The
non-governmental organization
A non-governmental organization (NGO) is an independent, typically nonprofit organization that operates outside government control, though it may get a significant percentage of its funding from government or corporate sources. NGOs often focus ...
American Capital of Culture selects one city or state in the
Americas
The Americas, sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America and South America.''Webster's New World College Dictionary'', 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio. When viewed as a sing ...
annually to serve as the American Capital of Culture for a period of one year. The organization's leaders claim the initiative is based closely on the
European Capital of Culture program; it enjoys the backing of the
Organization of American States
The Organization of American States (OAS or OEA; ; ; ) is an international organization founded on 30 April 1948 to promote cooperation among its member states within the Americas.
Headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States, the OAS is ...
, but the OAS is not involved in the selection process.
The organization was founded in 1998 with the objectives to raise awareness of culture in the Americas and to promote the city selected as the Capital of Culture for the year. The chosen city is publicized on the television networks
Antena 3 and the
Discovery network.
While the NGO claims that the designation "is aimed at all the countries of the Americas",
[ the 26 locations (includes two in 2003) designated as the American Capital of Culture have only been chosen from ]Latin America and the Caribbean
The term Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) is an English language, English-language acronym referring to the Latin American and the Caribbean region. The term LAC covers an extensive region, extending from The Bahamas and Mexico to Argentina ...
. Furthermore, the designation has increasingly become Mexico-centric; Mexico has dominated the program since 2014, being given the designation six times in the 11 years from 2014 to 2024.[
]
List of dates of American Capital of Culture
See also
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References
External links
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{{American Capital of Culture
Culture of the Americas