The Geography of Latin America Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Geography of Latin America - Essay Example When it comes to language, Latin America has the world’s largest concentration of romance language speakers, derived from Latin, thus the name Latin America. The romance languages spoken in Latin America include Spanish, Portuguese and French (â€Å"Geography Resources†). Culturally, Latin America is all about a blend of many different cultures. Generations of intermarriage between various ethnic groups produced the Blanco of European ancestry, the Mestizo of mixed ancestry, the Indio of Indian roots, and the Negro of African origins. The Blancos usually represent the elite of the society, although most people are mestizos (â€Å"Geography Resources†). As to religion, there is also a variety of systems of faith in Latin America. These include Roman Catholicism, which includes the largest population of believers. Other religions include the minority Christian groups, and some ancient religions like the Macumba, Voodoo and Camdombe, which were the religions of the African slaves (â€Å"Geography Resources†). Latinos are not without their traditional health beliefs and practices. Some of them include the humoral imbalance for illnesses caused by temperature, empacho or indigestion caused by eating the wrong food at the wrong time, mal de ojo or feelings of fatigue and headache caused by the admiration or jealousy of another person who looks at the victim, envidia or envy that causes bad luck or illness, and susto, or the fear coming from a traumatic experience (â€Å"Building our Understanding†). Latin America actually suffers from high external debts incurred for the financing of large development projects. There is also economic restructuring that is being initiated and enforced by international agencies that lend money. Moreover, the cuts in social programs and services and the rising prices caused many job losses but were countered by communal self-help. The