Tourists used to just stop in Lima on their way to Cuzco and Machu Picchu. These days, it has become a destination with trendy restaurants and restored historic buildings that tell the story of “The City Of Kings.” Founded in 1535 by Spanish conqueror Francisco Pizarro, Lima was once the most important city in South America.

The Italian city of Milan takes center stage in “The Devil Wears Prada 2.” The film showcases the city’s most iconic places, such as the Duomo, the Pinacoteca di Brera and the church courtyard and convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie, which houses Leonardo Da Vinci’s iconic mural “The Last Supper.”

President José Antonio Kast has elevated the Catholic chapel at La Moneda, expanding Masses to four times a week and regularly attending with First Lady María Pía Adriasola. His visible faith marks a shift from predecessor Gabriel Boric, highlighting religion’s renewed prominence within Chile’s presidential palace and in public life.

The church of San Francisco in La Paz, Bolivia is “a living part of the memory of the city,” residents say. The current building has been standing since 1800, but the history of the church goes back further—to its founding in 1549 by the Franciscans, who arrived with Spanish conquerors.

Its exhibitions in Valparaíso showcase the waves of newcomers who shaped the port city’s heyday.

The defeat of socialism in the first round of Bolivia’s presidential elections on Aug. 17 marked a turning point for the Catholic Church. 

The history of San Francisco Church in Valparaíso is so intertwined with the Chilean port city that when a fire burned down the building in 2013, one neighbor felt like she was losing a friend. The city owes its nickname “Pancho” to the church (men named “Francisco” are often called “Pancho” in Latin America).

Polls show conservative candidate José Antonio Kast leading in the November 16 presidential election.

A concert for peace in Gaza brought together Jews and Palestinians at a Catholic church in Santiago. Some 500 people attended the concert, organized by the Archbishop of Santiago, Cardinal Fernando Chomalí.

Chiloé, an archipelago off the coast of Chile, is known for its wooden churches — built by Jesuit missionaries as early as the 17th century. In 2000, many of these churches were declared UNESCO World Heritage Sites, but even still they face challenges connected to maintenance and declining church attendance.

As Ramadan approaches, a Sufi community in Chile is grappling with the challenges of preparing for fasting in a non-Muslim country. Catholic-majority Chile knows little about Ramadan, the holy month in the Islamic lunar calendar in which Muslims fast just before sunrise until the setting of the sun. They also abstain from sexual relations during the fast and avoid cursing, fighting or arguing.

A new immigrant museum near the 19th-century Anglican and Lutheran churches and Catholic and Protestant cemeteries plans to become the center of cultural life on Valparaíso’s most visited attraction, Cerro Concepción. The former German School of Valparaíso is undergoing a renovation to become the Museo del Inmigrante, or Immigrant Museum.

Every Sunday the Anglican cathedral of St. Paul in Valparaíso opens its doors at noon to welcome visitors who come to listen to concerts on its organ. This routine on the century-old organ has kept the church alive for the last 30 years. 

Every Nov. 1, thousands of families visit their deceased relatives and friends as part of a popular tradition in Chile and the Americas. This year, the Chilean government ordered cemeteries to close on Oct. 31 and Nov. 1, saying it is a measure to prevent contagion of COVID-19. The same reason wasn’t an argument when, just a week ago, the government urged Chileans to vote.

Paradise for international companies appears to be in Argentina where last year retail sales posted a double-digit increase and private consumption accounted for about two thirds of the economy. But with the silver lining comes a cloud, and the tricky part for foreign companies is that money made in Argentina stays in Argentina.

On my latest trip to Buenos Aires in November, I decided not to use my credit card so I wouldn’t end up overpaying for everything from a Starbucks coffee to a leather purse. Instead, I calculated how many Argentine pesos I needed for my six days and went to a specialized shop that gives more pesos for U.S. dollars than the fixed government set exchange rate. Unfortunately, I underestimated my spending and I ran short of pesos.  

After more than a century producing wine in Chile, and more recently in Argentina, Vina Concha y Toro SA is looking to put newly acquired California winemaker Fetzer Vineyards back on the U.S. consumer’s wine rack.

Latam’s Cueto pilots world’s largest airline by market cap.

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