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Tetrazzini, Luisa

(Encyclopedia)Tetrazzini, Luisa lwēˈzä tāträt-tsēˈnē [key], 1871–1940, Italian coloratura soprano. She made her debut in Florence in 1890. After appearances in Spain, Portugal, Russia, and Latin America, ...

Day of the Dead

(Encyclopedia)Day of the Dead, Span. Día de los Muertos, annual festival in Mexico and other parts of Latin America, commonly on November 1st and 2d. Its ancient Mesoamerican roots now augmented by Christian custo...

Rodó, José Enrique

(Encyclopedia)Rodó, José Enrique hōsāˈ ānrēˈkā rôdōˈ [key], 1872–1917, Uruguayan essayist, literary critic, and philosopher. Rodó spent most of his life in Montevideo, where he helped to found and ed...

Oña, Pedro de

(Encyclopedia)Oña, Pedro de pāˈᵺrō ᵺā ōˈnyä [key], 1570?–1643, Chilean poet. Having been born in Latin America, he is considered Chile's first national poet. His poetry is both epic and religious. Ins...

Asturias, Miguel Ángel

(Encyclopedia)Asturias, Miguel Ángel mēgĕlˈ ängˈhĕl ästo͞oˈryäs [key], 1899–1974, Guatemalan novelist, poet, and diplomat. Living in Paris in the 1920s, Asturias was influenced by Romain Rolland, Valé...

Morrow, Dwight Whitney

(Encyclopedia)Morrow, Dwight Whitney, 1873–1931, American banker and diplomat, b. Huntington, W.Va. He practiced law in New York City and entered (1914) the banking house of J. P. Morgan & Company. After the ...

Mercosur

(Encyclopedia)Mercosur or Mercosul, officially the Common Market of the South, Latin American trade organization established in 1991 to increase economic cooperation among the countries of E South America. It is co...

cockfighting

(Encyclopedia)cockfighting, sport of pitting gamecocks against one other. Though popular in ancient Greece, Persia, and Rome, cockfighting has been long opposed by clergy and humane groups. Massachusetts passed (18...

ranch

(Encyclopedia)ranch, large farm devoted chiefly to raising and breeding cattle, horses, sheep, and goats. The cattle ranch was introduced from Latin America to Texas and the plains of the W United States and Canada...

lasso

(Encyclopedia)lasso lăsˈō, lăso͞oˈ [key], light, strong rope, usually with a smooth, hard finish, made of a fine quality of hemp or nylon. It is used primarily for catching large animals such as cattle and ho...