Cultures of the City: Mediating Identities in Urban Latin/o America (Pitt Latin American Series)

Cultures of the City explores the cultural mediation of relationships between people and urban spaces in Latin/o America and how these mediations shape the identities of cities and their residents. Addressing a broad spectrum of phenomena and disciplinary approaches, the contributors to this volume analyze lived urban experiences and their symbolic representation in cultural texts. Individual chapters explore Havana in popular music; Mexico City in art; Buenos Aires, Recife, and Salvador in film; and Asuncion and Buenos Aires in literature. Others focus on particular events, conditions, and practices of urban life including the Havana book fair, mass transit in Bogotá, the restaurant industry in Los Angeles, the media in Detroit, Andean festivals in Lima, and the photographic record of a visit by members of the Zapatista Liberation Army to Mexico City. The contributors examine identity and the sense of place and belonging that connect people to urban environments, relating these to considerations of ethnicity, social and economic class, gender, everyday life, and cultural practices. They also consider history and memory and the making of places through the iterative performance of social practices. As such, places are works in progress, a condition that is particularly evident in contemporary Latin/o American cities where the opposition between local and global influences is a prominent facet of daily life. These core issues are theorized further in an afterword by Abril Trigo, who takes the chapters as a point of departure for a discussion of the dialectics of identity in the Latin/o American global city. This Collection Creates A New Kind Of Urban Dialogue Between The Social Sciences And The Humanities By Transgressing The Traditional Boundaries Of What Is Considered Urban Or Cultural Studies Within Latin/o America.--setha M. Low. City University Of New York. Original And Stimulating. Cultures Of The City Considers Very Current And Often Unexpected Topics With Creativity And Rigor. This Book Fills Significant Gaps In The Field Of Urban Cultural Studies As It Examines The City From Both Humanistic And Social Science Perspectives.--marcy E. Schwartz. Rutgers University. Cultures Of The City Explores The Cultural Mediations Of Relationships Between People And Urban Spaces In Latin/o America And How These Shape The Identities Of Cities And Their Residents. The Contributors To This Volume Examine Identity And The Sense Of Place And Belonging That Connect People To Urban Environments, Relating These To Considerations Of Ethnicity, Social And Economic Class, Gender, Everyday Life, And Cultural Practices. They Also Consider History And Memory And The Making Of Places Through The Iterative Performance Of Social Practices. As Such, Places Are Works In Progress, A Condition That Is Particularly Evident In Contemporary Latin/o American Cities Where The Opposition Between Local And Global Influences Is A Prominent Facet Of Daily Life. These Core Issues Are Theorized Further In An Afterword By Abril Trigo, Who Takes The Preceding Chapters As A Point Of Departure For A Discussion Of The Dialectics Of Identity In The Latin/o American Global City. --book Jacket. Havana In The Nueva Trova Repertoire Of Gerardo Alfonso / Robin Moore -- Last Snapshots/take 2 : Personal And Collective Shipwrecks In Buenos Aires / Geoffrey Kantaris -- Buenos Aires And The Literary Construction Of Urban Space / Richard Young -- Body Art And The Remaking Of Mexico City / Anny Brooksbank-jones -- Feasting On Latina/o Labor In Multicultural Los Angeles / Rodolfo D. Torres And Juan R. Buriel -- Mediating The Public Sphere In Latina/o Detroit : Heart And Margin Of An Embattled Metropolis / Catherine L. Benamou -- Textual Revisions Of Identity : Nostalgia And Modernity In Asunción / Amanda Holmes -- Northeastern Images : Recife And Salvador In Contemporary Brazilian Cinema / Angela Prysthon -- Performing Citizenship : Migration, Andean Festivals, And Public Spaces In Lima / Gisela Cánepa -- The Transmilenio Experience : Mass Transit In Bogotá And National Urban Identity / Hector Fernández L'hoeste -- The Feria Del Libro And The Ritualization Of Cultural Belonging In Havana / Antoni Kapcia And Par Kumaraswami -- Zapatistas In Mexico City And The Performance Of Ethnic Citizenship / Andrea Noble -- Afterword : The Dialectics Of Identity In The Latin/o American Global City / Abril Trigo. Edited By Richard Young And Amanda Holmes. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Cultures of the City explores the cultural mediation of relationships between people and urban spaces in Latin/o America and how these mediations shape the identities of cities and their residents. Addressing a broad spectrum of phenomena and disciplinary approaches, the contributors to this volume analyze lived urban experiences and their symbolic representation in cultural texts. Individual chapters explore Havana in popular music; Mexico City in art; Buenos Aires, Recife, and Salvador in film; and Asuncion and Buenos Aires in literature. Others focus on particular events, conditions, and practices of urban life including the Havana book fair, mass transit in Bogota, the restaurant industry in Los Angeles, the media in Detroit, Andean festivals in Lima, and the photographic record of a visit by members of the Zapatista Liberation Army to Mexico City. The contributors examine identity and the sense of place and belonging that connect people to urban environments, relating these to considerations of ethnicity, social and economic class, gender, everyday life, and cultural practices. They also consider history and memory and the making of places through the iterative performance of social practices. As such, places are works in progress, a condition that is particularly evident in contemporary Latin/o American cities where the opposition between local and global influences is a prominent facet of daily life. These core issues are theorized further in an afterword by Abril Trigo, who takes the chapters as a point of departure for a discussion of the dialectics of identity in the Latin/o American global city.