Vance

50 Good Books About Mexico, Central and South America

What originally drove me to live in Latin America wasn’t the sex, sun and salsa. Rather, it was a fascination with the politics, culture and society in this part of the world.

My interest started in university with a socioeconomics course. Insufferable Marxist indoctrination aside, it was an engaging class and responsible for igniting my enthusiasm for Latin America. I probably never would have bothered to take the jump to live in LATAM if I hadn’t taken the class.

Credit where credit’s due.

65 Good Movies About Mexico, Central and South America

There are some truly great movies about South America, Central America and Mexico.

Watching movies is an excellent way to get a feel for the history, culture or atmosphere of a place; I’m always impressed at how a good film…

The 7 Most Interesting Markets In Lima, Peru

And now for something slightly different. 

I don’t usually write about things that are easy to find on TripAdvisor or Lonely Planet.

One, because I’ll never beat them in Google, and two, because the kind of information asked on those sites is generally easy to find in 100s of other places on the Internet.

But when I Googled “best/interesting markets in Lima” today, what popped up was, frankly, wrong…

The Dangers Of Going “Full Latino”

I’d like to tell you a story.

Not a story in the Alice and Wonderland sense of the word, but rather a cautionary tale: a few words of warning for anyone wanting to travel or live in Latin America.

It’s important to listen closely, as the advice contained in this story is counterintuitive to what most people think it takes to fit in and adapt to a foreign culture.

Let’s begin.

 

Rolling Solo: How To Go Out Alone In Latin America

I’m not outgoing.

Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy having a crew to hangout with, hit the bars with and bounce shit off of, but I am also very comfortable with being alone. 

I’ve always been that way.

If I arrive to a city where I don’t know a soul, I’ll have to go out to bars and clubs solo. And after much trial and error, I think I’ve finally figured out how to do it without looking like a rapist or serial killer.

What Happened To Venezuela? An Explanation Of The Current Crisis

You may have seen some crazy shit on the Internet recently about Venezuela.

Mass protests, moves by President Maduro to rewrite the constitution and, of course, the perpetual food and medical shortages, crime waves and violence.

So, how did all this happen to a country that was once among the richest in Latin America? 

The Best Cities To Travel To In Latin America

Times have changed. Latin America has changed. I’ve changed.

Cities in Central and South America have a tendency to go through ebbs and flows. A great city to live in today might not be a great one tomorrow.

Take Medellin for instance. In the early 2000s, this was the place to live in Latin America. If you were brave enough to venture down to recently drug-war torn Colombia, as one of the few foreigners, beautiful women would be throwing themselves at you as you enjoyed an incredibly low cost of living and year-round spring temperatures.

And then word got out.

The 6 Best Places To Find A Wife In Latin America

Back again, folks!

Today I’ll be talking about the best places to find a wife in Latin America…or at the very least, a serious girlfriend.

You see, as much as I like hooking up with and casually dating Latinas, I acknowledge that I’m getting a bit older and more mature (relatively, at least). And, as I’m sure many of you know, after reaching a certain number of notches, the whole chasing women just for the sake of it tends to turn to ash in your mouth.

With that in mind…