‘Turcos’ and ‘Chinos’ in El Salvador: orientalizing ethno-racialization and the transforming dynamics of national belonging

Abstract

ABSTRACTIn the immediate aftermath of El Salvador’s civil war (1980–1992), there arose fresh attention to questions of national culture, history, and identity. Postwar official textbooks and museums emphasized mestizaje (defined here as the historical mixing of Spanish and Indigenous populations that accompanied the colonial experience). The discourse of mestizaje, based on an idealized vision of an integrated national population, not only eclipsed the ongoing presence of Indigenous populations, but also excluded other groups that make up El Salvador’s diversity. With a focus on Palestinian and Chinese migrations to El Salvador, this article juxtaposes their general absence from early official postwar representations of the nation and their vernacular identification as ‘turcos’ and ‘chinos’ – identifiers that Orientalize and racialize while conferring erroneous ideas about ethnic identity. I report on new civil society and state-led efforts that strive to valorize Indigenous, Palestinian, Chinese, and Afro-descendent identity in El Salvador, arguing that it signals a new dynamic in how national belonging is being defined.