ABSTRACT
This chapter highlights the many ways that United States-Latin American relations transcended political and military interactions. Cultural importation led to stereotyping and simplification of Latin American identity, but it also helped some people rethink their own ideas about civilization and cultural freedom. United States investments in Latin America increased, as did exports of industrial machinery, consumer goods, and cultural products. But beyond the larger arguments about international capital flows and United States power, foreign investment often had significant effects on Latin American politics, and on local communities and their cultural development. Movement of goods and cultural products to Latin America impacted local culture. As all kinds of trade expanded between the United States and Latin America, tourism also began to develop. The United States changed through its interactions with Latin America, albeit in smaller ways. Many people in the United States became excited about Latin American art and music.
