In remote northern Guatemala is a beautiful old city built onto an island. The shores of the lake which surrounds it are peppered with unexcavated Maya ruins.

Almost two centuries after the fall of the Aztec, a transplanted Maya kingdom ruled from this island, unmolested by the Spanish empire which had taken over most of the rest of the continent.

In this episode we look at the Itzá - the builders of the famous Chichén Itzá in Mexico, how they relocated to retain their independence, and the kingdom they built once they had done so.

In 1695 Scotland decided to have a go at the new world colonisation which seemed to be benefiting its neighbours so much. They settled on Panama as they place to do it and almost the whole country was involved in funding the scheme. The story of the Darien colony would have a profound impact on the country - one which continues to define Scotland to this day.

In 1911 American explorer Hiram Bingham stumbled upon the lost city of Machu Picchu - forgotten since it was abandoned by the Inca centuries before.

That's the story at least, the reality is much more complex. Could he have done it without the help of Peruvians? Was he really the first outsider to get there? And what does it really mean for a ruin to be 'lost'?

A wave of disease is spreading, leading to the implementation of a vaccination campaign. Some among the population are suspicious and take to the streets to make their opposition clear. This story did not take place during the recent pandemic however, this episode is about an obscure uprising which took place in 20th century Brazil.

This is just a quick message to give an update a few changes I am planning to make to the podcast.

In the second part of our look at Latin America's musical traditions we examine the role that music plays in some fascinating indigenous traditions. We also see how European waltz and even medieval troubadour culture came to influence the sound of the region. Finally I talk about some of my favourite Latin artists making music today.

To celebrate the 100th episode of the Latin American History Podcast, today we have a special episode (the first of two parts) on Latin American music.

In this one we look at the significant contribution made by Latin America's Afro-descended populations on many of the region's genres. We discuss some of the musical techniques used in genres such as Salsa, Son, Cumbia, Samba and Bachata, the anthropological reasons that these grew up, as well as the social history within which these genres were birthed.

It has been quite a while since we looked at what was happening in Spain and Portugal, and while they have not often been directly relevant to the story of Latin America, things are about to change.

In this episode we look at the contemporary kings of Iberia and why, although their reigns did saw huge growth in their New World empires, they generally considered them to be an afterthought.