<p>The Southern Wide-field Gamma-ray Observatory, an experiment under development since 2019 with critical Brazilian contribution and leadership, is the most recent proposal for a ground-based gamma-ray detector in the Southern Hemisphere. When fully completed, it is expected to be the most sensitive particle detector array in the world, capable of measuring gamma rays from high- to ultra-high energies from a still-unexplored region of the sky including the Galactic Center. Over half a century of developments trace the history of Astroparticle Physics in South America, since the pioneering works of Cesar Lattes, that inaugurated experimental activities, first in Brazil, and across the region as a consequence. The Cherenkov Telescope Array Observatory (CTAO) is another global facility in planning for the continent, marking the next stage in a new era of large Latin-American astroparticle experiments inaugurated 25 years ago with the Pierre Auger Observatory, in Argentina, and later followed by the High-Altitude Water-Cherenkov (HAWC) Observatory, in Mexico. This contribution will introduce some of the general context and present the latest developments and perspectives for ground-based gamma-ray astronomy in Latin America, whose history testifies and pays tribute to the work and enduring legacy of Cesar Lattes.</p>