This OER was co-created by members of the Black Studies Across the Americas project. It presents a history of Peru and Mestizaje to provide an in-depth understanding of the idiosyncrasy of race in Latin America. Feel free to peruse the content below and download it for your use with our Creative Commons license.
Co-Authors:
Catherine Guitian
Keywords:
- Peru
- Afro-Peruvian
- Mestizaje
The History of Pure and Mestizaje
These Google slides take you through summarized key points of the work of Henry Louis Gates with being “Black” in Latin America and Edward Telles and Denia Garcia from Princeton University in understanding the public opinion on what mestizaje is to each individual.
“Black in Latin America”
By Henry Louis Gates
After learning more in-depth about the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade, Henry Louis Gates became intrigued with Afro-descendants, race, and black culture in the Western Hemisphere in comparison to the United States and Canada. This book’s main importance is exploring what it means to be “black” in Latin America. Who is considered “black” in these countries? He states that Peru was the country he was most excited to visit because when you think of Peru, what comes to mind would be the Andes mountains, the city of Machu Picchu, Incas civilization, and not many people know that one of the most famous saints is a black man, St. Martin de Porres, born in Lima in 1579.
“La Casta”
“An 18th-century caste painting with all 16 combinations of New Spain with mestizo in frame #1”
“Mestizaje and Public Opinion in Latin America”
“The first study to analyze public opinion on mestizaje across Latin America. Using nationally representative samples from eight countries, this study found considerable support for mestizaje as a principle of national development and tolerance for intermarriage among the general population.”
