Photos of Latin Life 100 Years Ago
Times have changed, but this selection of very, very old photos and pictures demonstrate what life was like for the real pioneering tourists and settlers in Latin America.
You can click on most of the following ancient black and white photos to enlarge them.
Photo of Bogota, capital of Colombia, from 1895. What strikes me about this image is that this is almost exactly how (relatively) nearby Villa de Leiva looks right now, only with far fewer people. Time does stand still in certain places.
Bogota again - this photo is from 1930’s.
This photo is of Jiron de la Union Street in Lima, Peru during 1930’s. Jiron de la Union used to be one of the most aristocratic streets in the heart of historic Lima - it is now a rather more commercialized pedestrianized street.
Buenos Aires, Argentina during 1912. Looks like Avenida Alvear to me, home to the almost as old Alvear Palace Hotel. This photo is certainly of Recoleta district, which still looks extremely similar, only the Argentinian people are a little more trendy these days!
Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) - photo from 1919 taken on Ilha das Cobras. Rio’s skyline has much changed since - all this area is now full of hotels and high-rises.
Photo of Mexico City - date unknown. Those people on the floor are dead - presumably after a Mexican riot or uprising or something. Don’t let it put you of visiting Mexico City though!