Happy Birthday to Panama!

The streets of Kingston, the capital and largest city of Jamaica. *Photo from Wikipedia August 6 is Independence Day of Jamaica, celebrates the independence of Jamaica from the United Kingdom in 1962. Inhabited by the indigenous Arawak and Taíno peoples, the island came under Spanish rule following the arrival of Christopher Columbus in 1494. Early inhabitants of Jamaica named the land ‘Xaymaca,’ meaning “Land of wood and water.” Many of the indigenous people died of disease, and the Spanish imported African slaves as laborers. Named Santiago, the island remained a possession of Spain until 1655, when England (later Great Britain)

A Mariachi group. Mariachi is a musical expression that dates back to at least 18th century in Western Mexico and inscribed in the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage List in 2011. *Photo from Wikipedia September 16 is The Cry of Dolores, celebrates the declaration of independence of Mexico from Spain in 1810. Roman Catholic priest Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla rang the bell of his church and gave the pronunciamiento (call to arms) that triggered the Mexican War of Independence. This happened in the state of Guanajuato within the small town of Dolores (now Dolores Hidalgo). From 1521, the Spanish conquest of

Traditional Mongolian wrestling. *Photo from Wikipedia November 26 is Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Mongolia from China on July 11, 1921 and the establishment of “Mongolian People’s Republic” on the day in 1924. The area that is now Mongolia was ruled by various nomadic empires, including the Xiongnu (匈奴), the Xianbei (鮮卑), the Rouran (柔然), the Turkic Khaganate (突厥汗国), among others. In 1206, Genghis Khan founded the Mongol Empire, which became the largest contiguous land empire in history. His grandson Kublai Khan conquered China to establish the Yuan dynasty (元朝). After the collapse of the Yuan, the Mongols retreated