Publication of the afro-latin/american research association (Palara) ISSN 2639-1295 Fall 2018 • Issue 22 doi:10.32855/palara.2018.004 The Representation of Latin@s in Media: A Negation of Blackness Yadira Nieves-Pizarro • Universidad Interamericana de Puerto Rico Abstract The denial of African ancestry in the articulation of Latin@ identity is evident in Latin@ media in the United States. Furthermore, there is limited representation of Afro-Latin@s in current programming even though they claim to appeal to all Latin@s in the US and in Latin America. This trend has its roots in Latin American discourse of mestizaje and reproduces itself in Latin American media content that is exported to the diaspora in the United States. This article reviews the sociological reasons for the invisibility of Afro descendants in Latin America and the Hispanic Caribbean. Finally, this manuscript will account for how this population has been represented in Latin American, Latin@, and US mainstream media. Keywords: Latin@ identity, Latin American television, Latin@ television, Latin@/Afro-Latin@ representation in media he concept Latin@1 has served as a political tool to Latin@ Identity in the United States advance recognition of Latin American immigrant Tgroups in the United States. Nevertheless, United The development of panethnic identities in the United States notions of Latin@ rely on stereotypical shared char- States is a product of US ethnic and racial classification. acteristics such as cultural symbols and language. Moreover, Immigrants from Latin America and the Hispanic Caribbean Latin@s of African descent are invisible from the construc- have been commonly branded as Latin@s. This category tion of the concept, as Black and Latin@ are separate and alludes to individuals from different countries and comprises mutually exclusive categories that challenge the romantic immigrants and several generations of people born in the notion of mestizaje. Likewise, blackness is habitually regarded US, individuals of distinct socio-economic backgrounds as problematic to Latin@ identity creation (Hernández 2003; and those who became part of the nation through territori- Newby & Dowling 2007). al extension such as Puerto Ricans and part of the Mexican The negation of the African element in the Latin@ American population. For instance, Chicanos developed identity is perceived in Latin@ media in the United States. in isolation from the Mexican government and were sub- Television news, talk shows, and telenovelas have limited rep- sequently cut off from the motherland as a result of the resentation of Afro-Latin@s. Television networks such as Mexican-American War in 1848. Telemundo and Univision market an ideal Latin@ identity In that same vein, Puerto Rico did not become a part that transcends nationalities and appeals to Latin@s in the of the US until 1898. The US took over the archipelago as a US and in Latin America (Sommers 1991). This image per- result of the Spanish-American War and has governed it as a petuates the invisibility of Afro-Latin@s and the visibility of colony since then. Through the Jones Act, Congress granted Latin@ whiteness. In this article, I discuss the elements of Puerto Ricans US citizenship in 1917. The ties between the latinidad and the challenges with identity that Afro-Latin@s United States and Puerto Rico, as well as economic problems, face. Furthermore, I briefly consider the representations have promoted migratory waves towards the mainland after of Blacks in Brazilian, Colombian, Peruvian, Puerto Rican, World War II and in the present decade. In general, Puerto Latin@, and United States television. Ricans settled in New York City, Chicago, and recently in Page 29 Page 30 YADIRA NIEVES-PIZARRO Florida (Collazo, Ryan, and Bauman 2010; Motel and Patten primarily identify with their country of origin, the overlap- 2012; Calderon 1992). Puerto Ricans have more freedom ping of latinidad and national origin will vary depending on of mobility between the mainland and their homeland, the context and social interactions (Diaz Mcconnell and which contributes to a strong Puerto Rican ethnic identity Delgado-Romero 2004). For example, if a Latin@ is in a (Rodriguez-Cortez 1990; Cohn, Patten, and Lopez 2014; mainstream professional setting, he or she may identify as Calderon 1992). Latin@, whereas in the company of other Latin@s he or she Regardless of their place of origin, age group or financial will stress his/her national origin of identity, e.g. Venezuelan, status, in the United States, Latin@s embrace this space to Mexican, etc. Indeed, Latin@s will adhere to their own par- build their individual and group identities, and for practical ticular identities before embracing Latin@ panethnici- and emotional purposes (Itzigsohn 2004). Moreover, re- ty (Calderon 1992; Jones-Correa and Leal 1996). In short, searchers conceive Latin@ identity formation as a process. Latin@s may assume one label or the other depending on the In general, common cultural characteristics; recognition as social environment (Diaz Mcconnell and Delgado-Romero Latin@, rather than national-origin-based ethnicity; common 2004; Sommers 1991). For example, in the political arena, political concerns; and increasing contact with Latin@ pop- Puerto Rican and Chicano activist groups in Chicago unite ulations of different ancestries form the foundation of a around collective action coining the term Latin@ although Latin@ identity. Nevertheless, the embracing or rejection they have distinct national identities. A common language of this identity will depend on the individual’s class, race, and an awareness of being different from other social groups nation, religion, gender, sexuality, immigrant status, and gen- enabled political mobilization in response to common struc- eration. Each element assigns different and often contradic- tural conditions in education, housing, and economics. tory meanings to what it is to be a Latin@ (Lavriega Monforti Consequently, panethnic unity among Latin@s is situational 2014; Itzigsohn 2004). Black identity is often made invisible specific (Calderon 1992). in Caribbean and Latin American society, which influences Thus, latinismo in the United States is an “imagined Afro-Latin@s’ self-identification. community”2 that commands deep emotional legitimacy Some scholars who study Latin@ identity underscore (Anderson 2006; Sommers 1991). Jones-Correa (1996) posits the panethnic aspect of this concept. Panethnic groups are a that Latin@ panethnicity is a complex phenomenon as indi- conglomerate of individuals who represent separate nations viduals merge multiple identities in different ways. Latin@ but are bound together by supraethnic attributes, such as groups in the United States are fairly distinct even inter- language and culture (Sommers 1991). Latino identity is nally. Panethnic unity is possible for collective action, but also referred to as latinidad or latinismo (Lavriega Monforti the development of a Latin@ identity in practice is yet to 2014; Sommers 1991). Thus, the use of the Spanish language, be seen (Calderon 1992). Nevertheless, there is a trend of ethnic-racial mixture, political socialization, and immigra- implicit homogenization that denies the national, linguistic, tion are among the core cultural characteristics of Latin@ social, cultural, gendered, racial, religious and political ex- identity (Lavriega Monforti 2014). Nonetheless, Latin@ periences of Latin Americans (Jones-Correa and Leal 1996). groups vary in historical experience, socioeconomic status, As I will discuss later, both Latin@ and mainstream media and identity (Calderon 1992). Upon considering Mexican in the United States portray Latin@ panethnicity as a reality, Americans and Puerto Ricans, the two largest Latin@ groups blending distinct identities into one. in the United States, one has to conclude that their history and place of settlement in the United States makes them two distinct groups (Collazo, Ryan, and Bauman 2010; Motel and Blacks in Latin America, the Hispanic Patten 2012. Caribbean, and the Ideal of Mestizaje This article focuses on the racial aspect of latinidad. Throughout the history of the Hispanic Caribbean and As previously stated, latinidad manifests for instrumen- Latin America, there has been a continuous intermingling tal reasons such as activist action. Political outcomes and of lineages producing hybrid populations of Indigenous, media marketing strategies that unite Hispanics under the Spanish, African, Asian, and European descendants (Blanco flag of Latin@ identity engulf the differences among groups. 1985; Lavriega Monforti 2014). In recognition of this inter- However, the invisibility of certain group characteristics, mixing, the US Census Bureau classifies Latin@s in both such as race, is rooted in a history of colonialism. racial and ethnic terms, leading to the popularity of the A majority of Hispanic Caribbean and Latin Americans term Hispanic. In an effort to distinguish Latin@s from the possess a mixture of Indigenous, European, and African US dichotomized understanding of race, latinidad offers a heritage. After centuries of miscegenation, there are potential unifying factor for Latin@s in the United States numerous racial variants in each nation. Latin American (Lavriega Monforti 2014). countries have been classified as mestizo nations with indige- Conversely, Latin@ identity may coexist with affil- nous and Hispanic heritage. Countries with visible Afro-Latin iations of Latin-American identity. Although Latin@s American