Before attempting to define it, it is necessary to recognise that Latin America is an entirely subjective notion. Problems arise when Latin America is defined solely geographically, because the identity of Latin America lies in deeper historical roots. For example, Mexico could be classified as North American by geographers; however, historians believe it to have inherently Latin American roots. Furthermore, Puerto Rico is politically connected to U.S.A - being a commonwealth of the U.S. - but considering its historical and cultural roots, it is also considered part of Latin America (Halloway 2-3).
Latin America is, by no means, a homogenous community; however, a sense of communal identity exists between the countries which call themselves 'Latin American.' the shared experiences of Latin American nations are correspondingly undeniable, leading to the formation of a fluid and motile Latin American identity.
A myriad of factors come together to form this identity. Historical, political, economic and cultural constructs are extremely relevant in forming this identity, and thus, being able to answer the question of what Latin America is. The following will discuss all these factors in order to allow us to be able to gauge what it means when we say 'Latin America'.
Historical and Political Identity
The identity of Latin America, which is invariably linked to the way we define the community, is rendered through unity among the individual nations which make up Latin America. One primary factor which plays a vital role in establishing Latin American identity is a shared history of colonialism and its interplay with politics. Itzigsohn explains that "historical constructions are often experienced as primordial elements of collective life" (3), reflecting on the fact that the shared history of nations acts as a uniting factor for all communities, including Latin America.
Amongst the defining characteristics widely associated with Latin America, colonisation stands as a principal one. Geographically speaking, French Guiana, Suriname, Guyana and Belize (conquered by the French, Dutch and British) should be included in Latin America. However, the reason they are not widely recognised as such is because their histories coincide more with the non-Spanish Caribbean islands than they do with Latin America. Likewise, nations such as Jamaica and the Lesser Antilles were colonised by Europeans (not including Spain and Portugal) and are not admitted in the usual classification of Latin America. These exclusions gesture towards the non-geographical definition of what Latin America is, seeing them in a historical and political perspective.
In discussing the historical perspective, we refer to when Latin America was originally conquered. The areas of the south-western hemisphere that were formerly claimed by Spain and Portugal, and where the primary national language presently is Spanish or Portuguese, are the ones that seem to be considered inherently Latin American. Indigenous languages are extinct now and many were lost because of colonisation and replaced with the common languages of either Spanish or Portuguese (Johnson). The shared history of colonisation between the Latin American countries has led to the uniting characteristic of a common language, drawing the distinction between Latin America and the rest of the western hemisphere, thus forming an inherently Latin American identity. Clare Mar-Molinero explains that the colonisation of Latin America by Spain and Portugal formed a new multi-national identity which is currently used today in establishing what defines Latin America (Mar-Molinero 1).
Furthermore, political events further deepened this division of Latin America against Europe and North America. The Cold War invited an onset of revolutions within the Latin American nations, one of the most significant being the Cuban Revolution. Dominiguez explains that the Cuban foreign policy as a result of the revolution defined the position of Latin Americans on the West (51). The West and Cuba "have placed themselves on the opposite sides of almost every...issue" (Bernell 65), even today. The Council of Foreign Relations states that Raul and Fidel Castro have criticized the Obama administration and accused the United States of "giving new breath to open an undercover subversion against Cuba" (Hanson), exhibiting the opposition that still exists between the nations. Along with Cuba, many other uprisings and revolutions in Latin American countries against the Western elite ensued during the 20th Century as a result of colonisation's depriving effects. The outcome of polarisation between the two worlds emphasises the distinction between what establishes Latin America as distinguished from the rest of the world, as its own identity.
These political phenomena - resultant of shared colonial histories - have had the effect of introducing commonalities between the southern American nations, henceforth uniting them into what we refer to as 'Latin America.'
Economic Identity
Stemming from colonisation, the notions of underdevelopment and dependency in Latin America further shaped the way Latin America is seen today.
During the post-colonialist era, the term 'America' was given to the western hemisphere, including both North and South America, as we know them today. However, in modern times, 'America' is used instead in reference to the Northern area of the continent. The evident segregation of North and South America, which historically came under the same name, reflects the idea that the southern nations are defined by something other than mere geography. Economic differences and dependencies are a major contributing factor in this notion.
The underdevelopment of Latin America spawns from its dependence on other more developed countries. Its colonisation led to the reliance of the economic industries on other nations. It has been asserted that "colonialism not only deprives a society of its freedom and its wealth, but of its very character, leaving its people intellectually and morally disoriented" (Miguel). Galeano is in agreement with this, providing the example of how colonisers seized gold and silver resources in large quantities during the post-colonialist era (25). Even in the Latin Americans' earliest collective memory of colonisation, they were suppressed for their resources, hence, forming a sense of identity consistent with its overhauled economy. The basic resources of Latin America came from factories owned by the European elite, with Galeano expressing this phenomenon as "Spain owned the cow, others drank the milk" (33). This deprivation led to Latin America having to rely on other countries in order to survive, and led to mono-economies heavily tied to the imperial centres of the world for the sale of their commodities, a dependency on them for new technologies and European elites in control of the nations' economy. With most of Mexico's corn and grain industry being controlled by the elite (Challu), the economy still remains, inadvertently, in the hands of the more developed northern countries. Mexico has been included in North American economic agreements (eg. NAFTA), as well as geographically being closer to North America than the south - but it still remains inherently part of the Latin American community partly due to this reason. Protests in Argentina emerged in response to a "neo-liberal economic policy which may have been experienced as reinforcing poverty and social inequality" (Humphrey and Valverde 15). This exhibits how the poor made up most of the populations of the nations of Latin America, and thus, the majority of Latinos resented the Western elites who controlled the economy and incited social inequality as well as poverty. A sense of identity developed amongst the downtrodden masses by positioning themselves against the West.
The division of America into "industrial, advanced or 'central' countries and underdeveloped, backward or 'peripheral' countries" (Valenzuela and Valenzuela 544) has resulted in separate identities within the same continent. Itzigsohn explains that "identity is constructed around norms" (3), and the vulnerability of Latin America in this economic sense serves to emphasise the distinction between the nations of Northern America and Latin America.
This distinction forms the identity of what distinguishes Latin America from other nations of the continent, and thus, factors into what defines Latin America.
Cultural Identity
The distinct culture of Latin America is one of the most pronounced characteristics of its definition. More than anything else, the difference which identifies Latin America from the rest of America is the patent culture of the area. Once again, geography plays very little role in determining what defines Latin America, focusing more on the characteristics of the demographic of the area. Anderson implies that implies that "'true' communities exist when they can be...juxtaposed to nations" (7).
Literature
Although much of the ancestry of the Latin American demographic is Spanish or Portuguese, Latin American literature reflects its own culture based on the trajectory of its history. For instance, Campos remarks that, "late twentieth-century writers animate figures omitted by colonial writings" (15). Latin American authors created a Latin American identity through literature in which they could defame the Spanish colonial rule and commemorate national identity. Fernando Aínsa believes that, "the genuine roots of identity are preserved in the hidden interior of Latin American literature and in the archaic past that is remembered with nostalgia" (2).
'The Continuity of Parks' reflects the idea that the fusion of fantasy and reality expands the political and cultural prospects and envisages alternatives to what really is, instead of consenting to the status quo. There are also other works which were a comment or response the post-colonial dictatorships and anti-Western movements throughout Latin America such as 'El Señor Presidente' (1946) and 'El recurso del método' (1974).
Cinema
In a similar line of thought, Latin American cinema reflects its dedication to self-definition. Dennison and Shaw express how cinema allows us to perceive a country's sense of self (180). Latin American cinema, in its simplest sense, would refer to any movies that come from the Latin American regions. However, the desire for national identity is a crucial component of Latin American films (Dennison and Shaw 180) during a period of declining diversity and an external compulsion to westernise. Whilst Latin American films are extremely diverse, Alvaray observes that Latin America is a united continent, and this unity is spawned of "part of a political consciousness or the need to document injustices and inequalities overriding Latin American countries" (57).
Music
Identity is a form of exclusivist thought - as the formation of an identity distinguishes one subject from others - and Latin music, being extremely recognisable, aids in the formation of Latin American identity. There are many songs that emphasise the identity of Latin America, such as the song 'Por Que No Se Van' by the band Los Prisioneros, which is dedicated to being proud of the culture.
Through blending West African and Spanish music, the Cubans formed the basis of Latin music genres which are popular today. This resulted in the onset of an exclusive identity for Latin Americans. Bakan explains that "Cuban national identity that arose in the late 1800s in connection with a strong, anti-Spanish rule nationalist movement. They reflected a shift toward a more inclusive notion of what constituted Cuban identity" (244). This consisted of all those nations which shared the collective memory of the Spanish or Portuguese colonisation. This concept of the anti-European movement throughout Latin America was evident through their own genre of music, which to the present day, is identified as 'Latin American'.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it is evident that Latin America is more a mental paradigm than a geographical one. In explaining what Latin America is, it is necessary to understand that individual nations nurture their own cultures and traditions in multifarious ways. However, common grounds of identity such as shared history and politics, economy and underdevelopment, as well as cultural facets of the nations of Latin America, all come together to exhibit certain unity, which forms the identity that we call 'Latin America.'
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