South America Audiobooks | Travel

Argentina and Peronism: The History and Legacy of Argentina’s Transition from Juan Perón to Democrac

Until the 1930s, nationalism had always tended to be a phenomenon of the right-wing or the immigrant anarchists and Bolsheviks. Now, however, the emphasis shifted to the middle ground, and ironically, one of the issues driving Argentine nationalism was the outsized British presence in Argentine affairs, stoked recently by the preferential trade agreement. Perhaps most importantly, the seizure by the British in 1833 of the Islas Malvinas (or as the British termed them, the Falkland Islands) remained a sore point. This wave of cultural nationalism was very different to the more visceral, political nationalism that came before it, and it gathered a considerable following in Buenos Aires among liberal intellectuals and the middle classes. The movement was given further impetus by the outbreak of World War II and the freezing of European markets, along with the British emphasis on the imperial preference as a means of saving foreign currency. Calls began to be heard for industries to be nationalized, for goods no longer imported to be manufactured at home, and for a greater degree of protectionism and self-sufficiency. At the same time, Argentina’s neutrality during the war was punished by the United States, which excluded Argentina from a program of arming several Latin American countries. This struck the Argentine armed forces with a bout of the jitters in case they fell behind in matters of military preparedness. After the tensions had mounted for over a year, matters played out precisely as Perón’s opponents had feared. By the final months of 1945, his popularity had soared, and it seemed inevitable that he would seize control of the military government if permitted to remain in power.

Charles River Editors (Author), Colin Fluxman (Narrator)

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Argentina: The History and Legacy of the Nation from the Colonial Era to Today

By the time Christopher Columbus started setting east from the New World, he had explored San Salvador in the Bahamas (which he thought was Japan), Cuba (which he thought was China), and Hispaniola, the source of gold. As the common story goes, Columbus, en route back to Spain from his first journey, called in at Lisbon as a courtesy to brief the Portuguese King John II of his discovery of the New World. King John subsequently protested that according to the 1479 Treaty of Alcáçovas, which divided the Atlantic Ocean between Spanish and Portuguese spheres of influence, the newly discovered lands rightly belonged to Portugal. To make clear the point, a Portuguese fleet was authorized and dispatched west from the Tagus to lay claim to the “Indies,” which prompted a flurry of diplomatic activity in the court of Ferdinand and Isabella. At the time, Spain lacked the naval power to prevent Portugal from acting on this threat, and the result was the hugely influential 1494 Treaty of Tordesillas. Perhaps inevitably, a regional rivalry had developed as the Portuguese began to establish a colony in Brazil and push its boundaries southwards. After the conquest of the Incas in the 1530s, the Portuguese threat prompted the authorization of a second expedition, commanded this time by Pedro de Mendoza with a force of some 1,500 men. The party arrived at the mouth of the Río de la Plata in 1536, and there Mendoza founded the settlement of Nuestra Señora Santa María del Buen Ayre. This was the basis of the future city of Buenos Aires, but its establishment was not without resistance from surrounding tribes, marking the kind of conflicts that would shape the history and independence movements of Argentina over the next 300 years.

Charles River Editors (Author), Colin Fluxman (Narrator)

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Las Mayas

Demetrio Sodi (Author), Ignacio Pulido (Narrator)

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Las Grandes culturas de Mesoamérica

Demetrio Sodi (Author), Paco Mauri (Narrator)

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State of War: MS-13 and El Salvador's World of Violence

The real story behind El Salvador's MS-13 gang and how they have perpetuated three generations of conflict and led to scores of migrants seeking a new life in the United States. Born in Los Angeles, the gang MS-13 was founded in the 1980s by Salvadoran refugees who had been hardened in a civil war stoked by American foreign policy. But the gang found its way home a decade later, as the U.S. began deporting thousands of convicts each year back to the Northern Triangle--El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala. Today, those countries share the world's highest murder rates, and account for 70 percent of the migrants arriving at the U.S. southern border. Foreign correspondent William Wheeler tracks MS-13 from L.A., where he meets the founders of the gang, to El Salvador, where three generations of Salvadorans have been drawn into an escalating cycle of conflict. State of War tells the tragic story of a brutal civil war that has never ended.

William Wheeler (Author), William Wheeler (Narrator)

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The Wheel of Time: The Shamans of Mexico Their Thoughts about Life Death and the Universe

World-renowned bestselling author Carlos Castaneda's Selection of his wrtings on the shamans of ancient Mexico. Originally drawn to Yaqui Indian spiritual leader don Juan Matus for his knowledge of mind-altering plants, bestselling author Carlos Castaneda soon immersed himself in the sorcerer's magical world entirely. Ten years after his first encounter with the shaman, Castaneda examines his field notes and comes to understand what don Juan knew all along-that these plants are merely a means to understanding the alternative realities that one cannot fully embrace on one's own. In Journey to Ixtlan, Carlos Castaneda introduces readers to this new approach for the first time and explores, as he comes to experience it himself, his own final voyage into the teachings of don Juan, sharing with us what it is like to truly 'stop the world' and perceive reality on his own terms.

Carlos Castaneda (Author), Luis Moreno (Narrator)

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El mito de las tres transformaciones

«El que controla el pasado controla el futuro, y el que controla el presente es quien controla el pasado.» George Orwell, 1984 La historia no estudia el pasado, lo construye. Toda historia nacional es una mitología, y las mitologías sirven para estructurar la mente de un pueblo. La historia ha sido un arma, una herramienta política, un discurso psicológico, y eso es así porque siempre se ha escrito desde el poder para legitimarlo. Hoy se habla de transformaciones en la historia de México: independencia, reforma y revolución. Todas implicaron guerra, polarización y odio; cada una de ellas generó división y sembró las semillas de los conflictos posteriores. Para transformar a México, hay que tener un cambio colectivo de mentalidad, y con el bien común como premisa indispensable para encontrar la paz. El mito de las tres transformacioneses un paseo a lo largo de la historia y la psicología de nosotros mismos para lograr una verdadera transformación y construir el mejor México posible.

Juan Miguel Zunzunegui (Author), Juan Miguel Zunzunegui (Narrator)

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Iturbide: El otro padre de la patria

Ésta es la historia que no te han contado del hombre que liberó a México, se convirtió en su primer emperador y fue aplaudido como Dragón de Hierro. El héroe que olvidó la historia oficial. Agustín de Iturbide es recordado como uno de los grandes villanos de nuestra historia, pero ¿te has preguntado si en verdad fue así? Profundizar en su legado es un viaje por uno de los momentos más convulsos del siglo XIX, de la muerte de la Nueva España y del nacimiento del México moderno. Las luchas militares y personales de Agustín te adentrarán a batallas poco conocidas de la guerra de la Independencia, a su relación personal con la famosísima Güera Rodríguez, y al que se conoce como el día más feliz que ha tenido México, así como su primer gobierno. Descubrirás, de forma íntima, a uno de los caudillos que definió su época y al que se ha convertido, para muchos, en el otro padre de la patria. Iturbide es una nueva forma de vivir la Independencia de México, que cambiará tu perspectiva sobre los hombres y mujeres que forjaron nuestra patria.

Pedro J. Fernández (Author), Pedro J. Fernández, Rubén Hernández (Narrator)

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Der Untergang der Azteken: Wie ein spanischer Abenteurer die geheimnisvolle Großmacht vernichtete

?Vor 500 Jahren zerstörte der Spanier Hernán Cortés mit einem kleinen Trupp von Glücksrittern das Reich der Azteken - mit enormen weltgeschichtlichen Folgen. Wie konnte ihm das gelingen? Neuen Ausgrabungen zufolge war die rätselhafte Hochkultur nicht nur erstaunlich fortschrittlich, sondern auch grausam und äußerst wehrhaft. Dies ist die Vertonung der Titelgeschichte zur SPIEGEL-Ausgabe 41/2019.

Der Spiegel (Author), Der Spiegel (Narrator)

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American Mythology: The Art of Native American, Inuit, Aztec, and Inca Myths

Book 1: Native American Mythology. Stretching from the north to the south of the Western Hemisphere, the indigenous Americans have a long-forgotten history, and with that, myths, legends, and stories that have been passed on through generations. Many of them were in tune with nature and had their rituals, beliefs, and mythological creatures. To get a grasp of the original inhabitants of the United States, Canada, and Latin American nations, it is crucial to understand the roots of where it all came from and what was going on in people's minds before the European settlers arrived. Book 2: Inuit Mythology Inuit mythology is intricate and complex, and the ideals behind some of their mythological beliefs were often intertwined with real-life events. This audiobook will examine how both myth and fact contributed to the culture and traditions of the Inuit people and how these influences and some stories continue to live on throughout the centuries. Book 3: Inca Mythology This book is dedicated to exploring the gods and goddesses that the Incas on the American continent worshiped, and within the pages, you will find subtopics like: Historical background of the Inca empire before the colonists arrivedThe myths about creation, death, procreation, and moreStrange gods and goddesses they worshipped - sometimes in brutal, macabre ways Book 4: Aztec Mythology This book is dedicated to exploring the gods and goddesses that the Aztec people on the pre-Columbian American continent worshiped, and within the pages you will find subtopics like: The origins and influences on Aztec beliefs, or in other words, where they got it all fromThe most important themes in Aztec mythologyGods and goddesses and their background stories from Aztec mythology

Bernard Hayes (Author), Gareth Johnson, Zachary Dylan Brown (Narrator)

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Tlaloc: The History of the Aztec God of Rain and Giver of Life

One of the reasons for the prevalence of Tlaloc in the Valley of Mexico is that in the semi-arid climate, water was a powerful daily symbol. Although there were no naturally occurring water connections to the sea, the high altitude of the mountains and volcanoes that surrounded it caught the rain water well and formed five important lakes: Xochimilco, Xaltocan, Zumpango, Chalco and Texcoco. As the largest, Texcoco was where the Aztecs eventually built their capital city Tenochtitlan. Since this was not a desert culture, their god Tlaloc was not just a reflection of an opposite extreme they desired; instead, he was a complex god that reflected the duality of water as both a boon and a force for destruction. From his home in Tlalocan, Tlaloc was able to send good and bad waters to the people of the Valley of Mexico and beyond. He was the lord of the chthonic powers of Mexico even as far south as the Maya, who called him Chaac and connected him with warfare and agriculture much the same way the Aztec did. What is known today is that Tlaloc was the god who granted good harvests and caused famines. The Aztec tell the story of Tlaloc blessing their rise to regional dominance by sending a famine to the Toltec, and his duality of good waters vs. bad waters was a product of the largely two-season system in Mexico. This was also one reason for his role in warfare since the Aztec focused on agriculture during his "wet" season and marched off to conquest if they had received his blessings. He was an earth deity, connected with aquatic animals and underground streams, and therefore also a god connected with fertility. This is reflected through his association with his wife, Xochiquetzal, the goddess of flowers, pleasure, young female sexuality and pregnancy, in the earlier myths. All in all, Tlaloc is one of the most important and least well-known gods from an outsider's perspective.

Charles River Editors (Author), Bill Hare (Narrator)

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Havana: The History and Legacy of Cuba's Capital

"As far as cities go, Havana is a festering treasure chest, a primary color..." - Brin-Jonathan Butler, Cuban-Canadian author A trip to Havana, Cuba, otherwise known as the "City of Columns," tops many bucket lists for good reason. The mere mention of this once-hidden gem of a city, situated on the western part of the largest Caribbean island nation, evokes the breathtaking imagery of sun-soaked streets and sprawling, golden-sand beaches surrounded by twinkling, almost impossibly crystalline waters, reminiscent of pastel sapphires. Nostalgic types are more likely to envision the time capsule-like qualities of Havana, namely the delightful rows of brightly-colored buildings painted in various shades of canary-yellow, watermelon-pink, and tangerine-orange, and the funky, non-ironic collection of vintage '50s cars cruising the streets. The stunning murals and mosaics, ranging from realistic and beautifully poignant black-and-white pieces to fantastical abstract works and uniquely traditional, stylized opuses, only add to the intoxicating vibrancy of the city. Even those who aren't there can practically imagine the robust bouquet of classic Cuban cigars mingling with the mouthwatering aroma of freshly brewed, home-grown coffee. Havana: The History and Legacy of Cuba's Capital chronicles the rise of the Cuban city, and the turbulent history that has made it one of the world's most interesting locations.

Charles River Editors (Author), David Bernard (Narrator)

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South America Audiobooks in Travel