Latin America

Sarai Isaura Gonzalez stars in the music video to Bomba Estereo's "Soy Yo."

Music & Culture

In 'Soy Yo' Video, Bomba Estéreo Pays Tribute To 'What's Inside Of You'

7:49am September 18, 2016

by NPR Staff

The music video for the Colombian band's song "Soy Yo" has made headlines this week. The group's Simon Mejia tells NPR's Rachel Martin why it's being called an ode to little brown girls everywhere.

Cuba Fights Off Zika

8:59am September 17, 2016

by Carrie Kahn

Cuba has reported only three cases of Zika contracted in the country. The government credits its deployment of soldiers and civilians across the island to destroy mosquito breeding grounds.

A mural in the town of Toribio, Colombia, displays an idyllic rural scene. But the reality is that many rural parts of the country are desperately poor and lawless.

Can Colombia Finally Fix Its Split Personality?

6:33am September 17, 2016

by Nurith Aizenman

It's a country of booming urban centers and poor and lawless rural regions. A pending peace deal between the government and the guerrillas promises to end this divide.

Infants born with microcephaly are held by mothers at a meeting for mothers of children with special needs in Recife, Brazil.

What Doctors Learned From 42 Infants With Microcephaly

11:54am September 14, 2016

by Susan Brink

A new study from Brazil provides an early snapshot of what the future could hold for children infected with Zika, then born with the brain defect.

A vampire bat's fangs are so sharp that victims hardly notice when the animal slices through their skin and starts drinking blood.

Blame It On The Boys: How To Stop Vampire Bats From Spreading Rabies

6:57pm September 13, 2016

by Michaeleen Doucleff

Poisoning these thirsty critters doesn't work. But researchers think they're finally getting close to figuring out a plan.

World News

Venezuela's Economic Downturn Forces Austerity Measures In Cuba

6:52am September 13, 2016

by Carrie Kahn

Cuba is seeing a surge in tourism, helped in part by the arrival of Americans. But it is suffering economically, in part because of its reliance on fuel from Venezuela, which is itself collapsing.

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World News

Small Cuban Towns Struggle To Keep Up With Pace Of Tourism

5:11pm September 10, 2016

by Deepa Fernandes

As Cuba loosens state controls and more tourists come in from the United States, life will change for quiet coastal towns.

'Wolf Boys' Tells The Story Of Americans Lured To Join Mexican Drug Cartel

5:11pm September 10, 2016

Former legal affairs reporter Dan Slater's new book Wolf Boys tells the true story of two American teenagers recruited to a Mexican drug cartel, and the Texas detective obsessed with capturing them.

A hand-colored copperplate engraving from 1790, depicting a chigger.

Unwelcome Surprise: A Disease-Spreading Chigger Turns Up In Chile

7:38am September 10, 2016

by Susan Brink

The mite larvae that transmit scrub typhus were thought to live only in parts of Asia and Australia. Now three cases have been reported in an island off Chile's coast.

Maudeline Orelien, 22, with her son, Wilguens Pierre, who was born in July with microcephaly.

Why The Low Zika Numbers In Haiti Might Be Wrong

10:43pm September 07, 2016

by Jason Beaubien

There are signs that the virus is spreading. And the health system is ill-equipped to detect or care for babies born with microcephaly.

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