Latin American countries have been our allies, our enemies, and our trading partners. The history, politics and economics of the United States is entangled with Latin America and increasingly our culture is being shaped by influences from countries south of the border. Latinos are about to become the largest minority group in the United States and in Utah the Latino population increased a staggering 138% since 1990. As Latin America assumes an increasingly vital role in the U.S. and in global affairs, an appreciation and knowledge of the region's rich cultural diversity and profound geographic, social, economic and political variations is more important than ever.