Reframing Latin America: A Cultural Theory Reading ... - BGSU Blogs

148 reframing latin america
and Africa. Latin American nations, therefore, have much in common with
the United States and Canada. All of them were colonies of Europe that
broke away in the late eighteenth or early nineteenth centuries to form
independent republics based largely on Enlightenment principles. Latin
America, however, remains distinct from its northern neighbors by having
failed to achieve their unique levels of social development and economic
growth. Thus, it is caught in a paradox: it is neither old nor new, and is at
once Western and underdeveloped.
As a result, its “grand historical narratives,” which are sort of Genesis
stories, differentiate Latin America from the United States, Canada, and
Europe. Martin sees these narratives as so widely accepted that they have
become, as he calls them, “great cultural myths” or “foundational myths”
that are essentially unbending in their constancy.
Martin takes the United States as the primary representative of the developed
Western world. The narrative of its identity is based upon notions
of its sustained economic development and its status as a world power. According
to the myth, although the United States is a vast and diverse land
populated by peoples from all over the world, it has accomplished the rare
and difficult task of unifying its sense of self. In short, it has become “singular.”
The myth claims that, with notable but rare exceptions, the United
States does not fi ght against itself, and its inhabitants have a collective understanding
of the need to work together in order to achieve great things.
The narrative does not clarify which came fi rst, the singularity of identity
or economic development. They are mutually reinforcing elements that
collectively pushed the United States into its position of supremacy.
The narrative for Latin America revolves around duality, giving it a sort
of split personality. Its myth portrays it as lacking a sense of unity or common
purpose. It is broken up into many nations, and many of them are
too small and too poor to compete in the international arena. Within each
of them, people remain divided, lacking a sense of wholeness. This duality
is often referred to as mestizaje, an expression meant to describe Latin
America as an unresolved mixing of European (Spanish) and American (Indian)
identities. Unable to resolve this dichotomy, Latin Americans at once
embrace and reject each identity, inevitably leaving them bogged down in
uncertainty and confusion.
Martin refers to these narratives as myths, so it might seem that he considers
them to be discursive constructs, making his approach semiotic. If
that were the case, he would fi rst describe the myths in detail and then
expose the falsifi ed essentialisms upon which they are based. And Martin
appears to adopt this approach in challenging the idea of U.S. singularity.