Latin-American Heritage Month – Culture and Resilience

Being or not being Latino/a/x – where does the term come from, do you feel it is part of who you are, or do you dislike the word? Are there many ways of being Latino/a/x?

These are interesting cultural questions that don’t often get considered in the media, but we are also living in a world where the Black Lives Matter Movement has global reach, while in the US Latinos have been shot in the street by ICE agents who were themselves Latinos, as Eladio Bobadilla pointed out recently. Clearly, being Latino covers a wide range of political and cultural issues, which this article will try to bring together with the help of interested people, including writers and filmmakers, to mark the annual celebration of Latin American Heritage.

Latin American Heritage Month started on September 15th and has been celebrated in the US and Canada since it was instituted officially by President Lyndon Johnson in 1968 in line with the Civil Rights programme, previously it was just a week. It will overlap with Black History Month in October, and for Brazilians where the population is majority Black, this is very appropriate.

While there are many festivals in the UK and Europe celebrating Latino culture, Heritage Month has not been widely recognized here, and this connects with the very limited recognition in the UK of Latin-Americans as an ethnic group on Census forms and other official documents – and there is reason to campaign for the practical benefits in terms of access to social services if you belong to a recognized minority as opposed to one that is only visible as an ‘exotic culture’.

And what about music and sport – do you feel more Argentinian because of Lionel Messi; as a Brazilian are you proud of Samba or Baile Funk music?

Do people from some countries in Latin America feel more or less Latino than others or more European? Is identifying as Latino partly a matter of not being Gringo? And why do most Brazilians, and many Spanish and Portuguese people not feel themselves to be Latino? These questions will be examined through a variety of lenses.

The historical roots of the term Latin America

In the early years of independence, Simon Bolivar attempted to forge a confederation of ex-Spanish colonies, but the term Latin American was first used by French diplomats in the mid-19th Century as an attempt to legitimise French imperialism in Mexico.  From the beginning it was defined by a collective identity of Spanish-speaking nations and a growing resistance to the US as the dominant power in the hemisphere. In 1848, after the Mexican-American War, 55% of what was then Mexico became the present-day states of California, Nevada, Utah, New Mexico and Arizona. Imagine what the geopolitical situation would be today if this had not happened. Then after the Spanish-American War in 1898, the US gained control of Puerto Rico and the Philippines – so-named by Philip II of Spain, which completed the process of pushing out the Spanish and overtaking English naval dominance. So, we see that the concept of Latin-America is deeply rooted in a struggle between two hegemonic powers ending with US dominance of the western hemisphere, already expressed in the 1823 Monroe Doctrine. This ‘backyard’ policy was officially ended on its 200th anniversary by John Kelly, but re-instated by Trump. Portugal only gave up its colonies in Africa and Asia in 1975.

The hard power boundaries were created by men through war, but cultural soft power does not follow the same boundaries, there are cross border bonds as well as divisions within countries on the map.

Nancy Gomes, a lecturer at the Universidade Autonomo de Lisboa, who grew up in Venezuela, elaborates: “Simon Bolivar was part of an intellectual elite educated in Paris, follower of Rousseau, he wanted to integrate the new states as a way to stand up to Europe and Spanish influence, but each state wanted to defend their borders and their individuality. Venezuela has many ethnic groups and races, what is its identity? The answer was we are all children of Bolivar, a Bolivarian Republic – until oil was discovered, when we became famous in a different way. But by the 1980s not everyone was getting the benefits, creating social divisions which Chavez exploited- the Chavistas against the rest”.

And in her new book, Venezuela um Pais em Suspensao, she references data collected for the World Values Survey in 2013, which contrasts Venezuela as one of the most racist countries in the world in contrast to other Latin American countries which are generally among the most tolerant.

There is another fissure in Latin-American Identity, making clear that it is not a simple question of geography – Brazilian exceptionalism. In a study of public opinion by the Latin America and the World project in 2016, only 16% of Brazilians said that Latin America was the most important region to pay attention to, compared to 24% for Africa and 14% for Europe, while in the rest of Latin America their own region was favoured by 42%.

Becoming Latino by leaving

Nancy Gomes was born to Portuguese parents in Venezuela, where she lived until she was 22, and considers herself Luso-Venezuelan. She recalls an anecdote by the Mexican writer Jorge Volpi in his book Bolivar’s Nightmare, that he discovered his Latino identity in a nightclub in Spain, where the music and the interactions made him feel more than Mexican.  This kind of recognition of Latino identity, only taking place outside the home continent was recognized by everyone I interviewed.

She says: “These terms are fluid and while Spanish people may prefer the term Hispano-Americano, it is Ibero-Americano, which includes both Spanish and Portuguese speaking countries that has developed an institutional meaning, holding regular conferences since 1991. In contrast ‘Hispano-Americano’ is felt to sound too much like an attempt at Spanish re-branding of their colonies”.

Moving away from academic discussions, Gomes sees the refusal of Spanish and Portuguese people to accept being called Latino/a as related to a perception of poverty and insecurity of immigrant life which they find uncomfortable.

Is being Latino to be anti-Gringo?

The people I spoke with differed on this point. Gomes, speaking historically, agreed that there is this component in Latino identity, while for Jose Luis from Venezuela, who is the Director of Latino Life, it’s not just a question of being ‘America’s backyard’. “Growing up, all you wanted to do was play baseball, because the US was a mythical place where things were better.  It was seen as an ally of Venezuela for many years, but things change in Latin America, where people go from left wing to right wing governments in a matter of years.  Some Caribbean countries are very American because they feel part of that sphere, and in Argentina, where I go quite often there is anti-British sentiment after the war of Las Malvinas, and yet a British band can sell four times more tickets in Buenos Aires than in London.

Maria Luna-Thomas is the founder of Halden Atlas, a London consultancy specialising in inclusive leadership, culture transformation and employee voice.  Her parents are from Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic; she grew up in New Jersey and feels American officially and in many ways:

“It depends on time, place, politics, economics, gender, religion…everything. Venezuelans for example had myriad reactions to the capture of Nicolas Maduro by the US, depending on whether they are in the country, in the UK, or in the USA. And what did this news mean to indigenous Venezuelans? And are indigenous Venezuelans Latinos? There is no universal standard”.

But who is ‘American’ in the Americas?’

Being Latino in the US interacts with being American, and Latinos must interact with Americans, but is the US any more unified than Latin America? In the English language there is no simple term like ‘Estadounidenses’ to refer to inhabitants of the US.

For Brazilian filmmaker Joao Candido Zacharias:

“Since I was a child, it seemed absurd to use ‘American’ for one country in the Americas, when even North America includes Canada. But these words are changeable depending on who uses them and where. ‘Latino’ also means something different in the US than in Mexico, Brazil or Argentina”.

Mexican professor Eladio Bobadilla who teaches at the University of Pittsburgh, accepts the use of the term, while comparing it to the use of ‘Mexican’ to describe people from the United Mexican States.

Black Brazilian actor and filmmaker Luiz Lucas refers to “a concept developed by one of the major Black intellectuals of the Americas, Lélia Gonzalez, which encompasses and acknowledges a significant part of what is often forgotten within this idea of American identity. Lélia refers to the entire continent as “Amefricano/ Amefrican.”

For Monica del Pilar, the Colombian director and editor-in-chief of The Prisma, a bilingual newspaper focusing on immigration issues, it is a matter of conceptual precision and the defence of Latin American identity. Her newspaper does not use the term ‘American’ to refer exclusively to people from the United States.

Everyone I spoke to acknowledges the importance of context, both geographical and social, in determining feelings of Latino identity, and this applies no less to ‘Americans’. Their initial reaction to the Twin Towers attacks was to wave the flag and feel solidarity, but by 2006 this had given way to identities coloured more by partisan politics than by being American, as Time magazine pointed out. Muslims became the biggest target of these reactions, but 30% of the US population is now Spanish-speaking, and the impact on US cultural identity is perhaps expressed collectively in the election of a psychologically unstable president with his MAGA slogans harking back to an imagined past and describing Latinos in insulting language.

Bobadilla comments:

The ensuing “war on terror” undid much of American unity by targeting all minority groups as the desire for vengeance increased”, and he sees contradictory effects of Trump’s attacks on multiculturalism:

“Some Latinos [in the US] who have strong assimilationist impulses or lean conservative align with the American right, welcoming the attacks on multiculturalism and affirmative action. For others, it has renewed their sense of pride in their roots because they understand rising anti-immigrant and anti-Latino attitudes are existential threats and designed to suppress the concerns of the community and to enforce a white supremacist vision of the future that erases decades of civil rights gains”. 

Joao Candido points to “rich Brazilians living in Florida” as examples of those who embrace everything ‘American’.

Monica del Pilar points out that “when Brazilians arrive in London, many begin calling themselves ‘Latino’ to feel more included and protected by a growing diasporic community”.

Maintaining Ibero-American culture abroad: culture and economics

Jose Luis sees culture as Latin America’s best export: “It's like our Trojan horse: people start liking music and then they are into the food and the dancing; a guy finds an Ecuadorian girlfriend and suddenly they're going to the Dominican Republic for a holiday. That's how we are conquering Europe, a reverse colonialism!

“But it's also a conflict for us because music that represent us might not be the best. I don't think Bad Bunny is the best artist in the world, but he's opening doors.

“Music is fundamental to the experience of the immigrant. It's the first thing that you take, that you pass on culturally to your kids. Other people might not get into your language, but they enjoy your music. The Salsa Weekender is a little market all over Europe that they created, although the people who benefit the least are Latin Americans”.

Monica del pilar agrees:

“Popular music and dance are fundamental channels of resistance, memory and social cohesion within Latin identity, particularly in contexts of migration and marginalisation. In Nuyorican communities, salsa became an important social expression, while Mexican-Chicano corridos and Chicano rock have expressed labour struggles and a distinct identity.”

Cesar Gamba runs Sound Latino Radio based in London’s Seven Sisters Market with a team from five Latin American countries and sees music as key to communicating Latino identity.

“One guy does shows in ‘Spanglish’, half of his show in Spanish, half in English. And the people love them because they try to learn Spanish and English”.

But money is a problem: “That's why this year we don't have the Carnival del Pueblo. We only have Latino life in the park. But I think that one is more private”.

Eladio Bobadella, agrees about Latino sports culture in the US:

“There are Latino supporter groups at soccer matches, Hispanic Heritage Month celebrations in baseball stadiums, Mexican flags at football stadiums. Latinos often express and display their ethnic pride there. And on several occasions over the past few years, they protested ICE in their cities and anti-immigrant policies”.

Nancy Gomes acknowledges that links between Portugal and Ibero-American countries have been slow to develop, but some organizations now promoting them are the Casa de America Latina, IPDAL, the Institute for the Promotion and Development of Latin America and the Organization of Ibero-American States for Education, Science, and Culture.

Filmmaker Joao Candido Zacharias sees the relation of Brazil to the rest of South America changing:

“In the development of Mercosul, and there has been a deepening of cultural relations in the continent in recent decades.  I identify very much with Latino culture, I have family in both Brazil and Uruguay, so I say I am both Brazilian and Latino”.

How does Latinidade interact with gender identity?

Luiz Lucas is a founder member of the collective Legitima Defesa a company dedicated to Black theatre, and made the film Migranta, based on the Barcelona stage production which he was also involved in. He describes his experience of joining the diaspora as: “a kind of motor that permeates my body and transforms my relations with identity, belonging and migration. It adds to my sense of dislocation as a Black Queer person who doesn’t belong in the West. This permanent sense of movement leads to a constant questioning, a search for new forms of existence, and it’s the basis for my artistic work”.

This is his personal, internal process, what does he want from his performances? “It will already be sufficient if those who attend will exercise their own subjectivity”.

Being Latino abroad – resisting exploitation

For Jose Luis feeling Latino in London, sharing similar customs creates a “mythical construct we devise in our heads”, and Luiz Lucas says: “We really don't know what Africa is, because Africa for us is like the place that we have to hold onto to keep our blackness alive. It's more conceptual than real”.

But this imagined identity as a migrant from an ethnic minority brings hard practical issues involving immigration documents and finding decent paid work, and migrants are frequently exploited especially when they don’t have papers, sometimes by their own compatriots.

Eladio Bobadilla puts the real situation of undocumented migrants succinctly in his article for Socialist Forum this year:

The dominant narrative assumes that the state’s role is primarily to stop the flow of “illegal” immigration. Conservatives and liberals largely disagree only about the degree and the mechanisms that should be employed: Should enforcement be harsher or more permissive? Should legal immigration be expanded or reduced? … These are important questions, but they obscure a more fundamental reality: migration has never been something the United States has tried to eliminate. It is instead something that the U.S. and global economies necessarily produce, demand, and manage. The roots of mass (unauthorized) migration lie in the nation’s history of capitalist development, globalization, and imperialism dating back to the nineteenth century... Unauthorized migration is not evidence of a broken immigration system; it is one of its defining features… immigration enforcement is less a failed attempt at exclusion and more a remarkably successful regime for governing and disciplining labour.

Researcher Hilary Goodfriend uses the metaphor of ‘recycling’ deportees from the US, in her study of call centres in El Salvador. Deportees who often have no connection with the country at all and are assumed by local people to be gangsters from their shaven heads and accents, are inserted into work where their experience of the US is their unique selling point in El Salvador, because they can talk to customers in the US and be understood. It’s as if the physical person has been exported and their cultural milieu and identity recreated but only in a virtual world and for the benefit of employers: a powerful image of neo-liberal capitalism at work.

The greatest need of the migrant is therefore to organize and be recognized officially, and this is what has been the focus of an NGO in London: CLAUK, which has fought consistently for the recognition of Latin American as an ethnic minority, and six London Boroughs now accept this, which brings important benefits. 

The Prisma has been key to this campaign, and Monica del Pilar explains:

“Recognition brings access to a local budget for the recognized minority, interpreters and bilingual staff in hospitals and schools, health and education campaigns adapted to their needs and legal protection against exploitation and abuse at work, housing and employment policies that address discrimination against Latinos, funding and grants for Hispanic community organisations, and political influence and mandatory consultation”.

The UK situation of migrants – except for those in small boats – is not as brutal as in the US, but the lesson is clear – organization and solidarity, or to use Monica’s chosen word from our title: Resilience, a talent ‘Made in Latin America’.

A shortened version of this article recently appeared here https://latinolife.co.uk/articles/culture-and-resilience-what-being-latino

on 19 Oct 2026.