Los retos de la diferencia: Los actores de la multiculturalidad entre México y Colombia

Abstract

Difference and identity are the organizing issues in this book, the product of an odd research project to which several institutions in Mexico, Colombia, and France contributed. The book includes 17 articles organized in five parts. The topics under which this uneven collection is grouped include the politics of difference, alterity, and belonging. These show the specific approaches to the basic questions of construction of identity and alterity: How is identity constructed? What are the key elements that form the features of identity? What is alterity? The comparative perspective takes examples from both Colombia and Mexico and from a variety of regions and social actors.The goal of the book is to expand the conceptual framework of identity construction. It is an admirable goal, yet the book becomes excessively jargony and the specific cases are so microscopically detailed that general overall conclusions become hard to make. Furthermore, the concept of alterity is constructed from the traditional perspective of established discourse, mostly in the words of white European male academics, notably Fredrik Barth, whose work on ethnic groups is used as the cornerstone of this work (p. 16). However, there are plenty of case studies on indigenous populations, specific minority ethnicities, and social movements. The variety of authors, places, and perspectives adds to the scope of the studies.All the contributors try to show how historical and social structures of domination are constructed. However, the historical perspective is extremely short; hardly any case study looks before the 1980s at the earliest. Within this immediate perspective, the value of the book lies in its contribution in illuminating the mechanics and interconnections of identity studies and religious studies, another key issue in this collection.The concept of difference receives special mention in reference to indigenous societies and their struggles in Veracruz, Mexico; Nariño, Colombia; the Mexican Huasteca; and Quiyanamo, Colombia, among other locations. There are chapters on forms of social struggle among Indian populations in the Mexican and Colombian Pacific. In contrast to the very specific and short-term studies of most chapters, Kali Argyriadis and Renée de la Torre attempt to trace both Aztec and Yoruba rituals in contemporary Santería in Havana, Veracruz, and Guadalajara. Without mentioning any specific case study, their article focuses mostly on the growing network of practitioners and the shift of leadership positions from Cuban to African dominance.Students in Mexico and the United States would have a hard time using this book due to its broad focus, jargony language, and lack of a general bibliography. However, specialists on the topic of indigenous identity might find it useful and worth reading.