Venezuela Wins 21 World Beauty Pageant Titles – The Latin American Country You Didn’t Know

By Rita

To many, Latin America brings to mind drugs, guns, and pirates, but there’s no denying that its delicious food and rich history have earned it a place in the tourism industry. Though these countries share a colonial past, setting aside those negative labels reveals unique cultures and strengths that differ from those of Europe and America. Here’s Thrillist’s roundup of“What You Don’t Know About Each Latin American Country’s Strengths””:

▲ Strengths of Latin American Countries (Photo/http://www.thrillist.com/)

Argentina: Most Oscar Wins for Best Foreign Language Film
Argentina has won two Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film. Although Mexico has been nominated multiple times, it’s Argentina that ultimately took home the prize.

Bolivia: Most Poverty Reduction
Between 2000 and 2012, Bolivia’s poverty level dropped by 32.2%. While it hasn’t reached Chilean levels yet, the situation has been gradually improving.

Brazil: Best at Football
Brazil has won the FIFA World Cup five times — more than any other country in the world — and boasts many highly skilled players.

Chile: Lowest Homicide Rate
Latin America is often associated with danger, but Chile is definitely the exception. It also has the highest number of daily newspapers in the region.

Colombia: Great at Business
In the 1980s and early 1990s, Colombia was known as an “entrepreneurial” country — Pablo Escobar being a prime example (of a drug entrepreneur). But nowadays, Colombia is much safer and excels in legitimate business ventures as well.

Costa Rica: Happiest People
According to the Happy Planet Index, Costa Ricans enjoy the happiest lives. They also care deeply about environmental sustainability. This isn’t surprising given the country’s growing number of beaches, yoga retreats, and hammocks.

Cuba: Most Women’s Rights
Although machismo still exists in Cuba, women make up 49% of the Cuban parliament — compared to just 20% in the U.S. Congress.

Dominican Republic：The best at baseball
The Major League Baseball has 73 players from the Dominican Republic, second only to the United States in number.

Ecuador：Largest banana exporter

El Salvador：More female population
Women make up 52.6% of the total population.

Guatemala：Lowest prison population
Is it that Guatemalans don’t commit crimes, or that law enforcement is just too inefficient? The details are unclear. But basically, this place is either great for raising kids or perfect for setting up a meth lab.

Honduras：Most people with silent consonants in their names
Honduras is always associated with crime—it’s one of the most violent cities in the world. But it has one very unique trait: many people have names with the letter H, which is silent in Spanish, making their names often sound choppy.

Mexico：Best at taekwondo
Mexico has won two Olympic gold medals and holds six taekwondo awards. Though still some way behind Asian countries, it performs impressively within Latin America.

Nicaragua：Lowest energy consumption
Nicaragua has the lowest energy consumption rate and the lowest electricity usage.

Panama：Highest mobile phone coverage
Panama has a 63% higher mobile phone ownership rate than its total population. Coupled with the fact that the entire country is surrounded by sea, this is why there are so many scenes in Panamanian TV dramas and movies where people “throw their phones into the sea.”

Paraguay：Fewest endangered plants
This large country has only 19 endangered plant species. Travel here may not be very safe, but the plants are quite safe.

Peru：Has the most diverse variety of butterflies
There are thousands of them.

Uruguay：Most peaceful
Uruguay is the Latin American country where you least have to worry about violent crime.

Venezuela: Most prominent in beauty pageants
In international beauty pageants, Venezuela has won a total of 21 championships. Ironically, this oil-rich country seems to have invested much of its wealth in teeth whitening, baton twirling lessons, and silicone breast implants.