Latin American refers to people, cultures, or countries from the parts of North and South America where languages that came from Latin are spoken, especially Spanish and Portuguese. This includes most of Mexico, Central America, South America, and many Caribbean islands.

When Spanish and Portuguese colonizers arrived in the Americas starting in the 1500s, they brought their languages with them. Today, countries like Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, and Chile are all considered Latin American, even though they have very different cultures, climates, and histories.

Brazil is Latin America's largest country, and Brazilians speak Portuguese rather than Spanish. Someone from São Paulo, Brazil, and someone from Buenos Aires, Argentina, might struggle to understand each other's languages at first, but both are Latin American.

The term distinguishes these regions from places in the Americas where other languages dominate, like the United States and most of Canada (where English is the main language), or countries like Belize and Jamaica in the Caribbean (where English is the main language).

Latin America is home to over 650 million people and includes everything from tropical rainforests to towering mountain ranges, from ancient civilizations like the Maya and Inca to modern, bustling cities.