The Panama Canal transformed global trade, but it also left a deep wound in Latin American sovereignty. In this episode, we reconstruct the story behind the route that joined the Atlantic and Pacific: the failed French attempt, U.S. pressure, Panama’s separation from Colombia in 1903, the Hay Bunau Varilla Treaty, construction between 1904 and 1914, and the human cost paid by thousands of migrant workers. A story about engineering, power, territory, and memory, from the Canal Zone to Panama’s full control of the canal in 1999.

<p>The Panama Canal transformed global trade, but it also left a deep wound in Latin American sovereignty. In this episode, we reconstruct the story behind the route that joined the Atlantic and Pacific: the failed French attempt, U.S. pressure, Panama&rsquo;s separation from Colombia in 1903, the Hay Bunau Varilla Treaty, construction between 1904 and 1914, and the human cost paid by thousands of migrant workers. A story about engineering, power, territory, and memory, from the Canal Zone to Panama&rsquo;s full control of the canal in 1999.</p>

Shadows of Latin America is a cinematic historical mystery series exploring the continent’s lesser-known stories: fallen empires, betrayed revolutions, hidden fortunes, dictatorships, secret deals, and figures who shaped the lives of millions from behind the curtain. Each episode reconstructs a decisive moment with narrative tension, clear context, and a critical perspective, avoiding both dry lectures and cheap conspiracy thinking. Designed for curious adults, history listeners, and audiences drawn to culture, power, and political intrigue, the podcast reveals how decisions made in palaces, jungles, mines, military barracks, and foreign capitals still echo across Latin America today. From Mexico to Patagonia, from the Andes to the Caribbean, Shadows of Latin America brings light to what official versions left in darkness: ambition, silence, violence, resistance, and the hidden conflicts that help explain the continent we inherited. It is built for bilingual expansion, with universal stakes and a strong sense of place and memory.

<p>Shadows of Latin America is a cinematic historical mystery series exploring the continent&rsquo;s lesser-known stories: fallen empires, betrayed revolutions, hidden fortunes, dictatorships, secret deals, and figures who shaped the lives of millions from behind the curtain. Each episode reconstructs a decisive moment with narrative tension, clear context, and a critical perspective, avoiding both dry lectures and cheap conspiracy thinking. Designed for curious adults, history listeners, and audiences drawn to culture, power, and political intrigue, the podcast reveals how decisions made in palaces, jungles, mines, military barracks, and foreign capitals still echo across Latin America today. From Mexico to Patagonia, from the Andes to the Caribbean, Shadows of Latin America brings light to what official versions left in darkness: ambition, silence, violence, resistance, and the hidden conflicts that help explain the continent we inherited. It is built for bilingual expansion, with universal stakes and a strong sense of place and memory.</p>