Latin American Identities After 1980

Description

Latin American Identities After 1980 takes an interdisciplinary approach to Latin American social and cultural identities. With broad regional coverage, and an emphasis on Canadian perspectives, it focuses on Latin American contact with other cultures and nations. Its sound scholarship combines evidence-based case studies with the Latin American tradition of the essay, particularly in areas where the discourse of the establishment does not match political, social, and cultural realities and where it is difficult to uncover the purposely covert.

This study of the cultural and social Latin America begins with an interpretation of the new Pax Americana, designed in the 1980s by the North in agreement with the Southern elites. As the agreement ties the hands of national governments and establishes new regional and global strategies, a pan–Latin American identity is emphasized over individual national identities. The multi-faceted impacts and effects of globalization in Bolivia, Ecuador, Mexico, Cuba, Brazil, Chile, Argentina, and the Caribbean are examined, with an emphasis on social change, the transnationalization and commodification of Latin American and Caribbean arts and the adaptation of cultural identities in a globalized context as understood by Latin American authors writing from transnational perspectives.

Sujets

• Cultural studies

Informations

• Publié par: Wilfrid Laurier University Press
• Date de parution: 23 avril 2010
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781554582136
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 2 Mo

Extrait

L A T I N A M E R I C A N I D E N T I T I E S A F T E R 1 9 8 0

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L A T I N

A M E R I C A N

I D E N T I T I E S

A F T E R 198 0

Gordana Yovanovich andAmy Huras, editors

We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Book Publishing Industry Development Program for our publishing activities.

Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication Latin American identities after 1980 / Gordana Yovanovich and Amy Huras, editors. Includes bibliographical references and index. Issued also in electronic formats. ISBN 978-1-55458-183-2

1. Latin America –– History –– 1980–. 2. Latin America –– Politics and government –– 1980–. 3. Latin America –– Social conditions –– 1982–. 4. Latin America –– Civilization –– 1948–. 5. Latin America –– Intellectual life –– 20th century. 6. Latin America –– Intellectual life –– 21st century. 7. Globalization –– Latin America. I. Yovanovich, Gordana, 1956– II. Huras, Amy, 1983– F1414.3.L38 2010 980.03'3 C2009-904923-6

Latin American identities after 1980 [electronic resource] / Gordana Yovanovich and Amy Huras, editors. ISBN 978-1-55458-213-6 Electronic format.

F1414.3.L38 2010a 980.03'3 C2009-904924-4

© 2010 Wilfrid Laurier University Press Waterloo, Ontario, Canada www.wlupress.wlu.ca

Cover image based onHarlequin, by Canadian painter Dragan Sekaric Shex. Cover design by Martyn Schmoll. Text design by Daiva Villa, Chris Rowat Design.

Printed in Canada

Every reasonable effort has been made to acquire permission for copyright material used in this text and to acknowledge all such indebtedness accurately. Any errors and omissions called to the publisher's attention will be corrected in future printings.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior written consent of the publisher or a licence from The Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency (Access Copyright). For an Access Copyright licence, visit www.accesscopyright.ca or call toll free to 1-800-893-5777.

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Contents

Introduction Gordana Yovanovich

pa r t o n e Latin America and the New Pax Americana Jorge Nef and Alejandra Roncallo

Cultural Resilience and Political Transformation in Bolivia Susan Healey

Globalization andIndígenas: The Alto Balsas Nahuas Frans J. Schryer

Language Shift, Maintenance, and Revitalization: Quichua in an Era of Globalization Rosario Gómez

Afro-Brazilian Women’s Identities and Activism: National and Transnational Discourse Jessica Franklin

Legal Creolization, “Permanent Exceptionalism,” and Caribbean Sojourners’ Truths Adrian Smith

pa r t t wo Cuban Culture at the Eye of the Globalizing Hurricane: The Case of Nueva Trova Norman Cheadle

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From Pablo Neruda to Luciana Souza:Latin Americaas Poetic- Musical Space Maria L. Figueredo

The Transculturation ofCapoeira: Brazilian, Canadian, and Caribbean Interpretations of an Afro-Brazilian Martial Art Janelle Joseph

Kcho’sLa regata: Political or Poetic Installation? Lee L’Clerc

Collective Memory of Cultural Trauma in Peru: Efforts to Move from Blame to Reconciliation Jennifer Martino

pa r t t h r e e Individualism and Human Rights in Antonio Skármeta’sMatch Ball Gordana Yovanovich

Collective Memory and the Borderlands in Guillermo Verdecchia’s Fronteras Americanas Pablo Ramírez

From Exile to thePandilla: The Construction of the Hispanic-Canadian Masculine Subject inCobro RevertidoandCôte-des-Nègres Stephen Henighan

Contributors

Index

c h a p t e r o n e

Introduction Gordana Yovanovich

The objective of this collection of articles is to discuss the period from 1980 to the present as a stage in Latin American political, social, and cultural develop- ment, a period after violent unrest in which the Latin American continent, inspired by the Cuban Revolution and international communism, attempted to transform its class and social structure. The post-1980 cultural period also follows the Latin American Boom, a cultural phenomenon inspired by a liter- ary movement that made a conscious effort to render continental cohesion, gave Latin American culture a high profile on the international scene, and incorporated internationalism into the modern conception of Latin American identity. Although the links between pre- and post-1980 are not easily explained, it is evident that in both periods local developments have been driven by mundial(global or international) cultural and political movements: whereas previously the proletariat of all countries were called to unite in violent class struggle for economic equality, in recent decades, the countries of the world have been called to unite peacefully into a single economy with more individ- ual freedom. In the cultural domain, the integration of the international and the global with the local has been explained as transculturalization (Angel Rama) in the Boom and as hybridization (Néstor García Canclini) in the more recent period. Inspired by European and Anglo-American modernism, the earlier period succeeded in liberating the form, in questioning old traditions and hierarchies and in introducing the idea of equality into Latin American 1 discourses. Employing this new language, the post-1980 period has not so much pursued the idea of class equality, but rather has adopted the idea of universal equal rights which promises greater individual liberty and greater ethnic, cultural and gender equality. In his study of the relationship between modernism and postmodernism, George Yúdice explains that “the postmodern does not necessarily seek to innovate, as does the modern, but rather to rearticulate alternative traditions in order to desalinate contemporary life” (1992, 15). In the case of Latin American

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culture, “alternative traditions” were very much a part of the Boom, from the inclusion of African spiritual elements in Alejo Carpentier’sEl reino de este mundo [The kingdom of this world]to indigenous, African, and Gallego super- stitions found in Gabriel García Márquez’sCien años de soledad [One hundred years of solitude]. However, these “alternative traditions” have been much more visible in the post-1980 period. In a period when neoliberal globaliza- tion is driven by international institutions such as the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the World Trade Organization, the credibility of the “grand récits” –– such as Christianity, Revolution, the Hegelian Absolute Spirit, and Marxism –– as Jean-François Lyotard explains, is lost and hope is placed on practical solutions and international legal justice. The work of non- governmental organizations (NGOs) and international activism supported by the United Nations and financed by private granting agencies, private schol- arly foundations, private galleries, and private (music and film) industries becomes particularly important. This change is celebrated by some articles in this collection, particularly those which study indigenous “alternative” cul- tures. However, several contributors remain skeptical that globalization is bringing significant improvements to Latin America despite the fact that they recognize the attempt made to construct different modern identities. Previous studies of Latin American identities have largely been written from the point of view of political or cultural theory. In this collection, theo- retical issues are used only as heuristic devices in the interpretation of mod- ern Latin American culture and society. Instead of focusing on political and cultural theories and dominant ideologies, the basic framework for this study is the human condition and the attempt to answer a basic question: What does it mean to be Latin American (person or artist) in an age of globalization? Articles in this collection address North–South relationships in the Americas, examine the impact of global movements on indigenous situations, study the effect of globalization on the liberation of women and compare and contrast foreign and local realities, recognize the rise of the new Socialist governments in Latin America, and study the changes that music industries and global mar- kets are bringing to Latin American music and art. Throughout this collec- tion, the authors have demonstrated an awareness of the masterful twist in the development from the preceding (communist) internationalization to the present (capitalist) globalization. This collection by Canadian scholars has a unique interdisciplinary approach to Latin American social and cultural change. In its broad regional coverage and its focus on Latin American contact with other cultures and nations, its scholarship combines the scientific method of evidence-based case studies with the Latin American tradition of essay writing in areas where the discourse of the establishment does not match the political, social, and cul-

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tural realities, where it is not easy to empirically prove something that is pur- posely covert but where logic and deduction lead to certain conclusions. This study of thebecomingandbeingof Latin American cultural and social identities begins with an interpretation of the new Pax Americana designed in the 1980s by the North in agreement with the southern elites. As the agree- ment ties the hands of national governments and establishes new regional and global strategies, Latin American identity is emphasized over national identi- ties.The multifaceted impacts and effects of globalization in Bolivia, Ecuador, Mexico, Cuba, Brazil, Chile, Peru, and the Caribbean are then examined, with an emphasis on social changes, the transnationalization and commodifica- tion of Latin American and Caribbean arts, and the adaptation of cultural identities in a globalized context as understood by Latin American authors writing from transnational perspectives. Although there is probably as much difference between Bolivia and Argentina as there is between Sweden and Greece, terms such as “Latin Amer- ican” and “European” have been significant in the past and are also relevant today. In “Who Is Afraid of Identity Politics?” Linda Martín Alcoff indicates that “it makes sense to talk about national [or continental] identity or ethnic identity even while one assumes that there are differences between the indi- viduals who might share such an identity as well as similarities that such indi- viduals may share with those in another identity group” (2000, 318). Accord- ing to John King, the term “Latin America” is a mid-nineteenth-century European invention, providing a way of differentiating Spanish- and Por- tuguese-speaking America from the anglo-American world “in particular from the growing power of the United States” (2004, 1). How Latin America has struggled for its own identity in its contact with both Europe and the United States is best explained by Mario Vargas Llosa who argues that the Latin American relationship to dominant political and cultural powers in the twentieth century has not been one of rejection, but of unique incorporation.

Culturally Latin America is and is not Europe. It cannot be anything other than hermaphrodite. . . . No radical denial of European influences has always produced in Latin America shoddy pieces of work, with no creative spark; at the same time, servile imitation has led to affected works with no life on their own…. By contrast, everything of lasting value that Latin America has produced in the artistic sphere stands in a curious relationship of both attraction and rejection with respect to Europe: such works make use of the European tradition for other ends or else introduce into that system certain forms, motifs or ideas that question or interro- gate it without actually denying it. (Vargas Llosa 2002, 24)

As Latin American transculturation in Boom literature incorporated Euro- pean modernist formal and philosophical issues with local Latin American