Feb
9
Mixture theories: Mestizaje. I found both articles quite interesting but I think it should be noted that they are completely polar opinions. Despite disagreeing with most of the text from “The Cosmic Race” I found it very invigorating and passionately argued. I was not completely surprised by what they author had to say, even though it is very controversial. Jose Vasconcelos race thoughts could be the topic of many debates, but I enjoyed how much he had to say about it. He claims that Latin’s, who got their name from Spain and Portugal, are actually more Anglo-Saxon. Page five is a prime example of his even more out there thoughts, when he talks about the Christianity as being the civilized. One of his more passive looks at the sphere of race appears on page nine, when he talks about the 5th race coming. Jose believes that 4 races are prevalent in the world and that a new one that is a hybrid of the 4 is soon to come. This hopeful look at the world shows that he is optimistic on the future studies and realities of race.
Jose does focus on one race in particular, his own. He believes that the Latinos must come together and reclaim their unity to lead this push for this ultimate race. He says that in order to do this you do not have to destroy the dominate race but instead amalgamate them. He uses LA as a prime example of a homogenized city. Mixture, since colonization, has been a fundamental building block for much of Latin America as well as Latino’s, so this is why they should lead the brigade to create this synthesized race. Despite saying that because Latin’s are trying to destroy race, there is a clear undertone in Jose’s writing that give the feel of Latin American superiority. He says that Latin’s are the only race to have integrated all the races together, which is easily contestable or deniable.
I enjoyed the approach of the second reading more. I think that it is true that we need to talk about race as not a black or white picture but as a complex system. I also found it quite interesting the Mexico example the author gives. In which the indigenous people of South America are often left out of the national body, until the government finds use or excuse to put them into it.
