Here are 4 online databases full of reference material.

Use these as an alternative to the Wikipedia.

Use the following encyclopedias and dictionaries to get the "big picture" on your topic, or to help put your topic in context.

Encyclopedia of Contemporary Latin American and Caribbean Cultures
F 1406 .E515 2000 (Reference)
This 3-volume set attempts to include essays (ranging from brief to more comprehensive) on all aspects of culture, spanning politics, the arts, social developments, and institutions, among other topics. 

Encyclopedia of Latin America
F 1406 .E5155 2010 (Reference)
This 4-volume reference work covers the history and culture of Central America, South America, and the Caribbean from early settlements to the present day. Each volume focuses on a specific time period in the area's development: Volume 1: Prehistory to 1560; Volume 2: 1550s to 1820s; Volume 3: 1820s to 1990; and Volume 4: 1990 to present. Entries have bibliographical references and all 4 volumes are illustrated with line drawings, black-and-white photographs, and maps. 

Encyclopedia of Latin American History and Culture
F 1406 .E53 2008 (Reference)
Now in its 2nd edition, this 6-volume set presents nearly 6,000 articles on all aspects of life and culture from Mexico and the Caribbean to the tip of South America.  Volume 6 contains a chronology, and all articles include bibliographical references.

Historical Dictionary of U.S.-Latin American Relations
F 1418 .F457 2005 (Reference)
Provides information about the history of diplomatic relations between the U.S. and the nations of mainland Latin America, from the creation of the U.S. in the late 18th century to the present.  Articles ranging in length from a short paragraph to two pages examine people, events, countries, documents, movements, concepts, organizations, and other topics.

Latin America: A Political Dictionary
F 1406 .R67 1992 (Reference)
Authored by WMU professors Ernest E. Rossi and Jack C. Plano, this book identifies nearly 300 people, events, movements, concepts and other aspects of politics from the time of the Spanish conquest in the early 1500s to the Noriega trial of 1992.  Arranged by topical sections, with a detailed index.