Julia and Pipo talk about their Christmas traditions- or lack thereof- and how the meaning of Christmas seems to have changed in modern times.

Humberto Morales from Ecuador teaches us about the Zampoña, a traditional Andean instrument.

Meet Joaquín Pérez, an award-winning Andalusian Nativity Scene sculptor.

Meet Cesar Flores, the owner of the Kory Malku Andean shoe store in Otavalo, Ecuador.

Raquel tells us about Spain's most traditional and unique annual festivals.

Antonio Manuel Martínez Alfaro, the drummer from Tobarra, Spain, explains how some of Holy Week's most important items- his cross, his robe and his drum- were passed down to him from previous generations.

José Peñafiel, a member of the brotherhood in Tobarra, Spain, a municipality in the Albacete province, explains to us about some of its famous Holy Week observances.

Antonio Manuel Martínez Alfaro, a drummer from Tobarra, Spain, tells us a bit about the famed Holy Week celebrations there, during which drumming can be heard non-stop for one hundred and four hours from Good Wednesday to Easter Sunday.

Singing in Nasa Yuwe, their native language, is one way in which Colombia's indigenous Nasa population strives to preserve and make more visible their language, culture and customs.

Mario learns that diversity at the Mono Núñez Festival extends beyond the various Colombian musicians, as English people seem to enjoy Andean music as much as Colombians do!

At Colombia's Mono Núñez music festival, many indigenous musical instruments can be heard. Learn about some of them in this video.

You may know the baraja española, the Spanish deck of cards, with its classic renderings of kings and knights in four suits. Our illustrator friend Antonio Vargas created a uniquely Mexican baraja with native imagery drawing from the pre-Columbian Aztec, Olmec, Toltec and Mayan cultures.

La Vela is a small town in the state of Falcón, on the northwest coast of Venezuela, where every December 28th Los Locos [“The Crazy Ones”] arrive wearing colorful and elaborated costumes. The whole town becomes a party, with businesses closing and people dancing in the streets. It’s a tradition that could be in any magical realism novel and that desperately struggles to not fall into oblivion.

Nelly Ocacia and Benjamín Moldonado are both 19-year-old university students, and enjoy dancing with the Ballet Folklórico Guamanique when not studying. We caught up with them at the airport in San Juan, where they were welcoming new arrivals and seeing off departing passengers, much to the delight of travelers.

Deep in the heart of Old San Juan you can hear live salsa music playing most any night at the Nuyorican Cafe. We stepped into the alley for a breather and had a little chat with two lovely salseras to get an insider view of what brings them back to the dance floor night after night.