Portrait of a male author wearing a cap and backpack, smiling with a city skyline at sunset in the background.

Diego A.

Ruins of Civilizations South America Brazil

Kuhikugu: The Lost City of the Amazon and Percy Fawcett’s Obsession

Percy Fawcett died hunting a lost stone city in the Amazon. He was looking for the wrong thing — a real civilization was there, hidden in plain sight.

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Kuhikugu: The Lost City of the Amazon and Percy Fawcett’s Obsession

South America

Journey deep into the jungle and the Andes. We document the lost cities of ancient empires, the ruins of colonial conquest, and the sites marked by political revolutions and illicit trade.

The Deadly Heart of the Amazon: Fawcett’s Final Steps in Mato Grosso

Tragedies & Disasters

The Deadly Heart of the Amazon: Fawcett’s Final Steps in Mato Grosso

In 1925 Percy Fawcett walked into the Amazon and vanished. A century of searchers chased him. The jungle has never given up what it took.

Diego A.

Bolivia's Death Road: The North Yungas Route That Killed 300 People a Year

Tragedies & Disasters

Bolivia's Death Road: The North Yungas Route That Killed 300 People a Year

Bolivia's North Yungas Road killed up to 300 people a year and still draws 25,000 cyclists. Inside the world's most dangerous road.

Diego A.

ESMA: The Naval Academy in Buenos Aires That Hid Argentina's Largest Death Camp

Tragedies & Disasters

ESMA: The Naval Academy in Buenos Aires That Hid Argentina's Largest Death Camp

A working naval academy on Buenos Aires' most elegant avenue hid Argentina's largest death camp inside one building, where Argentina's military killed 5,000 people.

The Trans-Amazonian Highway: Brazil's 4,000-Kilometre Road of Death That Failed to Conquer the Amazon

Brazil's military launched history's largest road project in 1970 to conquer the Amazon. 55 years and thousands of deaths later, it never reached Peru.

Ilha da Queimada Grande: Brazil's Forbidden Snake Island and the Most Venomous Acre on Earth

4,000 venomous vipers on a 43-hectare island. No civilians since 1925. The Brazilian Navy still patrols. Nobody knows what happened to the lighthouse keeper.

Portrait of a female author smiling in warm evening light on a city street.

Clara M.

Cidade Baixa, Salvador: The Brazilian Port That Disembarked More Enslaved Africans Than Any Other in the Atlantic Trade

Tragedies & Disasters

Cidade Baixa, Salvador: The Brazilian Port That Disembarked More Enslaved Africans Than Any Other in the Atlantic Trade

1.3 million enslaved Africans came ashore at the lower city of Salvador — more than at any port in the Americas. Today the market is built on top of it.

Cracolândia: São Paulo's Open-Air Crack Market and the District the State Cannot Erase

Central São Paulo holds an open-air crack market that has outlived every government for thirty years. Each crackdown only moves it a few blocks.

Diego A.

Potosí: The Silver Mountain That Financed the Spanish Empire and Killed Eight Million People

Tragedies & Disasters

Potosí: The Silver Mountain That Financed the Spanish Empire and Killed Eight Million People

A Bolivian mountain financed the Spanish Empire for 250 years. It also killed eight million miners. The city on its side is poorer now than it was in 1650.

Diego A.

Cajamarca: Where 168 Spaniards Ended the Inca Empire in a Single Day

Tragedies & Disasters

Cajamarca: Where 168 Spaniards Ended the Inca Empire in a Single Day

The Inca Empire did not fall on a battlefield. It fell in a single Andean plaza, in two hours, to 168 men. The ransom room still stands empty.

Devil's Island: The Penal Colony That Devoured 70,000 Men in the Jungle

France shipped 70,000 convicts to a jungle prison in South America. Fewer than 2,000 came home. The story of Devil's Island — from the Dreyfus Affair to the dry guillotine.

Portrait of a female author standing against a brick wall, wearing a green jacket and grey shirt.

Sewell: The Vertical Ghost Town Chile Built for American Copper

15,000 people lived on a 40-degree cliff with no streets and no cars. Chile emptied Sewell in the 1970s and nearly demolished it. Now it's a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Hacienda La Manuela: The Bombed Ruins of Pablo Escobar's Lakeside Paradise

A bombed mansion, $100 million hidden in the walls, and a butler who lived in the ruins for 30 years. The full story of Escobar's forgotten lake house.

Diego A.

Kuhikugu: The Lost City of the Amazon and Percy Fawcett’s Obsession

South America

The Deadly Heart of the Amazon: Fawcett’s Final Steps in Mato Grosso

Bolivia's Death Road: The North Yungas Route That Killed 300 People a Year

ESMA: The Naval Academy in Buenos Aires That Hid Argentina's Largest Death Camp

The Trans-Amazonian Highway: Brazil's 4,000-Kilometre Road of Death That Failed to Conquer the Amazon

Ilha da Queimada Grande: Brazil's Forbidden Snake Island and the Most Venomous Acre on Earth

Cidade Baixa, Salvador: The Brazilian Port That Disembarked More Enslaved Africans Than Any Other in the Atlantic Trade

Cracolândia: São Paulo's Open-Air Crack Market and the District the State Cannot Erase

Potosí: The Silver Mountain That Financed the Spanish Empire and Killed Eight Million People

Cajamarca: Where 168 Spaniards Ended the Inca Empire in a Single Day

Devil's Island: The Penal Colony That Devoured 70,000 Men in the Jungle

Sewell: The Vertical Ghost Town Chile Built for American Copper

Hacienda La Manuela: The Bombed Ruins of Pablo Escobar's Lakeside Paradise

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