September 18 is Independence Day in the Republic of Chile, the day that commemorates that country’s independence from Spain in 1810. Chile is a long, sliver of a country, bounded by the Andes Mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It has more than 1000 miles of coastline, but a total area less than the size of Montana.
Chile is home to more than 16 million residents, over half of which live in the capital, Santiago (pictured above).
(photo © Victor San Martin/cc license)

July 28 begins the two-day independence celebration in Peru. The celebration marks the anniversary of the Peruvian Declaration of Independence in 1821. The new country, started with the efforts of Simon Bolivar (pictured above), eventually won its independence from Spain in 1824.
Peru, located along the Pacific coast in western South America, is a country of around 2.8 residents.
(photo © dbking/cc license)

July 9 is Independence Day in Argentina. Below is a description of the events that led up to this holiday, by Frann Leach, the Webmistress of “Which Day.com.”
“Independence Day is celebrated as a public holiday in the Argentine Republic (usually called just Argentina), on 9th July every year. The holiday marks the Argentine Republic’s declaration of independence on 9th July, 1816 after the war with Spain. As with many public holidays around the world, most people enjoy the day off and the general enjoyment of the occasion without being particularly committed to the reason for the celebration.
Argentina is on …read more

New Orleans isn’t the only city that celebrates the coming of the Lenten season. One of the world’s biggest carnival celebrations is in Rio de Janiero, Brazil. Here, the festivities begin on February 2, 2008 and continue–almost non-stop–through Tuesday. For a peek at Carnival in Rio, take a look at this video (PG-rated; no nudity, lots of thongs.)