Identities on the Periphery: Mestizaje in the Lowlands of South America

Abstract

Identity in Latin America is addressed most commonly with a specific focus on the organizing framework and ideology of mestizaje. This paper examines two distinct Latin American identities that exist on the margins of the dominant framework for understanding identity in Latin America. Scholarly work dealing with mestizaje emphasizes Indian-White polarities while also highlighting the ambiguities inherent in the mestizo identity. Based on ethnographic fieldwork conducted in coastal Ecuador and Amazonian Peru, this article explores the similarities between montubio and ribereño identities. This article emphasizes the place-based nature of these unique identities while at the same time examining economic practice as fundamental to both montubio and ribereño cultural identities. Additionally, this article examines the shifting meanings associated with each identity while suggesting that montubio and ribereño identities can be viewed as undergoing parallel processes with regard to the nation-state and the dominant ideology of mestizaje.