1996 – The Latinx Almanac

Mayan Temple of the Sun 2360 BC

The Mayan Calendar is a series of complex mathematical cycles of stunning precision and breathtaking cosmology. This hieroglyph fragment was on a panel that flanked the main stairs of the Temple of the Sun in Palenque, Mexico, records a birth in mythical time that corresponds to the completion of the 13th k’atun in historical time,… Continue reading Mayan Temple of the Sun 2360 BC

Peace in Guatemala, 1996

Activists hold up a banner with faces of people who disappeared during the 1960-1996 civil war, during a demonstration against the commemoration of the 142nd anniversary of the Guatemalan Army's founding, in Guatemala city June 30, 2013. Some 200,000 people died in Guatemala's 1960-1996 civil war and another 45,000 disappeared. REUTERS/Jorge Dan Lopez (GUATEMALA - Tags: SOCIETY ANNIVERSARY CIVIL UNREST)

After thirty-six long years of brutal and bloody civil war, the nation of Guatemala was finally able to declare peace on December 29, 1996. The civil war was part of a larger global power struggle for resources and for political influence, and the US-based United Fruit Company and the CIA supported different factions throughout the decades… Continue reading Peace in Guatemala, 1996

‘Macarena’ hits Top 100 of The Billboard 200

The day of the Mac attack! On September 7, 1996, Los Del Rio’s hit song ”Macarena” climbed into the top 100 of The Billboard 200. Antonio Romero and Raphael Ruiz, the two Spaniards in the Del Rio group, were pleasantly surprised by their song’s success. It quickly became a cultural fixture, played at weddings, family… Continue reading ‘Macarena’ hits Top 100 of The Billboard 200