, so if you’re aware of any interesting locations to visit please feel free to mention them.
Edit: Just to give some clarification to this as well, this is mostly asking for advice from anyone here regarding their particular country. Of course Latin America is an incredibly broad region, so there’s no one size fits all piece of wisedom, but any advice for traveling to your particular country is greatly appreciated.
Cheers,
An American
Comments
Go to the ghetto, get mugged, punched I. The face, get dengue, eat terrible fried food, and poo in an open sewer – oh and play some terrible raygayton “music”
You have to at least mention the countries you plan on visiting if you expect proper replies. The replies for this question will change a lot depending on where you are going.
Probably the best way to gain a deeper understanding of a place is to live there and do the kinds of things an average person would do like using public transportation, walking a lot, going to local markets or popular spots. Basically, not just following guided tours or staying at international hotels, but trying to connect with local people doing the things that they usually do.
I’m not sure how good your Spanish is, but the first thing I’d recommend is reaching a level where you can at least hold a conversation and ask about the things you’re curious about. You don’t need to be super advanced. I’m sure there are online Spanish courses where you can talk to native speakers and also learn more about the culture. You could also just meet people online and try making some Latin American friends to practice with.
As for precolonial history, I don’t know exactly what you’re most curious about, but I can tell you a bit about the Indigenous peoples that lived in Chile before colonization. Since Chile is such a long country, it has a huge variety of landscapes and climates from deserts in the north to southern forests, ice fields, and fjords. Each group adapted to the particular characteristics of their region and developed unique strengths, although none of them formed large centralized empires like the Aztecs or the Incas. Still, each had distinct knowledge systems, cultural practices, and spiritual beliefs.
Some examples include the Atacameños, the Chinchorros (who actually created the oldest known mummies, even older than the Egyptian ones), and the Diaguitas in the north. The Mapuches in the south-central region and farther south in Patagonia, the Kawesqar, Yaganes and my personal favorites, the Selk’nam, who sadly suffered a rapid decline after European contact.
Other interesting places in Chile are the Atacama desert, the Eastern Island, and the Chiloe Archipelago, which are full of legends and mythology if that’s something you’re into.
Here I leave an image of the Selk’nam.
https://preview.redd.it/fak6j3gb06te1.png?width=900&format=png&auto=webp&s=2b2de113d4b3eb7ddcf36f543cfa70db3edba392