Moldes Dissertation 2016

Contingent Belonging: Second-Generation Latino Canadian Negotiations of Place, Identity, and Nation by Marcos Daniel Moldes M.A. (Communication and Culture), York University, 2009 B.A. (Communication and Spanish), Wilfrid Laurier University, 2006 Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the School of Communication Faculty of Communication, Art and Technology © Marcos Daniel Moldes SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY Fall 2016 Approval Name: Marcos Daniel Moldes Degree: Doctor of Philosophy Title: Contingent Belonging: Second-Generation Latino Canadian Negotiations of Place, Identity, and Nation Examining Committee: Chair: Dr. Davina Bhandar, Adjunct, School of Communication, Simon Fraser University Kirsten McAllister Senior Supervisor Associate Professor Alison Beale Supervisor Professor Dara Culhane Supervisor Professor Department of Anthropology Peter Dickinson Internal Examiner Professor Department of English Jenny Burman External Examiner Associate Professor Department of Art History and Communication Studies McGill University Date Defended/Approved: October 7, 2016 ii Ethics Statement iii Abstract In an increasingly transnational world where multicultural policies and dual citizenships are facilitated through international conventions, this dissertation provides insight into the identities of the children of the Latino diaspora in Canada and explores how the second-generation (Canadians born in Canada with at least one immigrant parent) expresses a complex sense of belonging not just to Canada but also to their parent’s homeland. I argue that their sense of belonging has been misunderstood by academics and Canadian policy makers. Described as being an ‘in-between’ generation, a series of policy reports published by the Policy Research Initiative of Canada claims they are both a potential risk and potential resource for the state, and thus need to be managed. I argue this fails to recognize how members of the second generation themselves articulate a complex sense of belonging and identity that is negotiated on their own terms. There has been little written about Latina/os in Canada and even less that focuses on the second-generation. Though scholarly fields in the United States like that of Chicano Studies examine questions of diasporic identity in multi-generational Latina/o communities they focus on a uniquely American population. Drawing on my own diasporic heritage I collected data through four months of autoethnographic (Spry, 2001) and sensory ethnographic fieldwork in Montevideo, Uruguay where my parents grew up and also the site of many annual childhood trips to visit my parents’ family. My research involved ethnographic participant observation, interviews and site visits to the Museum of Memory (MuME). The second phase involved interviews of 15 second-generation Latino Canadians ranging in age from 20-35 from four Canadian cities. Like myself this group I was born and raised after the introduction of multicultural policy and the incorporation of multiculturalism into the conceptualization of Canada (Kobayashi, 2008). As an ethnography that encompassed both arriving in Uruguay and returning to Canada, I also observed the practices of “negotiating” my Latino/Canadian identity in each site. Thus the third phase, involved the development of a cooking practice (Counihan, 2010; Antoniou, 2004) which in response to the disorienting period of returning to Canada where I nostalgically longed for Montevideo. A key component of the study involved developing a voice in academic writing for the sensorial, affective and emotional experience (see: Million, 2013) I found that second-generation subjects like myself experience with their/our sense of belonging and not belonging in the diasporic homeland that is mediated through kinship structures, cultural practices and everyday objects. I define this experience as ‘contingent belonging’ a concept that recognizes how the identities of the second generation are unstable and dynamic, constantly in a process of being constituted and reconstituted with different meanings in a constantly shifting landscape. Keywords: Diaspora, Multiculturalism, Belonging, Latino, Latino-Canadian, Ethnography, Cooking, Identity, Autoethnography, Sensory Ethnography, Performance iv Dedication To my parents, who didn’t always understand but loved me anyway. v Acknowledgements There are so many people to whom this project and my education are indebted to: My parents Marlene and Albino for their support, kindness and love and for the sacrifices they made on my behalf. Wilman, Ana, Nico and Fede Gonzalez, my family in Uruguay, for their support during my fieldwork. I would also like to thank Andrea Coli for giving me a place to call home while in the field. My partner Luke who made me pancakes when I asked, who gave up a holiday trip without complaining when I needed the time to write and for the smile he brings to my face every day. This project would have been impossible without my senior supervisor Dr. Kirsten McAllister who provided me with endless support, guidance and mentorship. My supervisors Dr. Dara Culhane, whose energy and enthusiasm for the project was matched only by her methodological rigour and Dr. Alison Beale, for her quiet and grounding questions, ideas and suggestions gave me the intellectual and methodological foundation I needed for this work. My fellow graduate students in the School of Communication: Milan Singh, Nawal Musleh-Motut, Ayaka Tamura Yoshimizu, Madison Trusolino, Bob Neubauer, Matthew Greaves, Graeme Webb, Itrath Syed and Daniel Ahadi. My colleagues Jodi Davis Pacheco and Michael Lecker from the Ethnographic Working Group for creating a space that felt like my intellectual home that helped make me a better ethnographer. My friends Joshie Daurie and Matthew Santoro for teaching me that sometimes the only answer to writer’s block can be found on the dance floor at 2:00am. Thank you for letting me be the Velma of your Scooby Squad. My habibis Thom Sprott and Kamal Touffaha were the big brothers I never had growing up. Thank you for the dinner invites, the check-ins and the sagely conversations. My Residence Life colleagues Micaela Roughton, Matthew Cimone, Shehani Perera, Kabita Dalhal and Patrick Bourke. Finally, to Gillian Buckley for our “check-in” phone calls and ongoing friendship despite being thousands of kilometers apart. Finally, I would like to thank all my research participants for taking the time to speak with me and let me hear their stories. vi Table of Contents Approval ............................................................................................................................ ii Ethics Statement .............................................................................................................. iii Abstract ............................................................................................................................ iv Dedication ......................................................................................................................... v Acknowledgements .......................................................................................................... vi Table of Contents ............................................................................................................ vii Introduction. .................................................................................................................... 1 Second Generation Canadians: A problem for public policy ............................................. 2 The Mainstream Conception of Second Generation Canadians ....................................... 3 Latinos in Canada ........................................................................................................... 11 Why Montevideo? ............................................................................................................ 13 Belonging, Diaspora and Transnationalism: Defining and Problematizing Terms .......... 13 Methodologies ................................................................................................................. 17 Chapter Overview ............................................................................................................ 20 Chapter 1. South ......................................................................................................... 23 Sur | South ....................................................................................................................... 25 Memorias de los Jazmines | Memories of Jasmine Flowers ........................................... 33 En el Pais de Nomeacuerdo | In the Country of I Don’t Remember ................................ 36 Sobre lo Cotidiano | On the Quotidian ............................................................................. 40 Obligaciones | Obligations ............................................................................................... 44 Mi Casa es La Pista de Baile | My Home is the Dance Floor .......................................... 48 Volviendo | Returning ...................................................................................................... 53 Chapter 2. Walking ..................................................................................................... 56 Cultural Studies and Ethnography ................................................................................... 58 Sensory Ethnography, Performance Studies & Geography ...........................................

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