Bart van Zwieten

A detailed relief of Stela 1 from La Mojarra of the Epi-Olmec culture in Veracruz, 200CE. It portrays a dignitary with a ceremonial headdress that includes representations of deities and symbolic elements. The stela is famous for containing one of the longest known inscriptions in Epi-Olmec script.

In July 1969 The Doors came to Mexico City. Among the places visited by singer Jim Morrison, was the archaeological zone of Teotihuacan just outside Mexico City. He climbed the Pyramid of the Sun and visited the Temple of the Feathered Serpent. touching one of the temple's masks, nowadays forbidden.

Latin America and the Caribbean lead the fight to eradicate hunger. According to the FAO, IFAD, PAHO, UNICEF and WFP, malnutrition and food insecurity have decreased, although concerns remain regarding the cost of a healthy diet and high rates of obesity. www.diariomarca.com.mx/2026/02/lide...

The cycling season has ‘unofficially’ started with the Omloop Nieuwsblad in Flanders, Belgium! And what a start for Dutch cyclist Mathieu van der Poel, winning this race in his debut at the Omloop in dreadful weather conditions. What a powerhouse! Dutchman Tim van Dijke took honourably second place.

Comisión antimonopolio niega a Visa compra de 51% de Prosa Visa expresa su decepción tras la decisión del organismo; evaluará opciones disponibles.

Payment processing giant Visa wants to acquire 51% of Mexican competitor Prosa. The deal is struck down by Mexico’s antitrust authority: it would have limited competition. The antitrust authority is functioning, despite previous fears of political interference www.eleconomista.com.mx/sectorfinanc...

The cycling season has ‘unofficially’ started with the Omloop Nieuwsblad in Flanders, Belgium! And what a start for Dutch cyclist Mathieu van der Poel, winning this race in his debut at the Omloop in dreadful weather conditions. What a powerhouse! Dutchman Tim van Dijke took honourably second place.

A detailed relief of Stela 1 from La Mojarra of the Epi-Olmec culture in Veracruz, 200CE. It portrays a dignitary with a ceremonial headdress that includes representations of deities and symbolic elements. The stela is famous for containing one of the longest known inscriptions in Epi-Olmec script.

In July 1969 The Doors came to Mexico City. Among the places visited by singer Jim Morrison, was the archaeological zone of Teotihuacan just outside Mexico City. He climbed the Pyramid of the Sun and visited the Temple of the Feathered Serpent. touching one of the temple's masks, nowadays forbidden.

Comisión antimonopolio niega a Visa compra de 51% de Prosa Visa expresa su decepción tras la decisión del organismo; evaluará opciones disponibles.

Payment processing giant Visa wants to acquire 51% of Mexican competitor Prosa. The deal is struck down by Mexico’s antitrust authority: it would have limited competition. The antitrust authority is functioning, despite previous fears of political interference www.eleconomista.com.mx/sectorfinanc...

Latin America and the Caribbean lead the fight to eradicate hunger. According to the FAO, IFAD, PAHO, UNICEF and WFP, malnutrition and food insecurity have decreased, although concerns remain regarding the cost of a healthy diet and high rates of obesity. www.diariomarca.com.mx/2026/02/lide...

The location of Mayan cities, from Palenque to Chichen Itza, follow a design based on the stars. The Maya were great astronomers, whose precision continues to amaze the modern world. They built their ceremonial centers in alignment with the stars, including cities like Tikal, Copán, Chalco and Cobá.

The upper slab of Pakal's sarcophagus in Palenque, Tabasco, represents the Mayan cosmic tree emerging from the underworld. The ruler is in a reclining position over the jaws of a being associated with the underworld. From his body sprouts the sacred tree that connects heaven, earth and underworld.

Brazil Goes From Big Loser to Winner in Trade Showdown With Trump Once facing the harshest of the US’s import taxes, Brazil gets off easier in Trump’s revised strategy

Brazil’s average tariff plunged by 21% — to 10% from 31% — after the US Supreme Court invalidated Trump’s sweeping global tariffs. Brazil’s earlier refusal to retaliate against the US tariffs, up to 50%, make President Lula into perhaps the world’s biggest winners. www.bloomberg.com/news/newslet...

Trump exenta del arancel de 10% a productos que cumplan con el T-MEC En declaraciones preparadas para un discurso en Dallas, el secretario del Tesoro, Scott Bessent, afirmó que los aranceles implementados bajo la Sección

The US announced a new set of tariffs. Trump later anounced Mexico would be exempt under USMCA. It’s the second time Trump exempts Mexico, a clear message: Mexico is essential to the US. This should show Mexican USMCA negotiators that Mexico isn’t powerless. www.eleconomista.com.mx/empresas/tru...

Only in Mexico.

Correct, but as it is officially part of France, it is not Caribbean also (and not a member of Caricom).

The Guyanas and Surinam are geographically in South America, but are not part of Latin America, because of their languages (LatAm is Spanish/Portuguese) They are part - and they themselves consider so - of the Caribbean, also member of the regional organizado CARICOM. See the different America’s:

Teotihuacan-style incense burner, Escuintla, Guatemala, 300–600 CE, with an iconographic composition linked to the Teotihuacan tradition and its influence on the South Coast of Guatemala, confirming the cultural and ideological links between Teotihuacan (near CDMX) and the southern Mayan regions.

The famous Latin American hospitality: what you're likely to be served as a guest. Of course you have to eat!

Of the nearly 15 million migrants in Latin America, one in four is a child or adolescent—the highest proportion of migrant children and adolescents in the world. It is even more critical considering that, in 2023, 70% of migrant children were under 11 years old. www.lasillavacia.com/red-de-exper...

Sheinbaum anuncia reforma para modificar el nombre del Instituto Nacional de Migración: así se llamará la dependencia La presidenta reconoció el trabajo de Sergio Salomón como titular del INM, aunque precisó que él no creó la iniciativa

Mexican president Sheinbaum will send a reform initiative to the Congress related to the country’s National Migration Institute (INM). This includes changing the institution’s name to the “Human Mobility Institute.” Reform should include demilitarization. www.infobae.com/mexico/2026/...

My pleasure!

Election watch: in Brazil, a recent poll shows a virtual tie between current president Lula Da Silva and his main contender Flavio Bolsonaro for the presidential election to be held October 2nd, effectively closing the race that had placed Lula up to 12% ahead in electoral preferences last December.

Feline Claw = Royal Predatory Power.
The scorpion’s sting represents piercing, bloodletting, and lethal strike. Venus as Morning Star was believed to “shoot darts” at the earth, not romantic. Venus is an aggressor deity. The star glyph in his hand confirms it is specifically tied to Venus cycles.

Huge, this 4x3.6 m. 12-ton 15th-century Aztec sculpture of Tlaltecuhtli, Lord/Lady of the Earth, found in 2006 at the Templo Mayor in CDMX. According to the Mexica worldview, Tlaltecuhtli's body gave rise to the sky and the underworld. It devours the sun at night to give birth to it in the morning.

Male figure located in the Temple of Venus in Cacaxtla, Tlaxcala. It has a scorpion's tail with a black stinger, an animal associated with the planet Venus. His left hand (like a feline claw) holds the symbol or glyph of Venus. Cacaxtla was the center of power for the Olmec-Xicallanca civilization.

In Argentina, locals are taking loans to buy food Argentinians are taking on loans, selling their belongings, and living on credit cards to pay for basics including food.

Argentines are increasingly unable to cover their basic needs with salaries; more than half the population has cut down on activities to make ends meet, and are taking on loans, selling their belongings, and living on credit cards to pay for basics including food. www.aljazeera.com/economy/2026...

As pressure mounts for Latin Ametican governments to align with Washington on anti-drug policy, this map of Insight Crime provides a clear, comparative look at who is cooperating, how deeply, and what’s at stake. Explore it here: bit.ly/4aFsKrb

Cihuatéotl, a deified woman, El Zapote, Veracruz, representing women who died during their first childbirth. It symbolizes the moment when the spirit escapes the body after death. These women, after their death, had the mission of accompanying the Sun on its daily journey from zenith to sunset.

Cup with battle scene, Nebaj Region, Quiché, Guatemala, 600-900CE. It depicts prisoners after a battle. A lord, facing forward, turns to observe ten elegantly drawn warriors, stripped of their battle attire and others adorned with elaborate headdresses and garments, including jaguar-skin tunics.