Learn about popular monthly observances.
Please note: The photos currently in use date back to the original Periscope website, produced in 2000.
Photo
A plantain looks like a large banana. It is a popular food in Central America and the Caribbean. Plantains can be eaten either green or ripe, but either way, they have to be cooked. When they are...
Photo
Although the plantain did not originate in a Latin American country, they grow best in tropical climates. Countries such as Ecuador, Peru, Colombia, and Costa Rica are now major producers and...
Photo
Chocolate is one of the best-loved sweets in the world. It is made from the fruit of the cacao tree, a species native to Central and South America. The Aztec Indians of Mexico used the cacao beans to...
Photo
The drink was a favorite of the Aztec emperor Montezuma, who served chocolatl to Spanish explorers in 1519. Of chocolate, Montezuma said, "A cup of this precious drink [cocoa] permits a man to walk...
Photo
In Spain, the recipe for chocolate changed a bit. The Spanish sweetened the chocolate drink with sugar and drank it hot. By the 1700s, chocolate was a prized sweet all over Europe. Today, churros with...
Photo
People in Central and South America have grown and eaten many kinds of beans for thousands of years. Ancient cultures such as the Inca ate beans as a major part of their diet. During the 1500s...
Photo
Black beans are native to Latin America. Fifty-percent of the beans eaten in the Latin American country of Cuba are black beans. In Cuba a meal of black beans and rice, or "frijoles negros con arroz,"...
Photo
The chili pepper is used to flavor many Hispanic dishes. It was originally grown in South America, and it too was brought to Europe by Spanish explorers. From Europe, the chili found its way into...
Photo
There are over 60 types of chili pepper. Some are really, really hot, so watch out when you handle them! If you want the pepper taste without the fire alarms going off, try the bell pepper.
Photo
What would you make with all of these foods? Try having a Hispanic feast at your school that uses a few, or all, of these Latin American foods.
