Latin American Languages and Societies Commons^™

Performing Blackness In A Mulatto Society: Negotiating Racial Identity Through Music In The Dominican Republic, Angelina Maria Tallaj-García

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

My dissertation analyzes Dominican racial and ethnic identity through an examination of music and music cultures. Previous studies of Dominican identity have focused primarily on the racialized invention of the Dominican nation as white, or non-black, often centering on the building of Dominican identity in (sometimes violent) opposition to the Haitian nation and to Haitian racial identity. I argue that although Dominicans have not developed an explicit verbal discourse of black affirmation, blackness (albeit a contextually contingent articulation) is embedded in popular conceptions of dominicanidad ("Dominicanness") and is enacted through music. My dissertation explores ways in which popular notions of …

On The Midnight Train To Georgia: Afro-Caribbeans And The New Great Migration To Atlanta, Latoya Asantelle Tavernier

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

In the 21st century, Atlanta, Georgia has become a major new immigrant destination. This study focuses on the migration of Afro-Caribbeans to Atlanta and uses data collected from in-depth interviews, ethnography, and the US Census to understand: 1) the factors that have contributed to the emergence of Atlanta as a new destination for Afro-Caribbean immigrants and 2) the ways in which Atlanta's large African American population, and its growing immigrant population, shape the incorporation of Afro-Caribbeans, as black immigrants, into the southern city. I find that Afro-Caribbeans are attracted to Atlanta for a variety of reasons, including warmer climate, job …

The Ties That Bind: Gender, Race, And Empire In Caribbean Indenture Narratives, Alison Joan Klein

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation traces the ways that oppressive gender roles and racial tensions in the Caribbean today developed out of the British imperial system of indentured labor. Between 1837 and 1920, after slavery was abolished in the British colonies and before most colonies achieved independence, approximately 750,000 laborers, primarily from India and China, traveled to the Caribbean under indenture. This is a critical but under-explored aspect of colonial history, as this immigration dramatically altered the ethnic make up of the Caribbean, the cultural norms and traditions of those who migrated, and the structure of British imperialism. I focus on depictions of …

The Coca Plant And Bolivian Identity, Matthew G. Russo

International ResearchScape Journal

ABSTRACT

The political battle rages between the U.S. government, the U.N. and the Bolivian President, Evo Morales, about his efforts to protect, legalize and preserve the symbol of the Andean indigenous identity: the coca plant. The human rights of indigenous populations are being violated by culturally insensitive governments in compliance with U.S. and U.N. law. The questions posed are: Is coca cocaine? What are the economic benefits of the production of coca and who benefits? What is the relationship between coca and Bolivian identity? What would be the impact in the global community if coca is eradicated permanently?

Mestizaje And Gastronomy, Rafael Chabrán

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No abstract provided.

From Tortillas To Low-Carb Wraps: Capitalism And Mexican Food In Los Angeles Since The 1920s, Enrique C. Ochoa

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Tortillas and products made from maize provided subsistence to early Mesoamerican civilizations, and are central to Mexican national identity, Latino/a communities, and the globalization of Mexican foods. In the U.S., tortillas represent one of the fastest growing sectors of the food industry. This study shows how the adaptive nature of capitalism leads to a refining of colonial praxis, using the tools of industrialization, nutrition science, and marketing as new methods for colonizing maize and delinking it from Mexican culture and history.

Dr. Francisco Hernández Ate Tacos: The Foods And Drinks Of The Mexican Treasury, Rafael Chabrán

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A study on Mexican foodstuffs and preparations, especially corn, tortillas, chile, and tomatoes, as well as Native-based drinks such as chocolate, atole and pulque, as documented by colonial medical doctor, Francisco Hernández (ca. 1517-1587). While much research has focused on Hernandez’s writing on botanical, medical, and natural history themes, his work on food and the preparation of food in New Spain has been ignored.

¿Qué Comía Francisco Hernández (1517-1578)? La Intermediación De Mestizaje Y Gastronómica Del Protomédico De Indias De Felipe Ii, Jaime Vilchis

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When Philip II assumed his reign in the mid 16th-century, the Spanish monarchy had fully consolidated its dominion over America, with Indigenous kingdoms subdued, and Spanish authority in place, however, lifestyle indigenous practices continued in outlying zones. Among Philip II’s more creative agents dispatched to the Americas was a medical botanist, his Protomédico de Indias, Francisco Hernández, whose practice of eclectic humanism— experimental medicine and theological neoplatonism—resulted in one of the more diverse intellectual works of the era. Directed through utopian thinking, his ethnographic witness and testing of “Indian” medicine and cuisine, referred to as recipes of the ancient Mexicas, …

Social Determinants In Latino Diet And Health, Julie Collins-Dogrul, Kenia Saldaña

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This study problematizes generalized patterns in Latino diet and health after reviewing obesity and food consumption patterns by race and ethnicity gleaned from the social science and health science literature comparing Mexican-origin American, European-origin American, and African-American food consumption patterns, and summarizes data from the 2009/2010 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). The data from these surveys describes the quantity of fruit, vegetables, grains, meat, and other foods consumed. We review the literature on social determinants of diet to study whether food environments, socioeconomic status, culture, nativity, and globalization shape dietary practices.

Los Vendedores Ambulantes De Pilsen Y La Villita: Lo Formal De La Economía Informal, Francisco Piña

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A reflection on street cart vendors in the Pilsen and Little Village districts of Chicago, the products they sell, their backgrounds, hardships due to weather and municipal regulations, how they provide for families, and job training for other vendors.

Una reflexión sobre los vendedores ambulantes de los vecindarios de Pilsen y La Villita de Chicago, los productos que venden, sus historias, padecimientos por el clima y regulamentos municipales, y la manera en la que proveen sostén para las familias, y entrenamiento de otros vendedores.

Cocinando La Nación: Representaciones Del Capital Cultural En Cocina Ecléctica, Rocí Del Águila

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This article analyzes cultural and gender politics, and the representation of food in Cocina ecléctica (1890). This unique cookbook, edited by Argentine writer Juana Manuela Gorriti, compiles recipes written by a group of prominent women figures and intellectuals in several countries of Spanish America. Following Pierre Bourdieu’s theory, Gorriti could be considered as an agent that accumulated cultural and social capital. Her cookbook created a space for feminist discourse, and introduced indigenous ingredients and cooking technologies in the sophisticated bourgeoisie cuisine of that era. By doing so, Gorriti and her collaborators proposed a criollo, or Spanish-American, cuisine capable of reformulating …

La Comida Y Sus Historias: Food-Centered Life Histories Of Two Mexican Women Living In The U.S., Esther Díaz Martín, José García

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An examination of the interaction of foodways with personal history, collective memory, and identity formation, through the food-centered life histories of two Mexican women, first generation immigrants living in the U.S. Discusses espacios de convivencia, social relations orchestrated on women’s terms, the centrality of corn in the household’s diet (and changes due to the implementation of new technologies), and the significance of festive meals in relation to personal identity, to draw conclusions on women’s agency in preserving collective memory and knowledge through foodways. Includes Chicana feminist theories on women’s spaces and ways of knowing.

Culinary Mestizaje: An Afro-Latino Collective Sensory Memory, Meredith E. Abarca

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On the premise that culinary mestizajes express the complexity and often contradictory histories reflected in cultural values, this study examines historical, cultural, and symbolic stories that inform the foundation of a variety of Latino cuisines, with particular emphasis on African culinary influences on Latino food preparations. The purpose of the study is not to trace the history of any single food, but to consider the mnemonics of collective palate memories embedded in lived histories, and articulations of Claude Fischler’s idea of a “principle of tastes.”

Tacos And Coloniality: A Review Essay, Michael Soldatenko

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Two recently published books examine the concept of “Mexican food” in the U.S. and Mexico. Gustavo Arellano’s Taco USA: How Mexican Food Conquered America (2012) provides a readable journalistic examination of Mexican food in the U.S., and Jeffrey Pilcher’s Planet Taco: A Global History of Mexican Food (2012) offers an academic study of Mexican food presentations in a global setting by an established scholar. Each offers an entry for the field of Mexican food studies. This reading examines correlations of power in the colonial process and development of contemporary cuisine, drawing the conclusion that the concept of “Mexican food” is …

Las Cocinas De México: Identidad Nacional Y Mestizaje Desde La Afrodescendencia, Hilda Irene Cota Guzmán

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A reflection on Mexican cuisine through the idea of national identity sui generis, which expands to analysis on mestizaje, ethnicity, and region, with particular focus on Afro-descendant influences from a “multicultural” gaze, and concluding with an analysis of Mexican cuisine and contemporary “Mexican-ness.”

Una reflexión sobre la cocina mexicana, en términos de identidad nacional sui generis, para ampliar concepciones sobre lo regional, el mestizaje y la etnicidad, particularizando el ejemplo de la afrodescendencia. Conjuntando una mirada multicultural, finaliza con la propuesta de unos conceptos sobre la cocina mexicana desde ideas sobre la mexicanidad en la actualidad.

Green Chile And Flour Tortillas: The Making Of A Standard New Mexican Cuisine, Stephanie M. Sánchez

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Regional and ethnic cuisines result from generations of cultural mixing and adaptation. In the case of regional New Mexican cuisine, a food culture distinct from other southwestern diets, emerged since the colonial era, based on the central role of chile peppers, both green and red varieties. The mestizaje in preparations of such as flour tortillas, sopaipillas, and blue corn further defines New Mexican culinary traditions. The unique ingredients and cooking practices of New Mexico cuisine are assessed in this article as essential expressions of cultural identity and regional tourism, and are increasingly important to marketing and the agricultural industry.

La Cocina Tradicional Indígena De Michoacán, Lorena Ojeda, Carmen Alicia Dávila

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A cultural study of the origins of cuisine from the P’urhépecha region, in the Mexican state of Michoacán, visible in contemporary cuisine and community practices. Considerations of agricultural products and cultural practices, related to traditional cuisine from the preHispanic to the contemporary era.

Estudio histórico y cultural de los orígenes de la cocina de la región p’urhépecha del estado mexicano de Michoacán a través de la cocina contemporánea y sus prácticas comunitarias. Consideraciones de productos agrícolas y prácticas culturales relacionadas con la cocina tradicional desde la época prehispánica hasta la contemporánea.

Nourishing Communities And Consciousness At The Grassroots: An Interview With Carlos Ortez Of Un Solo Sol Kitchen In Boyle Heights, Enrique C. Ochoa, Fernando Mejía, Carlos Ortez

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No abstract provided.

Food Blogging In Los Angeles, The Life And Times Of Javier Cabral: An Interview, Gabriel Chabrán Echternacht, Javier Cabral

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No abstract provided.

Sobre Mis Fotografías: Lorena Ojeda, Lorena Ojeda

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No abstract provided.

Pan Dulce, Mariano Zaro

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No abstract provided.

El Ceviche: Una Receta Y Un Cuento, Jaime Vilchis

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No abstract provided.

How America Eats: A Social History Of U.S. Food And Culture, Caitlin S. Peters

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No abstract provided.

When Lightning Struck, Or Death At An Early Age, Arthur Ramírez

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No abstract provided.

Eating Puerto Rico: A History Of Food, Culture, And Identity, Rafael Chabrán

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No abstract provided.

Chef, Bill Johnson González

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No abstract provided.

Steel Barrio: The Great Mexican Migration To South Chicago, 1915-1940, Lilia Fernández

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No abstract provided.

A Taste Of Oaxaca: A Chef, A Recipe, And A Cookbook, Juan Pablo Bustos, Apollonia Galván

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No abstract provided.

Rethinking Chicana/O Literature Through Food: Postnational Appetites, Marina Nájera

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No abstract provided.

On Making Sense: Queer Race Narratives Of Intelligibility, Armando García

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No abstract provided.