South America
by: Spencer Hewitt
Facts About South America
South America is a continent located in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be considered as a subcontinent of the Americas.
Bartolome de Las Casas
Fray Bartolome de Las Casas was a Spanish Dominican friar who became famous (or infamous, depending on your point of view) for his defense of the rights of the native people of the Americas. His brave stand against the horrors of the conquest and the colonization of the New World earned him the title “Defender of the Indians.”
Diego Rivera
Diego Rivera was a talented Mexican painter associated with the muralist movement. A communist, he was often criticized for creating paintings that were too controversial. Along with José Clemente Orozco and David Alfaro Siquieros, he is considered one of the “big three,” most important Mexican muralists. Today he is remembered as much for his volatile marriage to fellow artist Frida Kahlo as he is for his art.
Pablo Emilio Escobar
Pablo Emilio Escobar Gaviria was a Colombian drug lord and leader of one of the most powerful criminal organizations ever assembled. During the height of his power in the 1980’s, he controlled a vast empire of drugs and murder that covered the globe. He made billions of dollars, ordered the murder of hundreds if not thousands of people, and ruled over a personal empire of mansions, airplanes, a private zoo and even his own army of soldiers and hardened criminals.