The Making of Latin London

Salsa Music, Place and Identity

Patria Roman-Velazquez

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2017
• Print ISBN:
  9781840148817
• eBook ISBN:
  9781351886185
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Sociology
• Index: Social Sciences

This book focuses on how Latin American people and cultural practices have moved from one continent to another, and specifically to London. How do Latin Americans experience such a process and what part do different people play in the re-making of Latin identities in the neighbourhoods, parks, bars and dance clubs of London? Through a critical engagement with theories of globalization, the geography of power, cultural identity and the transformation of places, the book explores how the formation of Latin identities is directly related to wider social, economic and political processes. Drawing on the voices of migrant peoples, community activists, shop owners, sports organizers, club owners, dancers, dance teachers, musicians and disc jockeys, the book argues that the micro movements of people - through a shopping mall or across a dance floor in a club - are directly connected to global processes involving the regulated movement of citizens, sounds and images across national boundaries and through cities.

1 Introduction:
Latin American Identities

 

 

Tracing the routes of Latin American cultural practices in London could perhaps start in the Elephant and Castle Shopping Centre with around eight or nine stores, ranging from hair dressers to food shops, owned by Latin Americans, mainly Colombians. A short stroll around the first level of the Shopping Centre might be disconcerting for many, but welcoming for others. Once in the Shopping Centre you may be trapped by the sounds of music coming from the bowers, the many accents of people who stop on their way at La Fogata for lunch or a snack; by the smells of the food, incense and perfumes; and even more by the mixture of people wandering around on a Saturday morning. However, this might not be the starting point for others whose first contact with Latin America in London came from music, dance or food. If this is the case, then it might perhaps start at Bar Tiempo at Islington, in Bar Cuba in High Street Kensington or at Club Tropical las Palmas in Camberwell, where the sounds of Latin music are mixed with the flavours of Spanish, Cuban or Colombian food. Perhaps it started when learning how to dance ‘Sexy Salsa’ with Elder, ‘Energetic Salsa’ with Xiomara or, ‘Cuban Salsa’ with Nelson, ‘el cubanisimo’. This might not be the case for many Latin Americans who are still recovering from long hours of hard work in the stores of Oxford Street during non-shopping hours, or from cleaning houses in the middle class neighbourhoods of Camden, Chelsea or Notting Hill. If the concern is political or academic, then it perhaps starts at the Institute of Latin American Studies, at the Latin American House or at many other solidarity groups. For many ‘others’, ‘we’ can just be ‘bloody foreigners’ in London.

I have opened with this set of impressions to illustrate the variety of meanings and experiences of Latin America in London and to highlight how Latin American identities in London should be understood in relation to how different groups are occupying contrasting positions and how certain cultural practices are positioned through particular power relations. My aim in this book is to consider the details of this process during the 1990s and in doing so I wish to contribute to debates about the re-making of cultural identities across different geographical places. These often complex and complicated processes are dealt with in this book through a detailed explanation that combines theory with description to capture the ways in which Latin Americans and other groups contribute to the making of Latin London.

Focusing on the cultural practices of Latin Americans in London raises questions about the construction of Latin identity in general, partly because the group of people referred to here as Latin Americans are only a small part of the multiple identities that are often regarded through such an all encompassing concept. Latin America not only refers to a vast and varied geographical region, but also to a historical, ideological and geographical construct that has been used to describe a heterogeneous group of people, with different languages, traditions and political systems. As a construct Latin America has undergone many processes of transformation and cannot be reduced to one meaning. Instead, the idea of Latin America refers to identities characterised by cultural variety, diversity and change. Thus, there are complexities and problems when trying to define a specific group of people as Latin Americans.

There have been different discourses through which this sense of identity has been constructed throughout history. Two related ways of thinking about Latin America can be identified: one is a political and ideological construct, the other an emerging cultural identity. Early attempts to define Latin America as a political entity can be traced back to the independence movements of the region. Attempts to organise the vast and varied region according to the idea of one political and economic continental confederation can be dated to the early nineteenth century, mostly articulated through Simón Bolivar’s ideas of independence from European metropolises. This idea of Latin American unity was further elaborated at the turn of the twentieth century, just after the Spanish American War of 1898, when the United States was perceived as another threat to the region.

The term Latin America also came to be associated with an emerging identity that was created as a result of European colonisation. Identifying a Latin American unity through a sense of shared cultural identity was accentuated in the literature and art of intellectual circles who shared a common view with their political rulers. In attempts to define a Latin American identity the European background (or Hispanic as was the case with the Spanish colonial territories) was privileged whilst black and indigenous populations were neglected, and often referred to in a pejorative way and as an isolated and minor group with lesser impact on the formation of a Latin American identity.

Heterogeneous cultural identities can be identified early on in the formation of Latin American societies. Nevertheless, at different moments one group or point of view was privileged over another. There have also been moments when indigenous people and crafts have been idealised, with traditional or folkloric practices thought of and written of as an unchanging authentic cultural identity remaining static throughout history. With the rise of the institutions of the nation-state, the indigenous cultural heritage was incorporated into new national discourses to emphasise the idea of unity through a shared sense of cultural identity. In this sense some nation-states, in the interest of maintaining hegemony, promoted the notion of an authentic, pure and homogeneous identity (Martín Barbero, 1986, 1992).

However, this version of national identity has changed as cultural identity in Latin America has come to be explained in terms of an internal hybridity and in relation to external influences, such as the impact of international forms of communication and the increasing tendency towards ‘globalising’ or internationally connected economies and social processes (Ulloa Sanmiguel, 1992a). The issue of multiplicity and hybridity has also been stressed by those writers who seek to explain and understand the development of social differences within and across Latin American societies (Brunner, 1987; García Canclini, 1987).

In recent years an outburst of sociological work, literature, art, museum exhibitions and some individual governments have recognised the presence and have acknowledged the impact of African slavery on the history of Latin Americans. Also, the practices and skills of indigenous populations have been reassessed and no longer necessarily seen as authentic ‘crafts’ or aspects of a natural or static culture, but as a changing contribution to contemporary cultural practices. Scholars have also addressed how the process of colonisation developed with different levels of intensity and was expressed differently in each country. These efforts can be seen as attempts to include those groups that were excluded from discussions about cultural identity in previous literature, art forms and political decisions.

Ideas about ethnicity have played an important part in the debate about cultural identity in Latin America, as has political mobilisation based on class and popular appeals to ‘the people’. Equally important are questions of gender, particularly women’s role in constructing a Latin American identity through public demonstrations and political activity (Radcliffe, 1993). The women’s movement in Latin America has not only contributed to a sense of cultural identity but posed a challenge to the dominant relationships through which Latin American societies have been formed; principally questioning dominant ideas about the family, sexuality, gender roles, Catholic religion and politics (Cubitt, 1988).

Thus, when thinking about Latin American cultural practices in London it is important to bear in mind that there are varied groups of Latin Americans from different countries, regions and cities, and drawn from a diversity of ethnic, social and economic backgrounds. In highlighting the complexities and diversities embedded in such a term I wish to acknowledge that the group of people referred to in this book are those for whom participating at specific cultural practices in London was part of the way in which they experienced a sense of Latin American identity.

This book is, thus, concerned with the making of Latin American cultural identities in London, with particular attention paid to those activities that are related to salsa music clubs. Salsa is the name given to describe a specific musical practice that was originally associated with populations of Puerto Ricans and Cubans in New York City. As a result of the process of communication, initially between Cuba, Puerto Rico and New York and later with other Central and South American countries such as Panama, Venezuela and Colombia, salsa soon became associated with a pan-Latin identity. Subsequently salsa has become part of the visible presence of Latin American cultural practices in many countries around the world such as France, Germany, Holland, Ireland, Japan, Norway, Spain and Switzerland among others.

Focusing on salsa, as a ‘dislocated’ cultural practice usually associated with Latin Americans, has allowed me to raise questions about the movement of Latin Americans to London, their relationship to music and the activities and practices which contribute to the making of Latin London. This is not to say that salsa and the presence of Latin Americans in London directly correspond in a straight forward way, but that these are related. In this sense, then, Latin Americans do not simply move to London carrying a unified culture but attempt to construct, within the local circumstances and geography, an environment that provides a sense of identification. In the same way, salsa is not simply ‘flowing’ across space and reaching the entire world to the same degree but moving in specific ways and undergoing particular processes of transformation.

My aim in this book is to show that understanding Latin identity across salsa clubs cannot solely be understood through a focus on the clubs alone but by adopting an approach which takes in to consideration macro as well as micro elements. This book is therefore an attempt to develop three different dimensions of analysis, as a way of understanding the movement of cultural practices around the world and the complexities and dynamics involved when analysing Latin identity construction outside of the geographical boundaries of Latin America.

The first dimension of analysis, that of the nation-state is discussed in Chapter Three in relation to Britain’s immigration laws and how these affect the movement of Latin Americans into England and across London. I stress the importance of the nation-state in regulating national boundaries through immigration laws, and how these have a direct impact on people’s rights, visibility, movement and strategies. This leads into Chapter Four where I discuss how places are constructed to communicate a Latin identity. In focusing on the Elephant and Castle Shopping Centre and Clapham Common I explain how Latin Americans are transforming and participating at these sites as an active part of establishing new social relationships with places.

Chapter Five goes further in this aspect by discussing how particular Latin identities are constructed and communicated through salsa music clubs in London. I also explain the routes and routines being created by dancers, and how these spatial practices occur within the context of the wider power relations I have discussed prior to this in Chapter Three. Specifically, I concentrate on those issues that affect the intersection or co-presence and exclusion of those who participate in salsa music clubs. This I explore in relation to the geographical distribution of the clubs, the routes and routines being created by participants, the monitoring of licensing authorities and policies and practices of club owners and promoters. From this I suggest that the degree of participation in the making of Latin identities in London has to be understood in relation to these ongoing practices and relations of power across and between different salsa music clubs in London.

In Chapter Six I move to the third dimension and explore how the body becomes important for the making of Latin identities. This is discussed through the narratives of dance teachers, dancers and musicians. The body as another dimension of analysis in the construction of Latin identities raises questions about a micro-politics that relates to ethnicity, gender and sexuality.

As well as providing a critique of theoretical debates about globalisation processes, the research enables me to indicate three interrelated dimensions of analysis at which the making of Latin cultural identities in London can be approached: That of nation and migration, the identity of places and the performing body. I argue that the nation-state and the dancing body are related as Latin cultural identities are made and remade in London. This approach also allows for exploring the interrelations between the different dimensions of analysis, and thus is useful for understanding how Latin identities in salsa clubs are not confined to an event, but constituted out of wider social relations.

Hence, in this book Latin places are approached, not as contained and bounded sites for social interaction, but in relation to broader spatial practices and power relations which play an important part in the construction and embodiment of particular Latin identities. In order to pursue this I locate my initial discussion within debates about globalisation. This allows for understanding the processes through which cultural practices come to be present in a particular place-time in London. Within this context I argue that clubs need to be understood as part of wider social processes which I relate to the movement of people and cultural practices into London. These processes are constituted out of different power relations that contribute to the identity of a place at a particular moment. Thus, places here are studied not as the context in which events occur, but as constituted out of power relations and directly related to the formation of cultural identities. Hence, debates about globalisation processes are interrogated in this book by focusing on the relationship between cultural identities and places.

The chapters in this book are informed by ethnographic research as much as by theory. Although a large part of the research was carried out in salsa music clubs, I also visited shops owned by Latin Americans, obtained information about the different organisations providing advice and services to Latin Americans and interviewed or talked to people who were directly or indirectly involved in organising activities for the different groups of Latin Americans in London. I also participated at other activities organised by Latin Americans, such as the Colombian Independence celebration and the Clapham Common football league. I was mainly discovering and visiting places that would connect me to Latin American cultural practices and learning about the lives and activities of Latin Americans in London. This approach was combined with interviews with club owners, promoters, disc jockeys, musicians and dancers.

In discussing Latin identities this book is also embedded with my sense of identities as both Latin American and Caribbean. Having grown up mainly in Puerto Rico, and for periods in the United States, I participated in salsa clubs and other cultural activities organised by Latin Americans in London with some knowledge, preconceptions and presumptions, with similar cultural knowledge and also with the personal experience of migration. Thus, as a Puerto Rican who completed research on Latin American identities in London issues of authority and knowledge can not be underestimated, as these present a potential dichotomy between identification and ethnographic authority. Identifying as a Puerto Rican had implications for the practice of fieldwork and of writing this account. First, because my knowledge about salsa was either overestimated, tested or taken for granted by participants. Second, because the way in which an ethnographer positions her or himself in the writing has implications for the constitution of ethnographic authority. In presenting myself as both Latin American and Puerto Rican I run the risk of implying that I was a complete insider (which was not the case) and that this provides me with an authoritative voice. However, this has another side to it, by claiming that I was not an insider and that I had to become one I run the risk of assuming a naive position as if my prior knowledge and views were not affecting the research or the ethnographic writing. Thus, my sense of identity and identification with Latin Americans can not be separated from my participation and my account of the making of Latin London.

2 Globalisation, Power-Geometry and Cultural Identities

Before I focus in detail on the practices of Latin Americans in specific parts of London, and present material drawn from ethnographic research, I wish to contextualise my extended argument by engaging with those theorists who have address the movement of people and things across the world. Hence, I shall approach the issue of Latin identities in London through an engagement with debates about globalisation, and then specifically through Doreen Massey’s (1993b) conceptualisation of power-geometry and Stuart Hall’s (1991a, 1991b) theory of cultural identities. Both writers critically engage with and extend theories of globalisation. In this chapter I will indicate how the idea of power-geometry provides a critique of theories of globalisation by emphasising the unequal dynamics of the time-space process which globalisation discourses attempt to describe. I will also draw on Hall’s concept of identity as involving a constant process of change and transformation as a challenge to globalisation theories which assume that culture ‘flows’ across the world. Cultural forms (in this case Latin American) do not simply flow and then appear as the same in different places around the world. Instead, as the ‘global’ movements (of people, images and things) takes place so new identities are made, remade and transformed in new places (Hall, 1991a, 1991b). I will argue that it is important to understand how these new Latin American identities in London are constituted out of, and in relation to, different and ongoing time-space processes and relations of power. I will focus on authors who have contributed to a critical understanding of the dynamics of time-space processes and cultural identity as a way of framing the different dimensions of analysis through which I approach Latin identities in this book. My starting point is with theories of globalisation.

Globalisation and Local Identities

Globalisation, as it initially developed in academic discussions, was introduced as an idea suggesting that the world was moving towards a united space which was increasingly homogeneous but with complexities and dynamics permitting heterogeneity. In broad terms, the globalisation process debates were characterised by two distinctive positions. On one hand a position that privileged a more ‘global’ or macro approach and which posited globalisation as a unified way of looking at the world, and on the other hand a more ‘local’ or micro approach that favoured the world as a heterogeneous space and therefore considered different ways of studying localities and specific cultural

Much research on globalisation has been concerned with describing and mapping out the spans and speed at which technological, environmental, political and economic changes have been occurring, with specific attention paid to multinational corporations (Harvey, 1989), media technologies (Robertson, 1992), environmental organisations (Dyer, 1993) and the world-economy and world-system (Wallerstein, 1991). The processes often associated with globalisation are not new, but it is the speed and complexities of such movements that discussions about globalisation as a process seek to und...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• Acknowledgements
• 1 Introduction: Latin American Identities
• 2 Globalisation, Power-Geometry and Cultural Identities
• 3 Latin Americans and British Immigration Policies
• 4 Latin Americans in London: Routes Through the City
• 5 Travelling with Salsa: The Making of a Music Scene
• 6 The Embodiment of Salsa and Latin Identities
• 7 The Making of Latin London: Concluding Remarks
• Bibliography
• Index