On Latinidad: U.S. Latino Literature and the Construction of Ethnicity (review)

Marta Caminero-Santangelo's thought-provoking second book might be more aptly titled On Latinidades, as it contests the idea of a monolithic, static latinidad. In dialogue with Latino/a Studies scholars like Earl Shorris, Suzanne Oboler, Debra Castillo, and Juan Flores, Caminero-Santangelo enumerates the problems elicited by the umbrella term "Latino/a." She underscores how this label can essentialize and homogenize different groups, obscuring and silencing their distinct histories; and she emphasizes how such obfuscation and suppression are inaccurate, dangerous, and violent. She outlines "common denominators" that allegedly unite these groups under the category "Latino/a" and debunks these, claiming that the notion of a single Hispanic race is absurd, that the idea of a common language—Spanish—makes no sense since not all Latinos/as speak Spanish, and that "national identity has always trumped continental identity in the home countries." (20) Despite the problems of panethnic classification, Caminero-Santangelo comes to "accept and use" the term "Latino/a." (32)

Because the term "has acquired very real meaning and power in U.S. public discourse," Caminero-Santangelo maintains: "those named by the category must […] engage with it somehow." (32) Caminero-Santangelo, drawing on Stephen Cornell, Douglas Hartmann, and Homi Bhabha's writings, argues that the invoked narrative of shared histories of U.S. intervention in Latin America has been pivotal in constructing latinidad. (21) Adopting a social constructionist approach to identity formation, she asserts that the category "Latino/a" can be useful, particularly when engaging in a comparative study of multiple groups subsumed under the label and when discussing differences among these. She, like Felix Padilla, argues that the category can be deployed for strategic purposes, to build coalitions and foster a "sense of 'connectedness.'" (21) The thrust of her argument is that it is important, and indeed ethically responsible, to unite under the umbrella term in the name of solidarity as long as differences are recognized.

Building on Karen Christian's analysis of the construction of latinidad, Caminero-Santangelo focuses on the boundaries of latinidad, exploring who gets included and excluded under said category. (31) She turns to literature, primarily fiction, to see "how Latino/a narratives represent (or do not represent) various collectivities implicit in the social construction of 'Latinoness.'" (32) Marketed as "the first book to address head-on the question of how Latino/a literature wrestles with the pan-ethnic and trans-racial implications of the 'Latino' label," On Latinidad illustrates how works by Rudolfo Anaya, Piri Thomas, Julia Alvarez, Cristina García, Achy Obejas, Ana Castillo, Margarita Engle, Elías Miguel Muñoz, Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez, Ana Menéndez, and Demetria Martínez do not tend to represent a unified pan-latinidad. Instead, these narratives tend to focus on one nationality and/or highlight fissures among Latinos/as to which, Caminero-Santangelo argues, we need to be attuned. Ultimately, Caminero-Santangelo encourages readers to think about latinidad as a hyphenated space between various Latino/a alliances, a space that involves a commitment to acknowledging differences and fighting for solidarity. (217-219)