THE SOCIAL AND CULTURAL IDENTITY OF LATIN AMERICA
Jorge Gissi - Elena Zubieta - Darío Páez (2000)
Summary:
1. INTRODUCTION
When we talk about Identity in Latin America, we refer to the predominant cultural traits that differentiate it from the cultures of
the United States and Canada. This identity does not imply total uniformity, but it recognizes a relative homogeneity and common
elements shared among the different countries of the region (Gissi, 1995).
Five key elements characterize this relative homogeneity in Latin America: a shared history over the past five hundred years, a
semi-Westernized middle class, a predominance of Catholicism, a mestizo population, and a strong correlation between race and
social class.
In addition, Latin America tends to be collectivist, with high distance from power and high avoidance of uncertainty (Hofstede,
1991). These characteristics are expressed in values such as respect, familism, long-suffering character, machismo, Marianism, the
sympathetic script and compadrazgo.
These elements are interrelated and can be relativized according to current sociocultural transformations. Factors such as the rise
of Protestantism, syncretic religious tradition, the cult of the Virgin Mary, and persistent racism and classism in social structures
form a complex framework for the analysis of identity in Latin America.
2. A HOMOGENEOUS COMMON HISTORY OF 500 YEARS
The events after the arrival of the Spaniards are divided into several periods: the Conquest (1492-end of the sixteenth century),
the establishment of the Colonies (seventeenth-eighteenth centuries), and the legal-political Independences (first decades of the
nineteenth century). By the end of the nineteenth century, almost all countries were established as culturally and economically
dependent Republics.
At the same time, the continent's global insertion followed a homogeneous evolution: first a "Compulsive Hispanization", followed
by the theoretical preparation of the independence revolutions influenced by the revolutions of the United States and France. This
phase marks the beginning of the Spanish decline and the rise of the influence of England, France and finally the United States,
moving to a "non-Hispanic Europeanization" and, in the last fifty years, to a massive and multi-class "Americanization" (Gissi, 1995).
3. THE "MIDDLE CLASSES OF THE WORLD"
According to economists, Latin America has fewer poor people than Asia and Africa, but more than Europe, North America,
Australia, and New Zealand. We are semi-Westernized: more Westernized than Asia and Africa, but not as Westernized as the US
and Europe.
The Human Development Index reflects this situation, placing 14 Latin American countries at important levels, 12 at medium levels
and only one at low levels. Mobility studies in 121 countries show considerable stability in the distribution of the world's population
with respect to income quintiles. 60% of countries remain in the same quintile between 1965 and 1990, and only 13 countries are
not in the same or adjacent quintile in both years. There are no cases of countries moving from the poorest to the richest quintiles,
indicating relative stability in the classification of poor and rich countries (Korzeniewicz & Moran, 1997).
4. CHRISTIANITY AND BELIEVERS: RELIGIOUS SYNCRETISM
An important characteristic that we point out is that Latin America is predominantly Christian and Catholic. While in Europe only
57% of believers are Catholics, in our region that figure rises to 87%. In contrast, North America is 35% Catholic, 35% Protestant,
and other minor denominations (Kottak, 1994).
Unlike Europe, which has become significantly secularized, and Asia, where religions are part of everyday life without a belief in a
transcendent god, Latin America continues to believe in a transcendent Christian god. In Europe, a high percentage of people give
little importance to God, while in Mexico that percentage is only 3% (Inglehart, 1991). This data is relevant to understand the
specificity of Catholicism in our region, characterized by a Latin American popular Christianity influenced by pre-Columbian animist
elements and the growth of Protestantism.
1
Made by MatyBuda
, A distinctive element of religious syncretism in Latin America is Marian worship, where the Virgin Mary has a significant role,
surpassing in importance the Creator God or Jesus. This cult differs from the patriarchalism of the Doctrine of the Trinity, with a
predominance of a maternal-feminine component.
Catholicism in Latin America has peculiarities such as its dependence on the Spanish crown and a lack of renewal, influenced by
medieval superstitions rather than by the Catholicism of the great mystics.
Religion in our region adopts "sui generis" characteristics due to the syncretism between Iberian Christianity and indigenous and
African religions. This syncretism implies that saints and native divinities are mixed, such as the Virgin of Copacabana with
Pachamama and the Virgin of Guadalupe with Tonantzin.
In Cuba, although Catholicism, Spiritism, and Santeria are influential, there is a notable religious indifferentism. In the mid-20th
century, only between 2 and 8% of the Cuban population was actively linked to the Catholic Church.
In recent years, we have observed a religious revival in the region, with an increase in attendance at religious ceremonies, especially
in evangelical contexts of greater cognitive heterodoxy than more orthodox Catholicism.
5. THE MESTIZO PREDOMINANCE
Latin America is a predominantly mestizo region, where the mixture of various traits has constituted the majority of the population.
This contrasts with Europe, which has an infinite cultural miscegenation but a predominantly Caucasian phenotype (Gissi, 1995).
In the United States, although there is talk of a "cultural melting pot", racial and cultural miscegenation is less, being a
predominantly white nation (Touraine, 1997).
The United States, like Argentina, Uruguay and to a lesser extent Brazil, are countries of immigrants. However, while in the United
States 90% of the population was of European origin at the beginning of the twentieth century and it is estimated that the majority
will continue to be so in the middle of the twenty-first century (53%), in Latin America the majority of the population is mestizo.
At the time of independence, of the 18 million inhabitants in Hispanic America, 44% were indigenous, 28% mestizo, 6% black, and
only 22% Caucasian (Fuentes, 1997).
5.1 WHITES AND EMIGRATION
In 1810, 90% of whites in the colonies were Creoles. Between 1500 and 1810, approximately two million Spanish and Portuguese
colonizers, mostly single men, migrated to Latin America. Between 1846 and 1932, 59 million immigrants left Europe; of these,
90% went to America and 30% to the Latin region.
From the beginning of the nineteenth century until 1966, Latin America received 23 million European emigrants, mainly Spanish,
Italians, and Portuguese (Rosenberg and Sequeira, 1996). Between 1880 and 1930, 3.3 million Spaniards, mostly Galicians,
emigrated to Latin America, especially Cuba and Argentina. According to the Argentine census of 1954, 64.5% of the foreign
population (2,829,700 inhabitants) was of Italian origin (35.5%) or Spanish (29%) (Germani, 1987).
5.2 THE NATIVES
These figures represent the estimated percentage of speakers of indigenous languages in Latin America. In some countries, such
as Bolivia, speakers of Amerindian languages represent up to 60% of the population. In others, such as Guatemala and Mexico,
these figures are underestimated due to the non-incorporation of other languages and the exclusion of indigenous people who
speak Spanish or are mixed. In Peru and Ecuador, it is estimated that between 33% and 50% of the population is indigenous.
These tables allow us to understand the Latin American ethnic profile. There is a Meso-Andean area of Quechua and Aymara
culture (Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia), a North Central American Maya area in Mexico and Guatemala, and a Nahuatl region in Mexico.
Countries with miscegenation and African imprint include Haiti, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Panama, Brazil, and Venezuela.
Other countries have miscegenation with local populations such as Chile, El Salvador, Honduras, Paraguay, Colombia, and
Venezuela. Argentina, Uruguay, and Costa Rica are countries of European immigration. In the United States, 74% of the population
is of European origin, 10% African American, 12% Latin American and 3% Asian. While in Latin America there is a significant
component of pre-Columbian ethnic populations, in the United States this component is demographically residual, only 1% (Kottak,
1994).
2
Made by MatyBuda
Jorge Gissi - Elena Zubieta - Darío Páez (2000)
Summary:
1. INTRODUCTION
When we talk about Identity in Latin America, we refer to the predominant cultural traits that differentiate it from the cultures of
the United States and Canada. This identity does not imply total uniformity, but it recognizes a relative homogeneity and common
elements shared among the different countries of the region (Gissi, 1995).
Five key elements characterize this relative homogeneity in Latin America: a shared history over the past five hundred years, a
semi-Westernized middle class, a predominance of Catholicism, a mestizo population, and a strong correlation between race and
social class.
In addition, Latin America tends to be collectivist, with high distance from power and high avoidance of uncertainty (Hofstede,
1991). These characteristics are expressed in values such as respect, familism, long-suffering character, machismo, Marianism, the
sympathetic script and compadrazgo.
These elements are interrelated and can be relativized according to current sociocultural transformations. Factors such as the rise
of Protestantism, syncretic religious tradition, the cult of the Virgin Mary, and persistent racism and classism in social structures
form a complex framework for the analysis of identity in Latin America.
2. A HOMOGENEOUS COMMON HISTORY OF 500 YEARS
The events after the arrival of the Spaniards are divided into several periods: the Conquest (1492-end of the sixteenth century),
the establishment of the Colonies (seventeenth-eighteenth centuries), and the legal-political Independences (first decades of the
nineteenth century). By the end of the nineteenth century, almost all countries were established as culturally and economically
dependent Republics.
At the same time, the continent's global insertion followed a homogeneous evolution: first a "Compulsive Hispanization", followed
by the theoretical preparation of the independence revolutions influenced by the revolutions of the United States and France. This
phase marks the beginning of the Spanish decline and the rise of the influence of England, France and finally the United States,
moving to a "non-Hispanic Europeanization" and, in the last fifty years, to a massive and multi-class "Americanization" (Gissi, 1995).
3. THE "MIDDLE CLASSES OF THE WORLD"
According to economists, Latin America has fewer poor people than Asia and Africa, but more than Europe, North America,
Australia, and New Zealand. We are semi-Westernized: more Westernized than Asia and Africa, but not as Westernized as the US
and Europe.
The Human Development Index reflects this situation, placing 14 Latin American countries at important levels, 12 at medium levels
and only one at low levels. Mobility studies in 121 countries show considerable stability in the distribution of the world's population
with respect to income quintiles. 60% of countries remain in the same quintile between 1965 and 1990, and only 13 countries are
not in the same or adjacent quintile in both years. There are no cases of countries moving from the poorest to the richest quintiles,
indicating relative stability in the classification of poor and rich countries (Korzeniewicz & Moran, 1997).
4. CHRISTIANITY AND BELIEVERS: RELIGIOUS SYNCRETISM
An important characteristic that we point out is that Latin America is predominantly Christian and Catholic. While in Europe only
57% of believers are Catholics, in our region that figure rises to 87%. In contrast, North America is 35% Catholic, 35% Protestant,
and other minor denominations (Kottak, 1994).
Unlike Europe, which has become significantly secularized, and Asia, where religions are part of everyday life without a belief in a
transcendent god, Latin America continues to believe in a transcendent Christian god. In Europe, a high percentage of people give
little importance to God, while in Mexico that percentage is only 3% (Inglehart, 1991). This data is relevant to understand the
specificity of Catholicism in our region, characterized by a Latin American popular Christianity influenced by pre-Columbian animist
elements and the growth of Protestantism.
1
Made by MatyBuda
, A distinctive element of religious syncretism in Latin America is Marian worship, where the Virgin Mary has a significant role,
surpassing in importance the Creator God or Jesus. This cult differs from the patriarchalism of the Doctrine of the Trinity, with a
predominance of a maternal-feminine component.
Catholicism in Latin America has peculiarities such as its dependence on the Spanish crown and a lack of renewal, influenced by
medieval superstitions rather than by the Catholicism of the great mystics.
Religion in our region adopts "sui generis" characteristics due to the syncretism between Iberian Christianity and indigenous and
African religions. This syncretism implies that saints and native divinities are mixed, such as the Virgin of Copacabana with
Pachamama and the Virgin of Guadalupe with Tonantzin.
In Cuba, although Catholicism, Spiritism, and Santeria are influential, there is a notable religious indifferentism. In the mid-20th
century, only between 2 and 8% of the Cuban population was actively linked to the Catholic Church.
In recent years, we have observed a religious revival in the region, with an increase in attendance at religious ceremonies, especially
in evangelical contexts of greater cognitive heterodoxy than more orthodox Catholicism.
5. THE MESTIZO PREDOMINANCE
Latin America is a predominantly mestizo region, where the mixture of various traits has constituted the majority of the population.
This contrasts with Europe, which has an infinite cultural miscegenation but a predominantly Caucasian phenotype (Gissi, 1995).
In the United States, although there is talk of a "cultural melting pot", racial and cultural miscegenation is less, being a
predominantly white nation (Touraine, 1997).
The United States, like Argentina, Uruguay and to a lesser extent Brazil, are countries of immigrants. However, while in the United
States 90% of the population was of European origin at the beginning of the twentieth century and it is estimated that the majority
will continue to be so in the middle of the twenty-first century (53%), in Latin America the majority of the population is mestizo.
At the time of independence, of the 18 million inhabitants in Hispanic America, 44% were indigenous, 28% mestizo, 6% black, and
only 22% Caucasian (Fuentes, 1997).
5.1 WHITES AND EMIGRATION
In 1810, 90% of whites in the colonies were Creoles. Between 1500 and 1810, approximately two million Spanish and Portuguese
colonizers, mostly single men, migrated to Latin America. Between 1846 and 1932, 59 million immigrants left Europe; of these,
90% went to America and 30% to the Latin region.
From the beginning of the nineteenth century until 1966, Latin America received 23 million European emigrants, mainly Spanish,
Italians, and Portuguese (Rosenberg and Sequeira, 1996). Between 1880 and 1930, 3.3 million Spaniards, mostly Galicians,
emigrated to Latin America, especially Cuba and Argentina. According to the Argentine census of 1954, 64.5% of the foreign
population (2,829,700 inhabitants) was of Italian origin (35.5%) or Spanish (29%) (Germani, 1987).
5.2 THE NATIVES
These figures represent the estimated percentage of speakers of indigenous languages in Latin America. In some countries, such
as Bolivia, speakers of Amerindian languages represent up to 60% of the population. In others, such as Guatemala and Mexico,
these figures are underestimated due to the non-incorporation of other languages and the exclusion of indigenous people who
speak Spanish or are mixed. In Peru and Ecuador, it is estimated that between 33% and 50% of the population is indigenous.
These tables allow us to understand the Latin American ethnic profile. There is a Meso-Andean area of Quechua and Aymara
culture (Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia), a North Central American Maya area in Mexico and Guatemala, and a Nahuatl region in Mexico.
Countries with miscegenation and African imprint include Haiti, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Panama, Brazil, and Venezuela.
Other countries have miscegenation with local populations such as Chile, El Salvador, Honduras, Paraguay, Colombia, and
Venezuela. Argentina, Uruguay, and Costa Rica are countries of European immigration. In the United States, 74% of the population
is of European origin, 10% African American, 12% Latin American and 3% Asian. While in Latin America there is a significant
component of pre-Columbian ethnic populations, in the United States this component is demographically residual, only 1% (Kottak,
1994).
2
Made by MatyBuda
