Theories of Mixture: Mestizaje

Posted by: | February 9, 2009 | Comments Off on Theories of Mixture: Mestizaje

The idea of a cosmic race seems very appealing.  The blending of the many different “races” to create one with a common goal seems almost like wishful thinking.  This entire idea seems impossible, but it has been happening for hundreds of years (many times forced) and continues to happen frequently nowadays.  Blending, blurring…  No separation.

In his essay, The Cosmic Race, Vasconcelos discusses the idea of a blending of “races” to form one with a common interest and ideology.  I think that for Latin America, this would be a good way to unite the entire region, however, as much as I think it is a good thing, I also think it can have some negative effects.  I think it would benefit the Iberian Americas to unite in order to become a more powerful force when dealing with politics and trade to other countries and continents, but these are a handful of interests that the whole of Latin America have in common.  It is not accurate to say that the interests of indigenous groups in Peru is the same as the interests of people of high class in Mexico, and who is to decide what interests are most important and common to all of Latin America?
Although Latin America’s common history is that of the conquered, not all of Latin America react to it now in the same way.  And if having a common history is a cosmic race “starting point”, the where would a country like Costa Rica fit in where the population is predominantly white, but not with the same history as Brazil or Mexico?  Could all of these unite and create a common history and future?

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