Plugg Team Travel Blog

🌎 Interesting Facts About Latin America

• Mexico is home to the world’s smallest volcano, Cuexcomate. It’s just 43 feet tall!
• In 2024, Mexico’s exports to the U.S. hit $475 billion.
• In Bolivia, indigenous women perform theatrical wrestling matches called “Cholita Wrestling.”
• In Brazil, people type laughter like this: “kkkkk” or “rsrsrsrs.”
• Colombia’s Caño Cristales River is known as the “Liquid Rainbow.”
• Chile’s Atacama Desert is used to test Mars rovers due to its extreme dryness.
• 🌍 There are over 370 languages spoken across Latin America.
• Uruguay ranks as South America’s top remote work destination.
• Brazil’s 13th-month salary is a cultural and economic norm.
• Argentina recently lifted currency controls, changing hiring practices.
• Popcorn has over 17 names across LATAM—like “Cabritas” in Chile and “Pororo” in Uruguay.
• Volcano boarding is a real thing in Nicaragua—at Cerro Negro!
• In Panama, you can see the sun rise over the Pacific and set over the Atlantic.
• Brazil is becoming a major hub for electric vehicle production.
• Claudia Sheinbaum became Mexico’s first female president in 2024.
• Chile has the world’s largest pool—so big, you can sail in it!
• Argentina leads LATAM in English proficiency and expressive communication.
• Ometepe is the world’s largest volcanic island in a freshwater lake.
• Colombian work culture prioritizes relationships and flexibility.
• Puerto Rico “rains frogs”—the coquí leaps from trees during humidity.
• Mexico’s 2025 decree offers tax perks for nearshoring U.S. companies.
• The piña colada was invented in San Juan (although, that is a disputed fact!)
• Bolivia has a hotel made entirely of salt—even the furniture!
• 🌍 Latin America is one of the most urbanized regions—80% of people live in cities.
• Argentinians are opting for local jobs again as inflation-adjusted pay rises.
• San Clemente, Chile is a UFO hotspot—with its own alien tourism route.
• Paraguay is one of only two landlocked countries in South America.
• Peru is home to over 3,000 varieties of potatoes.
• Ecuador was the first country to officially recognize the rights of nature in its Constitution.
• Costa Rica has no standing army and invests heavily in education and healthcare.
• Guatemala is the birthplace of chocolate.
• El Salvador was the first country to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender.
• Honduras hosts the ancient Maya city of Copán, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
• Panama hats actually originate from Ecuador.
• Uruguay was the first country to legalize recreational marijuana.
• The Dominican Republic is home to the oldest European settlement in the Americas—Santo Domingo.
• Venezuela has the world’s highest waterfall, Angel Falls.
• Cuba has one of the highest literacy rates in the world at over 99%.
• Suriname is the only country in South America where Dutch is the official language.
• Guyana is culturally Caribbean and South American—an English-speaking
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