Ben has been the editor of the South American Handbook since 1989 and associate editor for many more years. In this role he has travelled to almost every corner of Latin America. He has a doctorate in Spanish and Portuguese Studies and has been writing about contemporary Iberian and Latin American affairs since 1980.Matthew Gardner grew up in London (England, not Ontario!), gaining a French degree from Bristol University, and a teaching diploma from Goldsmiths College, London. He spent two years teaching, then a decade travelling the world, writing several travel guides along the way (plus the obligatory unfinished novels). He met his wife, Alison, in Mexico. She is a Canadian chef and… artist, who has lived in almost every major town in this book. The couple lived in the West Kootenays, British Columbia, for seven years, and currently reside in Victoria, where Matthew is completing a Masters degree in Counselling Psychology. They have two children: Theo, and Olivia.