Travel in the Latin world is very rewarding. Every country is unique, and the only way to understand is to live in country with the people. You may find yourself in another part of the world.
Holi, the Hindu Spring Festival of Colors, is All About Loving
PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad & Tobago 🇹🇹 🇮🇳
International Tango Day Celebrates the Dance of Love
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina ~ December 11 🇦🇷 🇺🇾 🇫🇷
Fèt Gede is the Beautiful Haitian Festival of the Dead
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti 🇭🇹
Diwali is Celebrated in NYC’s South Asian and West Indian Communities
HK HALL, Hell’s Kitchen, Manhattan
TIMES SQUARE, Manhattan
ONE WORLD TRADE CENTER, Financial District, Manhattan
NYC PUBLIC SCHOOLS
SEAPORT MUSEUM, Seaport, Manhattan
FLUSHING TOWN HALL, Flushing, Queens
LIBERTY AVE, South Ozone Park, Queens
🪔 🇬🇾 🇮🇳 🇯🇲 🗽 🇸🇷 🇹🇹
National Day of Spain is el Día de la Hispanidad
October 12, 1492 🇪🇸
El Salvadoran Independence Day is September 15, 1821
SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador 🇸🇻
Our Lady of Charity, La Caridad del Cobre, is the Patron Saint of Cuba
SANTIAGO DE CUBA, Cuba September 8 🇨🇺
Travel Calendar
Movable Dates in 2024-2025:
- Lunar New Year is January 29, 2025. ☸️ 🕉️ ☯️
- Ramadan is February 28 – March 29, 2025. ☪️
- Carnival Tuesday is March 4, 2025. ✝️
- Spring Break is mid- to late-March.
- Holi is March 14, 2025. 🕉️
- Holy Week is April 13-19, 2025. ✝️
- Easter is April 20, 2025. ✝️
- Passover is April April 12-20, 2025. ✡️
- Mid-Autumn Festival is October 6, 2025. ☸️ 🕉️ ☯️
- Yom Kippur is October 11, 2024. ✡️
- Diwali is October 31, 2024. 🕉️
- Hanukkah is December 25, 2024 – January 2, 2025. ✡️
January
New Year’s Day is usually a quiet day on January 1.
Kings Day kicks off New Orleans Carnival. Three Kings Day is a beautiful day in Puerto Rico because families are out in parks so the kids can play with the toys the Three Kings left for them. It’s January 6.
Carnival preparations start in earnest on January 6, at the end of Christmas season.
Las Fiestas de la Calle San Sebastían (La Sansé), Puerto Rico’s biggest festival, is on Calle San Sebastían in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico; on Thursday-Sunday, January 16-19, 2025. 🇵🇷
There is a pilgrimage for the Feast of Nuestra Señora de la Altagracia, patron saint of the Dominican Republic, in Salvaleón, Higüey on January 21. 🇩🇴
February
Carnaval Vegano 2023, the Dominican Republic’s biggest carnival, is in La Vega on Sundays, February 5, 12, & 19, 2023. 🇩🇴
Celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes, patron saint of healing, at the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes, in Lourdes, France; on Saturday, February 11, 2023. 🇫🇷
Martinique Carnival 2023 is in Fort-De-France, Martinique; from Thursday – Wednesday, February 16-22, 2023. 🇲🇶
Barranquilla Carnival builds to a climax in Barranquilla, Colombia, Saturday-Tuesday February 18-21, 2023. 🇨🇴
[To be confirmed]
Ponce Carnival (Carnival Ponceño) is in Ponce, Puerto Rico; from Saturday-Tuesday, February 18-21, 2023. 🇵🇷
Grenada Carnival is Monday-Tuesday, February 20-21, 2023. 🇬🇩
Carnival Tuesday (Mardi Gras) is Tuesday, February 21, 2023.
Santo Domingo Carnival 2023 combines the climax of Dominican Carnival, with Dominican Independence Day celebrations in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic; on Sunday, February 26, 2023. 🇩🇴
March
Carnival Tuesday is March 4, 2025. Preparations start six months ahead, get serious on King’s Day, January 6, get busy the month before, and build to a climax on Carnival Weekend into Carnival Tuesday.
Holy Week 2024 is Sunday, March 24 – Saturday, March 30, 2024. Nazarene processions are important community gatherings.
The CITA tango festival is in Buenos Aires, Argentina from March 14-18, 2023. cita.dance 🇦🇷
July
The Santo Domingo Merengue Festival is in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic the last week of July and the first week of August.
Las Fiestas de Santiago Apóstol (St James Festival) in Loíza, Puerto Rico is one of the most profound expressions of African Diaspora culture in the United States. July 25 is the feast day, but the community celebrates all month long. It’s also a bomba music festival. 🇵🇷
September
La Fiesta del Yamor in Otavalo, Ecuador is an Indigenous harvest festival to th🇨🇱ank the Sun God. It’s usually the first week of September. otavalo.gob.ec 🇪🇨
There is a long weekend of festivals around Chile Independence Day on September 18. There is usually a kite festival in Antofagasta, a national rodeo in Rancagua, and concerts in San Pedro de Atacama. 🇨🇱
Rock in Rio is a big music festival in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It’s usually in the last half of September. rockinrio.com
October
The Day of the Dead Parade in Mexico City is Saturday, October 28, 2023. 🇲🇽
The Campeche Salsa y Bachata Festival is in Campeche, the Mexican salsa capital on the Yucatan Caribbean, from October 26-29, 2023. Facebook @LaCapitalSalseraSur 🇲🇽
November
National Merengue Day in the Dominican Republic is November 26. 🇩🇴
Panamanian Independence Day is November 28. The big celebration is in Panama City, Panama. 🇵🇦
December
Día de las Velitas, the Colombian festival of lights, is December 7. 🇨🇴
Travel Tips
Many Americans start out noticing our differences, but end up seeing our similarities. You may come home with lifelong friendships, or you might not come back at all (meaning you become a traveler).
We live and work from the road. Traveling in the Latin world is more complicated than traveling in the United States.
Traveling in 2024
Dengue Fever worsens on 4-year cycles that coincide with U.S. election years. In 2024, Brazil is having a major outbreak which suggests Dengue will be worse throughout the Americas this year. Avoid mosquito bites. Long pants and long sleeves are the best method because mosquitos mostly bite ankles and above the elbows to avoid getting swatted.
Poverty is the Normal State of Humanity
Most Americans have no idea how fortunate we are. Poverty is the normal state of humanity, not just poverty, but mind-blowing poverty. Get used to it.
In many places, the electricity and internet go out regularly. There may not be usable internet. You can’t drink tap water, or ice from roadside stands. Some places don’t have running water. Don’t put toilet paper in the toilet, unless you are in a fancy hotel, or ask first.
The poverty may cause people to target you, because they think you are rich.
Social Norms are Different
Much of the Latin world is very machista (male chauvinist). In many countries, men constantly proposition women in public. Female travelers may have to deal with that.
Prostitution is legal in many countries and is everywhere tourists are. Men may think they are suddenly rich playboys, but street women are looking for them. There is lots of disease and you may get robbed. Some popular regions have problems with tourists dying because they were too heavily drugged by prostitutes. Fooling around overseas is not a good idea. It encourages human trafficking and distorts local cultures. Just don’t.
New York City is very LGBTQ+ cool. Though the Latin world has vibrant LGBTQ+ communities, being out can trigger violence, and is even illegal in some countries. Just don’t assume that what is cool in New York City is cool wherever you are visiting.
You’re Not in Kansas Anymore
The Latin world is generally safe, but some places are not. Take the U.S. State Department’s travel advisories seriously.
- Level 1 = Normal
- Level 2 = Caution: days are generally safe, but nights alone may be dangerous. Foreigners are targets for petty crime.
Check the map at travelmaps.state.gov
You must constantly watch out for your personal safety.
In our own country, Americans intuitively know where we can and cannot go, but we can be clueless when traveling. In the Latin world Americans are fish out of water. Locals may think you are rich, whether you are or not, and that makes you a target.
Tourist areas are usually better protected, but urban areas in the Latin world may not be safe. In many parts of the Latin world, everyone has guns (Made in the USA), including young hotheads who are dangerous.
In places that have moto culture (taxi and delivery motorcycles), trouble can come at you in a flash. Always pay attention.
You’re Being Watched as Soon as You Step Outside
In The States, the home boundary is the four walls, or the fence or property line. In the Latin world, the home boundary is the community. The moment you enter a community (or step out your front door), you are being watched.
And just like New York, one block may be good, and the next one may be bad.
The key point is to be mindful and respectful, just like you would when entering someone else’s home.
Previous Travelers May Have Poisoned the Well
Wherever you go, the CIA, soldiers, and tourists have been there before. Many have behaved badly. Locals may assume you as just another ugly American.
Traveling Smart
The rule in urban areas everywhere (including New York City), is that if people are around, you are probably okay. But it can be dangerous to be alone. Some tourist places are full of people (and thieves).
Never dress in a flashy way, or show possessions on the street. Protect yourself from pickpockets, especially in tourist crowds. If someone bumps into you, you may have been robbed.
Don’t carry more money or credit cards than you absolutely need. Some tourist regions have problems with credit card fraud, even in businesses that you think are solid. Locals know you are out of your element, distracted, and will have a hard time reporting them to police. In some popular tourist areas, we don’t use credit cards anymore because the credit card number gets stolen every time we visit.
Don’t get drunk and watch your drink in bars, especially women. Locals often expect to see a bottle opened in front of them, and keep a napkin in mouth of their beer bottles.
Pay attention to time of day. In some places, even locals don’t go out at night, unless they go and return directly by car. Dawns are beautiful, but early morning can be one of the most dangerous times.
Make sure your room and belongings are secure, before you go to sleep.
Never look for trouble overseas. You may find far more than you bargained for. Gangs and police often come from the same neighborhoods, even the same families. Avoid both.
But the Latin World is Beautiful
The Latin world is a beautiful place. 99.9% of the people you meet are super nice and glad you are visiting. Many will extend you courtesies that are really unexpected in this day and age.
The Latin world is very family and community oriented. It’s nice to be part of that.
Choose wisely, grasshopper. The U.S. State Department travel map is a good starting point for choosing destinations. state.gov
Oh, and smile a lot. Traveling is fun, and you make the place. Make it smile.