Latin-American Studies

Many white Americans do not know enough about Latin America, when they should. Why should they learn more about Latin America and how can they do it Because Americans have economic and political interests vested in this vast region. Latin America is a large trading partner of the U.S. and many of its upheavals and political activities directly affect and undermine U.S. foreign policy (Skidmore and Smith 2005, 3). Let us take a shortened route to learning more about Latin America- by breaking some of the myths that oversimplify its history, culture, geography, and demographics.

Myth 1. The Diaspora always comes from Latin America to the United States and Europe. While many Latin Americans migrate to these developed countries, Diasporas originally happened in this flow- from these Northern countries to the South Americas. In the first place, if we go back to history, the Spanish and the Portuguese invaded Latin America, and from there, they came in steady throngs to live in more temperate climates in Latin America, especially in Argentina (Marston et al. 2002, 356). In addition, six million Italians and Spanish also migrated to Argentina and even some regions such as Patagonia are known for Welsh culture and immigration (Marston et al. 2002, 356). Diasporas existed as a rush toward and, not only out, of Latin America.

Myth 2. Latin Americans are all Hispanics. This is a good example of hasty generalization. Just because some of the Hispanics we know come from Latin America, it does not mean that Latin Americans are all Hispanics. When the Europeans came to Latin America in the 1500s, they radically changed the demographic profile of the region through interracial marriages, cohabitation, and rape (Marston et al. 2002, 355). To get our history right once more, the history of colonization ushered a history of colonial discrimination. It was bad enough that the white Europeans discriminated against the Africans and Indians in Latin America, it was even worse that they created a hierarchy of discrimination among the people they discriminate. It may come as a surprise for some people that the racial mixes had been so diverse that they were given different names mestizo refers to a person of mixed white and American Indian ancestry, mulatto pertains to a Spanish and African mix, and zambo refers to an Indian and African mix (Marston et al. 2002, 355). Even the Spanish discriminated against their own mixed blood and divided Spanish children into peninsulares, or those born in Spain, and criollos, or those born in the Americas and so many Spaniards sent their pregnant wives for their children to be born in Spain and enjoy a more exalted social status in the future (Marston et al. 2002, 355). So no, not all people from Latin America are Hispanics.

Myth 3. The European colonizers decimated the Latin American population with the force of the sword. Indeed, the white colonizers killed many natives, as Bartolom de Las Casas, a sixteenth century Dominican priest, narrated in his writings. In reality, the newcomers did more than that. They brought European diseases with them which broadly killed the natives, who had not developed resistance to these diseases (Marston et al. 2002, 344). European diseases such as smallpox, influenza, measles, and other illnesses are estimated to have killed around 75 percent of the Latin American population (Marston et al. 2002, 344). Hence, the colonizers also decimated colonial Latin America through their diseases.

Myth 4. The only language of Latin Americans is Spanish. This is an inadequate sentence that neglects the existence of diverse indigenous languages. The most widely-used native languages are Quechua in the Andean region, which 13 million people uses, English Creole and French Creole in the Caribbean used by 10 million people, Guaran in Paraguay used by 4.6 million people, Aymara in the Andes used by 2.2 million, Mayan in Guatemala and southern Mexico used by 1.7 million people, and Nahuatl in Mexico used by 1.3 million people (Marston et al. 2002, 363).

Myth 5. Latin America is an easy country to understand. First, Latin America is not a country, as it is composed of twenty-six (26) large and small nations, with diverse political systems that include socialist, democratic, and military dictatorship states (Skidmore and Smith 2005, 3). Its historical conflicts also challenge the idea of simplicity in understanding Latin American history (Knight 1992). Palti (2009) even explored the fight between ideas about history, as revisionist historians sought to write about a different history for Latin America. Second, Latin America is categorized economically as a developing country, with its own nuances, because many of its states are interdependent economies (Skidmore and Smith 2005, 3). Third, Latin America is both young and old. It is young because of its high fertility rate and young population, but it is also old because many countries obtained political independence from Spain and Portugal more than a hundred years ago (Skidmore and Smith 2005, 4). Fourth, Latin Americas development has not followed other developed countries economic models, because of diverse economic, political, social, religious, and cultural conditions (Skidmore and Smith 2005, 7-10). The complexity of its development as a region is difficult to define, especially when those who analyze it come from a Western perspective and do not have a deep understanding of the distinctive histories and cultures of each nation and Latin America, as whole, and how each nation in it relates to one another in economic, political, social, religious, and cultural levels (Langer 2004 Marthoz 2000 Skidmore and Smith 2005, 7-10). Langer (2004) complained that Latin American history is often framed in relation to European history, using its viewpoints and values (394). Latin America, however, is not merely a history acted upon by the West, because in many ways, it has acted upon world history also (Langer 2004, 395).

Myth 5. The Amazons traditional groups are obstacles to development. Now this is a hard sentence to prove or disprove, because of the big words of development and traditional groups. For the sake of definitions, development here will be defined as the sustainable form of development that many traditional groups have long espoused. In some Western films, the Amazons traditional groups are native people who are described a backward and against development (Young 1999). Many scholars mostly agree that traditional groups who conform to conservation of nature cannot possible be obstacles to sustainable development (da Cunha and de Almeida 2000, 325). In this framework, when traditional groups are seen as promoters of low-impact environmental practices and cultural leadership, then they are partners to development (da Cunha and de Almeida 2000, 335).

Myth 6. The Amazon is a beautiful and scary river, period. Though both are true in different levels and understanding, the Amazon is much more than a river Within Brazil, the importance of the Amazon in defining national identity is immeasurable (Young 1999, 24). It is the worlds largest river basin, is almost the same size as the U.S., and encompasses 36 of Brazils territory (Young 1999, 24). For Brazil and even to Latin America, it is a place of dreams, culture, and history.

Latin America evokes both romanticism and fear, depending on personal views and biases about it. For non-Latin Americans, they should put their knowledge about Latin America in the right perspective by understanding that it is not a homogenous single country, but a region that is mixed in history, race, culture, economies, politics, and so much more. To simplify Latin America and its basic institutions, history, and even its future, will not do justice to its rich history and heritage.