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Latin America and Caribbean

The question of my origin is always inevitable. Depending on the person on the opposite end of the conversation, my Jamaican heritage may be embraced like a novelty or dismissed with a statement like, “Oh, you’re an American.” In my experience, the latter always stems from Jamaicans. Jamaicans have their own assessment of a “true” Jamaican based on three major criteria.
A mask is a must for celebrating the Virgen del Carmen. Make your own fun mask out of a plastic milk jug and other items you have around the house already.
This weekend we had a taste of all sorts of fall festivities and also celebrated Day of the Dead for the first time, at a joint pumpkin carving/Day of the Dead celebration play date.
Mexico’s Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) is a well-known holiday that, despite its motif of death, is a celebration of the lives of loved ones who have passed away.
Every year we go back to Ecuador in the summer so my kids can experience my heritage and language. But raising multicultural kids means influences from her American family are visible even in the most unexpected places.
This Romanian-Brazilian couple met and had kids in California where they are raising their trilingual (and briefly quadrilingual) girls.
A Peruvian recipe for lomo saltado that is simple and so tasty.
When I was pregnant, we assumed that our baby would be an even mix: my Mexican husband’s dark brown complexion and black hair, plus my light skin and blue eyes, would naturally produce a tan child. Coffee with milk. Instead, our son has my exact coloring.
I couldn’t wait to see how my kids would do with their new Spanish when we got to Mexico. 10 days advanced their Spanish way more than I anticipated.
Meet our newest real intercultural family whose children speak Russian, Spanish, English, and share four cultures and two religions.
Rosca de Reyes is the traditional pastry bread eaten on Three Kings Day across Latin America and beyond.
In Ecuador, because families live in the same cities as their relatives and because of the mentality, kids are brought up interacting with people of all ages. They are used to being active participants in everyone´s conversations and activities. Everyone sits at the adult table.
Despite a pediatrician who told this Israeli/Guatemalan/American family that speaking more than one language would be detrimental to their children’s mathematical abilities, they have successfully raised two quadrilingual kids.
Papel picado (perforated paper) is a popular Mexican folk art crafted out of tissue paper. This delicate and colorful art decorates home and streets during the Day of the Dead celebration.
Brazilian pao de queijo make a fabulous and gluten-free addition to a family menu!
Is anything better than chocolate and making music? Teach your kids some Spanish with these Mexican and Peruvian nursery rhymes about chocolate.
I’m on the verge of traveling from San Francisco, where I reside with my family, to Ecuador where I grew up. Though I have most of my family there and have maintained contact with a lot of childhood friends, every time I am there, I have that feeling of not belonging anywhere anymore—you know how when you grow up in one place but live in another for many years, you stop belonging to a specific place and are never fully at home in either place. I guess you become, as people say, a citizen of the world, whatever that means.
Tired of crackers, cheerios and raisins? Try one of our snacks from Mexico, Germany, Colombia, Morocco, Palestine, Brazil and more!
See how the Mayan ruins brought together this trilingual family 12 years ago.
This fascinating family incorporates Brazilian, Japanese, Cantonese and Thai cultures into one.
I was in the middle of a dance floor at a glamorous wedding at a hacienda outside of Puebla, Mexico. The father of the bride approached to make sure I took something back to the U.S. with me. "This is the real Mexico. Not what you hear on the TV and in the papers.”
Would you judge a mom giving coffee to her infant in a bottle? You shouldn't. Here's why.
A couple of weeks ago, we visited the cloud forest of Ecuador. We stayed for a couple of days at the tiny town of Mindo, a two-hour drive from Quito, and I felt like staying in this mellow place for at least a year. Seeing the big leaves of the tropical trees, and looking at the numerous butterflies and hummingbirds, reminded me of a comment a friend made while we visited the rainforest exhibit at the Academy of Science in San Francisco. “This looks like Disney,” he said. I responded, “No, this is like the cloud forest in Ecuador.”
Photo overlooking the beach shot from the castle of Tulum.
I swore I would never be a housewife but I decided to follow my heart. This is where it led me.
This Lebanese-Mexican couple met in college and are now raising a trilingual daughter in suburban USA.
Christmas is just one marker on the festive path through the holidays that culminates in Three Kings Day (El Dia de los Reyes Magos also known as Epiphany).
Nestled in the Andean highlands, quiet Peruvian villages become teeming centers of dance, music, and merrymaking.
A little boy, Kusikiy, on the island of Taquile in Lake Titicaca Peru has a concern. “I am worried the birds are not singing and the trees are sad” because it has not rained.
Pan de muerto is a sweet bread, flavored with anise, orange zest and cinnamon and decorated with bone shaped pieces of dough, given as a snack to the dead.
Her barefoot baby ended up giving her a lesson on poverty and privilege.
Although I was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico to Cuban parents and am unconditionally of 100 percent Cuban descent, I have often felt somewhat disconnected from being a true Latina due to the color of my skin.

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