From Tierra del Fuego to Tijuana

Deutsche Welle camera teams traveled Latin America the long way, from the southern tip of Chile to Mexico’s border with the United States, from Tierra del Fuego to Tijuana, to get to know the people and places and see what and how they are doing now. What are their hopes, dreams, issues and concerns? We listen to stories first hand, gather information on the politics, economies and societies and take in breathtaking vistas.

Travel with us through today’s Latin America in eight parts.

Part 1:

DW takes off on an 8-part documentary series that travels through Latin America the long way, from the tip of South America to Mexico's border with the U.S. state of California, meeting people who describe their lives and countries.
We take a look at a region of the Americas with a turbulent history,facing enormous challenges for the future. Our journey begins at the "end of the Earth", in Tierra del Fuego, a ragged coastline of crags, rocks and cliffs furrowed by calving glaciers. The sparse local population says this is where the world begins.

Part 2:

The second part of our journey through Latin America takes us to Uruguay and Brazil. In Montevideo, Candombe music sets the beat. The rhythm is based on Bantu African drums and harkens back to the time when black slaves made up nearly half the population of Uruguay. Today, only a tiny minority remain, but their music is still going strong. The area around Gramado in southern Brazil is rooted in the tradition of German immigrants whose descendants are now in the 4th and 5th generations. The young people help to keep German folklore alive in a countryside reminiscent of the Alpine foothills.

Part 3:

In the past, tourists crossing the Bridge of Friendship from Brazil to Paraguay often met with a decidedly unfriendly welcome. Now a special tourist police keep the robbers at bay. Otherwise, Paraguay is a generally peaceful place. Some people even speak German! Mennonites have been raising cattle on the dry savanna of the Gran Chaco for generations. Neighboring Bolivia boasts Latin America’s first president of indigenous origin. Evo Morales has plans to extract the vast lithium deposits of the Salar de Uyuni salt flats – without foreign investment. Our journey through the landlocked Andean nation ends at Copacabana, a place of pilgrimage on Lake Titicaca.

Part 4:

Peru’s megalithic Inca sites are famous the world over. What is perhaps less well-known is that Peru also boasts an excellent cuisine. Astrid and Gastón are the central figures in what they call the "Author’s Kitchen" in Lima. Iquitos on the opposite side of the Andes is a far cry from the bustling the capital. Here illegal logging on an industrial scale is quickly destroying the rain forest. Before we cross the equator, DW drops in on a Swiss planter who grows cocoa in Ecuador. Another stage of the journey includes a cruise to the Galápagos Islands.

Part 5:

Colombia has been wracked by civil and drug wars for decades now, but there are signs of a change. Medellín, once the stronghold of a series of drug cartels, has launched programs to reintegrate guerrilla fighters into civilian life. The upper reaches of the Rio Magdalena were long a battleground of FARC rebels and paramilitary groups. Now the area is open to tourism again. But relations with neighboring Venezuela are strained. President Hugo Chávez and his agenda of 21st century socialism is also causing a rift in his own country. But one thing Colombia and Venezuela do have in common is a vast wealth of untouched nature.

Part 6:

Say Panama and most people will think of the canal. The vital shipping link between Atlantic and PPPPPacific has long since become legend. But after aalmost 100 years in service it is beginning to show its age. Modern super tankers and freighters are growing ever larger and the volume of traffic is also much bigger. To stay competitive, the canal will have to grow, as well. Neighboring Costa Rica is a popular tourist destination. Stable, safe and home to a great diversity of flora and fauna this country is also an attraction for investors. Businessman Leo Pröstler believes he’s found a way to turn a profit from reforestation. Does the concept have a future?

Part 7:

Street violence, poverty and migration are some of the big issues in today’s Central America. In Nicaragua’s capital of Managua, soccer is scoring points as an effective alternative to youth violence. It’s the teenage gangs vs. the police cadets and it shows: Kicking goals can be therapeutic. The villagers of Intipucá in El Salvador are either young or old - most of the generation in between has gone off to earn a living somewhere else. The village has even put up a monument to its first migrant worker and recently the new mayor came out of the closet with his bisexuality. In Guatemala, Dieter Zimmer is dedicating his efforts to preserving the ancient Maya sites of the Petén Rain Forest.

Part 8:

To holiday-makers, Mexico’s Caribbean Coast is a tropical paradise of sun, sand and surf. To the locals, it's a money maker. That adds up to a lot of pressure on the coastline’s ecosystems. What takes priority? The final leg of our journey takes us through Mexico City. The megalopolis provides a fertile ground for art and culture. In Tijuana, on Mexico’s border with the United States, it becomes apparent that Latin America does not end here and with each visitor the Latin rhythms resonate through California as well as through the rest of the world.