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A History of Chile traces the nation's political, economic, and social evolution from its independence until the 1994 inauguration of President Eduardo Frei. This book explains how Chile evolved politically from a nation dominated by a small aristocracy into a democracy, and how it created an economy that increasingly relied on its factories rather than solely on its mines. Finally, it explains the development of Chilean culture, which is a unique fusion of European and Latin American sources.

The author traces the impact of political upheaval and rural migrations on the development of bachata and the Dominican music industry. Her multi-disciplinary study analyzes the changing attitudes about bachata and its principal musical competitor, merengue. She considers issues of sex and gender as perceived and expressed by bachata's mostly male musicians, especially in the context of changing patterns of marriage. Exploring how bachata—like rap—became respectable and even fashionable, Pacini Hernandez offers a unique perspective of five decades of social, economic, and political change in the Dominican Republic.

This magnificent volume-and the exhibition it accompanies at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum-is a soaring tribute to the harmonious nature of Brazilian art and culture. Juxtaposing Baroque masterpieces from the 17th and 18th centuries with essential works of modern and contemporary art as well as indigenous and Afro-Brazilian arts, the book's editors explore the integration of sensorial and spiritual experience in Brazilian art-the union of body and soul.

Guatemala, land of the Mayas, produced one of the richest colonial expressions in the world during the Spanish Empire. This richness is seen in its domestic architecture, constructed by the native heirs of Tikal and creators of the most beautiful textiles of tropical America. This book is a journey through the interiors of the best houses in Guatemala and the rebuilt city of Antigua, where decoration combines prehispanic axes, colonial wood carvings and regional handicrafts into the surroundings of a cosmopolitan city, a ranch in the country, a weekend house on the Pacific Ocean, and more.

Distinctive among the turbulent nations of Central America, Costa Rica enjoys a much-envied reputation for political stability and prosperity. From abolishing its army in 1948 to the debt crisis of the 1980s, this book explores the history, economy, society, environment and culture of Costa Rica.

The breadth of Peru's culture from pre-Columbian times to today is surveyed in this one-stop reference. Modern Peru emerges as an ethnically divided nation progressing toward social integration of its heavily Indian and Hispanic population. Ferreira and Dargent, native Peruvians, illustrate how the diverse geography of the country--the Andes, coast, and jungle--has also had a role in shaping cultural and social expression, from history to art.

Venezuela, one of the least-known countries in Latin America, is brilliantly spotlighted in Culture and Customs of Venezuela. This oil-rich nation sustained a stable democracy until the economic downturn in the 1980s, and changes in the social and political spheres will bring the country under increasing scrutiny from the outside world. Dinneen captures the sharp contrasts and immense variety of modern Venezuela. Students and interested readers will find engaging and authoritative overviews of the land, people, and history; religions; social customs; media; cinema; literature; performing arts; and art and architecture.

Discovering Ruins and Rock Art in Brazil and Peru is the culmination of extensive explorations the author has undertaken in the Peruvian Amazon and the Brazilian States of Mato Grosso do Sul, Roraima and Amazonas. The book describes three expeditions--two in Peru and one in Brazil--that were completed in the span of less than a year, from the fall of 1998 to the summer of 1999.

Merengue—the quintessential Dominican dance music—has a long and complex history, both on the island and in the large immigrant community in New York City. In this ambitious work, Paul Austerlitz unravels the African and Iberian roots of merengue and traces its growth under dictator Rafael Trujillo and its renewed popularity as an international music.

Opening with a poignant gallery of photographic portraits of the Mexican people dating from Revolutionary times, Mexican Muralists offers a sweeping visual account of these towering works and their creation, replete with copious photographic details and an admirable pictorial treatment that positions the murals firmly in their architectural context.

This condensed, yet detailed book provides historical information into the indigenous society, conquest by Spain, Mexico’s Independence, NAFTA and the relations of present day Mexico and the United States. This quick read helps the reader appreciate the rich history of Mexico.

Chile is a country with an interesting and, especially under Pinochet after the 1973 coup, controversial past. This volume examines that past in two parts: a brief history of the place, and a somewhat personal diplomatic memoir and description of its recent transition years. Hickman was the British ambassador to Chile from 1982 to 1987. His book is a readable and well-written introduction to the history of the country for non-Chileans; its strength lies in its description of the past ten years and Chile's return from dictatorship to democracy.

The evolution of tango as a dance and music is covered, from its birth in the slums of Buenos Aires to its growing familiarity in world dance and music circles. Plenty of black and white and color photos liberally display the dance's movements, spicing chapters which cover key figures in the dance's development and promotion.

Archaeologist and Incan expert Nigel Davies offers astonishing revelations about the remarkable empire of the Incas and the civilizations that preceded them. From the desert at Nazca to the great coastal civilization of Chimor, this compelling overview makes accessible the latest research on all the ancient kingdoms of Peru.

Ancient Maya civilization thrived in the tropics of Central America for more than a thousand years and produced some of the world's finest architecture and art. Then it mysteriously vanished, leaving a landscape of ruins smothered by forests. The Classic Maya collapse is one of the great puzzles of history, ranking alongside the Fall of Rome as an enigma that has intrigued scholars for generations.

After it emerged as a market commodity in the 18th century, coffee was easily adapted to cultivation in the highlands of Central America. Guatemala in particular has relied on coffee cultivation as a part of its economic identity: it has been a premier export crop for over 300 years.

The Spanish Civil War is a compelling account of one of the most hard-fought and bitter wars of the twentieth century: a war of atrocities and political genocide that was a military testing ground before the Second World War for the Russians, Italians, and Germans.

The Transnational Villagers offers a detailed, compelling account of how ordinary people keep their feet in two worlds and create communities that span borders. Peggy Levitt explores the powerful familial, religious, and political connections that arise between Miraflores, a town in the Dominican Republic, and Jamaica Plain, a neighborhood in Boston and examines the ways in which these ties transform life in both the home and host country.

Discovered in a remote and rugged area of the Amazonian Andes in 1843, seventy years before Machu Picchu was brought to public attention, the colossal ruin known as Kulap was built by members of a regional culture or group of cultures known as the Chachapoya. Now author-photographer Keith Muscutt examines in fascinating detail the history of the Chachapoya. In addition to their cultural origins in the Amazon Basin, their distinctive architecture, and their defiant resistance to conquest by the Incas and the Spanish, he explores modern Chachapoya communities and shares stories of some of his own expeditions, traveling by mule and on foot, into Chachapoya territory.