Jonathan Rodriguez
Prof. Sidibe
FIQWS 10103
9/29/18
Latin Relations in Genetics
Being born into a family who all speak a European language, have different features, and live in completely different cultures can lead to many people identifying differently from each other. These are the variations of latinos, who identify as one singular, yet diverse unit. In this unit, certain sections of Latinos are more dominant than others, such as Puerto Rico having a high African ancestry rate or Argentina having a high European ancestry rate. This difference greatly affects not only their genes but their ideas, culture and nature, and greatly extends the diversity of what people identify as. They say race involves social and cultural identification, because of how someone of certain genetics can identify by also the way they live. I say race only involves a person’s social or cultural identification does not alter their genetics or race in any shape or form.
Genetics tell us the basic building blocks of what make us human, in no way can they tell us what we would like to believe we are. Culture involves having a set of traditions or beliefs, they can change at anytime. An example is a Latina woman, she is Peruvian and has Spanish features. She was raised by a family of a more indigenous ancestry and she can also speak Ketchwa. She identifies more with indigenous since she grew up around them, her genetics will still be solely Spanish. She can freely identify her culture or social status with her family, but it does not affect her race. An example is when in Henry Louis Gates Jr.’s video”The Roots of Division”, Dominicans in the 19th century started calling themselves “Indio” in order to undermine their African ancestry. However, an Afro-Latino Dominican is not Indio. It is only a term given to them, it cannot change their race, such as culture can not dictate the genetics of a human. This matches up with in Peter Wade’s chapter on “Race in Latin America”, in which he mentions that he thinks Latin America prefers to have a democracy based on race. In a way using culture, nature, and ideas in terms of broadening the spectrum of genetics ends up having the reverse effect of its intended outcome. It can lead to Latin people misunderstanding themselves and destroys genetics being seen as a form of solid evidence. Yet it’s intended outcome is to display that two people of the same race can not identify equally if raised in two different worlds. Such as an Afro-Latino and African American, who both share African genes, but have very different cultures and possibly ancestry.
This viewpoint however helps in distinguishing Latinos. In Latin America, there was more mixing of the three races, which gave rise to many groups such as mestizos, mulattos or zambos. Colonization in North America was not as active in race mixing. Which lead to differences in genetics, and because of the contrast of race mixing, the nature, ideas, and culture of the people change or differ as well. Language is a major factor for race, since whatever language a person speaks or identifies with, is part of him/her. An example being in Gates’s video is the followers of the Holy Spirit of the Congo Drums of Villa Mella, who believe that the Holy Spirit gave their ancestors certain African instruments. They fully embrace their African heritage and speak Spanish. The features of their bodies and the language they speak gives them insight into two different races. Which explains how culture and ideas also play a part alongside physiology in molding race. Combining the three races were also beneficial in preventing and minimizing racism. When Wade says how a light-skinned kid with dark hair and dark-skinned one are both seen as from African descent, he then questions if anyone one can fully tell if they are white, black or native. This nullifies racism by the idea that if everyone being mixed with all three or two of the races, since discrimination will not be able to take place.
If there is more mixing, the ethnicity will keep on growing in diversity. Latin America challenges the subject of race and how it should be analyzed and identified as, and complicates what to differentiate race from and what to relate it to. Vasts amount of Latinos have formed different traditions, natures, and ideas based on how they looked, their history, and location. Considering the debate that if social and cultural identification affect race and genetics, it can be looked at as a means in order to further differentiate Latinos based on who they truly identify as. Or, can be looked at as social and cultural identification being separate from genetics, since it’s all mental and can easily change. While genetics is something you identify with permanently, physically, and can not be easily changed.
