Race has always been a strong political, religious, and linguistic influence throughout the world, but especially in Latin America. This comes from the extremely diverse racial demographic of Latin America stemming from European colonization.
This colonization introduced Spanish and Portuguese settlers, and African slaves later on. The mixtures of these people created the Mulattoes, Mestizos, Castizos…
These classifications were used by colonial governments to create a rigid social hierarchy. The Native and African people being at the bottom while the mixtures between them and the Europeans (Mestizo and Mulattoes) being right above.
The results of this social hierarchy can even be seen today. During my time living in Bolivia, I’ve seen many instances of prejudiced thoughts against native people. There is an almost subconscious thought that blue eyes and blond hair are superior to the natives brown eyes and black hair.
Many childrens toys demonstrate this, like dolls which are mostly sold white with blond hair in a majorly brown population.
Historically speaking, the first native president in Bolivia, Evo Morales, was elected fairly recently in 1997. According to Pablo Celis-Castillo from Kansas state university, he championed many successful pro-native policies.
Thus, indigenous rights improved, but not all over Latin America. In Brazil, the 2010 census was the first to consider long standing communities of runaway African slaves. This came from significant protests by representatives of these “Kalunga” communities. Moreira, a Kalunga descendant interviewed by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics, argues that before the census, “[they] were totally forgotten.”
In regards to religion, the native religious practices and customs seeped into Christianity brought by European colonizers. This mainly manifests itself in holidays and celebrations. As a child, I vividly remember walking down the bustling street markets to buy special incense and coca leaves. We would then take a steep cobbled path all the way to the top of a nearby mountain, and start a fire where we would burn the incense and coca leaves in the name of La Pachamama, the Quechua “Mother Earth.” A couple of weeks would pass and we would celebrate Christmas, commemorating the birth of Jesus.
This always seemed strange as these ideas seemed contradictory, but later on I realized this was a common occurrence in Bolivia and other Latin American countries. The majority of the people are Catholic, but also celebrate their native roots.
Linguistically, the Native and African populations greatly influenced the colonial languages of Spanish and Portuguese.
For example, the word “chamaco,” which means young person, comes from Nahuatl, the language of the Aztecs. This word is commonly used in Mexican and Central American Spanish. I recently had to ask a Mexican friend what she meant by chamaco, feeling like an inadequate Spanish speaker, only to find out it was a colloquial term.
Another example is the Puerto Rican word “Chevere,” meaning cool, which comes from the African language lucumí.
Takeaways
Race in Latin America affects social structures, religious practices, and the common language. This can be extremely beautiful! If a Mexican grandpa calls you chamaco, you can be pretty sure he likes you. On the other hand, racial tensions have had a negative effect. There is much more negative than just a “Western” beauty standard!
Thank You very much for reading, and please feel free to leave a comment!