Culture & Tradition

In Latin American culture, adolescent girls cross an important threshold when they reach the age of 15. The arrival of their 15th birthday means they’re ready to make the transition from childhood to womanhood, a significant life change that has social, cultural, and biological implications. This is a time for celebration and public acknowledgment, and that is what the quinceañera provides.

As their daughters reached adolescence, Santa Barbara-based Janet Lucy and Terri Allison noticed a lack of spiritually focused resources to guide young women in understanding their changing bodies and monthly cycles. Searching for answers, they delved into the past, uncovering goddess mythology from different cultures and periods that highlighted the qualities they wanted to share.

Marking the transition from childhood to adulthood, coming-of-age ceremonies have served as significant rites of passage for thousands of years. These rituals—as elaborate, demanding or relatable as they may be—reflect the values and beliefs of the societies that practice them. Timeless themes of identity, responsibility and belonging resonate through these transformative experiences.

For those looking to taste out of the box, chicha—a fermented beverage from Latin America—may not be the obvious choice. The drink encounters some resistance, largely due to the fermentation process associated with it, which involves chewing starch-rich ingredients—such as corn and yuca—before spitting them into a container to ferment.

The Choctaw creation story, as told by Isaac Pistonatubbee at the end of the 19th century and recorded “word for word in his native tongue” by Henry Halbert who published the story in volume 4 of the Publications of the Mississippi Historical Society, begins with a vivid depiction. According to Pistonatubbee, the narrative of these tribes' emergence from Nanih Waiya—a sacred site in Choctaw tradition—unfolded as follows:

Folklore around the world is filled with strange creatures, each reflecting the cultural fears, beliefs, and imaginations of the societies that created them. These beings often served as cautionary figures, teaching moral lessons, explaining natural phenomena, or simply embodying the unknown. Below is a collection of ten weird and unsettling creatures from ancient folklore, each representing a different corner of the globe.

Watching Encounters at the End of the World, Werner Herzog's 2007 documentary about scientists living and studying in Antarctica's harsh climate, was one of the most enjoyable cinematic experiences I’ve had to date. If I share any trait with arguably one of the greatest film directors, it’s my fascination with unique, offbeat individuals driven by passion and living outside the boundaries of convention.

The roots of Halloween can be found in an ancient Celtic festival known as Samhain. According to legend, during the three days of Samhain (October 31 to November 2), the Celts would attend great feasts, sit around huge bonfires that lit up the night sky, and perform various rituals designed to salute or placate their gods and the other moody and unpredictable beings that lived alongside them.

In a remarkable fusion of software technologies and human imagination, we are now able to experience disparate worlds simultaneously. Seamlessly intertwined, the past meets the present and cultures collide through immersive and extended reality. The possibilities are endless, as demonstrated by the innovative projects pioneered by OurWorlds.

Popular throughout Central and South America, the tamal is a traditional dish made from ground corn filled with a variety of ingredients, wrapped in leaves, and steamed until cooked.