Some Aspects of Spanish American Culture

1961 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 343-356
Author(s):  
Harvey L. Johnson

Latin Americans are radically individualistic and sometimes it seems to a foreign observer that there are almost as many differing opinions as there are people. An admittedly extreme case will serve to confirm the aforesaid comment. In 1946 one of the warring factions of the Liberal Party of Colombia received, in response to its circular setting forth the rules for the campaign, the following telegram:Liberal Directorate, Bogotá. Have received circular. Respectfully advise am only liberal in this town. And I am divided. Regards. Pedro PiratequeWith individualism so rampant, it becomes immediately obvious that in a field as broad as the culture of twenty Latin-American republics, generalizations are difficult to make and some evaluations are only relevant when applied to specific areas or regions.

2000 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 367-391 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Griswold del Castillo

The so-called Zoot Suit riots in Los Angeles in June of 1943 made Latin Americans more aware of the negative racial attitudes within the United States toward Mexicans. Through the publicity surrounding the riots, they also first learned of the existence of a large ethnic group of Mexican origin. This knowledge, however, often came with an additional message that the Mexican American culture was not worthy of esteem by respectable people. / Los disturbios llamados "Zoot-Suit" que ocurrieron en Los Angeles en Junio 1943 hizo saber a los latino americanos que las actitudes de los norteamericanos hacia los mexicanos no eran muy positivas. A través de la publicidad durante los disturbios, aprendieron por la primera vez de la existencia de un gran grupo étnico de origen mexicano en los Estados Unidos. Desgraciadamente esta información vino con otro mensaje que la cultura de los mexicoamericanos no era digna de honor por la supuesta gente decente.


1951 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 395-412
Author(s):  
Ronald Hilton

José Vasconcelos, whose lawyer’s degree entitles him to the designation “Licenciado,” but who more commonly is referred to respectfully as “El Maestro Vasconcelos,” has suffered in recent years a political eclipse which has deprived him of the publicity enjoyed by less distinguished Latin Americans who have kept themselves more attuned to political changes. The writer of this article does not share Vasconcelos’ political or religious creeds, but he cannot help recognizing in him one of the noblest expressions of Latin-American thought. His vast culture and universal philosophy is free from the parochialism which is the curse of much Latin-American culture. This eulogy by one of a different persuasion is intended to counteract the oblivion into which a hostile partisan spirit would relegate him.


1992 ◽  
Vol 24 (S1) ◽  
pp. 83-97 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frank Safford

The persistent instability and disorder of Spanish American polities in the post-Independence period was undoubtedly one of the most perplexing concerns of Spanish American elites in the nineteenth century. It has remained a subject of interpretive debate by twentieth-century students of the area. The following article sketches several general approaches to the problem among twentieth-century interpreters, compares contemporary nineteenth-century analyses with the salient twentieth-century interpretations, and offers a critical commentary on the various sorts of twentieth-century analytical frameworks.The three salient twentieth-century interpretations of political disorder in the nineteenth century are: (1) those that emphasise deeply embedded characteristics of Spanish American culture as underlying causes of political instability; (2) those that attribute political disorder to structural problems, particularly to weaknesses in the economic structure or shifts in the social structure; (3) those that see political instability as a reflection of conflicting ideologies, economic interests, and/or the aspirations or fears of identifiable social groups.The distinctive feature of cultural interpretations of Latin American politics is their common belief that cultural characteristics are indelible and more-or-less unchangeable. And, since such cultural interpretations emphasise what might be considered ‘negative’ aspects of Spanish or Spanish American culture in order to explain defects in Spanish American politics, their assumption that cultures do not change over time tends to imbue such interpretations with a certain pessimism about the future of Spanish American politics.An early twentieth-century exponent of cultural approaches to understanding Spanish-American political disorder was Francisco García Calderón, who, thinking particularly of the phenomenon of caudillismo, emphasised Spanish authoritarian individualism.


1979 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 187-208 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.C.M. Ogelsby

Pierre Elliot Trudeau became leader of Canada's Liberal Party and Prime Minister of Canada in April 1968. Almost immediately he promised an effort to take new directions in Canada's external relations. One of the regions he focused attention on was Latin America (Dobell, 1972: 115).That Trudeau was interested in Latin America appears natural for an intellectual raised in Quebec. There has long been a certain sympathy with the concept of latinité. French-Canadian intellectuals often believed that they had much in common with Latin Americans, because of their religions or cultural heritage, and felt a pull from that region even if they had never visited it. Trudeau had been editor of a leading Quebec journal, Cité Libre, and that journal occasionally had editorial comment on events in Latin America. Indeed, Trudeau established his position on political involvement in the Inter-American system in that journal and he has not wavered from that position since then (Octobre 1964; and his recent statement in International Canada, 1976).


2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 101-120
Author(s):  
Yousef M. Aljamal ◽  
Philipp O. Amour

There are some 700,000 Latin Americans of Palestinian origin, living in fourteen countries of South America. In particular, Palestinian diaspora communities have a considerable presence in Chile, Honduras, and El Salvador. Many members of these communities belong to the professional middle classes, a situation which enables them to play a prominent role in the political and economic life of their countries. The article explores the evolving attitudes of Latin American Palestinians towards the issue of Palestinian statehood. It shows the growing involvement of these communities in Palestinian affairs and their contribution in recent years towards the wide recognition of Palestinian rights — including the right to self-determination and statehood — in Latin America. But the political views of members of these communities also differ considerably about the form and substance of a Palestinian statehood and on the issue of a two-states versus one-state solution.


Author(s):  
Anthony Macías

I am writing this analytical appreciation of cultura panamericana, or pan-American culture, to propose a wider recognition of how its historical linkages and contemporary manifestations confront colonialism, honor indigenous roots, and reflect multiple, mixed-race identities. Although often mediated by transnational pop-culture industries, expressive cultural forms such as art and music articulate resonant themes that connect US Latinos and Latinas to Latin Americans, pointing the way toward a hemispheric imaginary. In US murals, for example, whether in the Chicago neighborhood of Pilsen or the Los Angeles neighborhood of Highland Park, pan-American expressive culture offers alternative representations by embracing indigeneity, and it creates a sense of place by tropicalizing urban spaces.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-34
Author(s):  
Regina Mara Fisberg ◽  
Ana Carolina Barco Leme ◽  
Ágatha Nogueira Previdelli ◽  
Aline Veroneze de Mello ◽  
Angela Martinez Arroyo ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Objective: To quantify the energy, nutrients-to-limit and total gram amount consumed, and identify their top food sources consumed by Latin Americans. Design: Data from The Latin American Study of Nutrition and Health (ELANS). Setting: ELANS is a cross-sectional study representative of eight Latin American countries: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela. Participants: Two 24h dietary recalls on non-consecutive days were used to estimate usual dietary intake of 9218 participants with ages between 15-65years. “What We Eat in America” food classification system developed by USDA was adapted and used to classify all food items consumed by the ELANS population. Food sources of energy, added sugars, saturated fatty acids (SFA), sodium and total gram amount consumed were identified and ranked based on percentage contribution to intake of total amount. Results: Three-highest ranked food categories of total energy consumed were: rice (10.3%), yeast breads (6.9%), and turnovers and other grain-based items (6.8%). Highest ranked food sources of total gram amount consumed were: fruit drinks (9.6%), other 100% juice (9.3%), and rice (8.3%). Three highest ranked sources for added sugars were: other 100% juice (24.1%), fruit drinks (16.5%), and sugar and honey (12.4%). SFA ranked foods were: turnovers and other grain-based (12.6%), cheese (11.9%), and pizza (10.3%). Three top sources of sodium were: rice (13.9%), soups (9.1%), and rice mixed dishes (7.3%). Conclusion: Identification of top sources of energy and nutrients-to-limit among Latin Americans is critical for designing strategies to help them meet nutrient recommendations within energy needs.


Hispania ◽  
1986 ◽  
Vol 69 (1) ◽  
pp. 121
Author(s):  
Donald W. Bleznick ◽  
C. Gail Guntermann

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document