The caste system in Latin America was a social hierarchy based on race and economic status. It developed during the colonial period, supported by several legal mandates, and continued over into post-colonial times. At first, it was predominantly racially based since only Europeans or those of European descent could achieve the highest social class, with mestizos in the middle, then Indigenous people, with enslaved people forming the bottom tier. Later on, it was possible to climb the social ladder and the caste system became based more on wealth than ethnicity.

A caudillo was a wealthy landowner who commanded the loyalty of many followers that in turn garnered him political influence. Early post-colonial Latin America (the 1800s) saw the rise of many caudillos, some of whom achieved prominent positions in the government. One of the more prominent caudillos was Juan Manuel de Rosas, who was governor of Buenos Aires, or Antonio López de Santa Anna in Mexico.

Costumbrismo was a literary and artistic movement in the mid-19th century that focused on depicting and defining national customs and lifestyles of that period in Spain and Spanish America. José Agustín Arrieta was the most prominent Mexican columbrista painter, and Luis Pérez wrote the character Pancho Lugares, who is mentioned in Chapter 5, Page 147.