Abstract
Intra-Latina/o/x dynamics are fundamental to the negotiation of Latina/o/x identity, especially as Latina/o/xs communities in US cities become increasingly diverse. How Latina/o/xs try to differentiate themselves from one another is a salient, but often overlooked, part of their lived experiences. Based on ethnographic fieldwork in Philadelphia, this article explores articulations of Colombianidades through the framework of assertions of differentiation, which centers how Colombiana/o/xs express that their experiences, perspectives, and characteristics are distinct and inherently different from those of other Latina/o/xs. I explore assertions of differentiation to reveal how conceptions of race are produced and enacted across transnational, national and local scales as they are anchored within material conditions and scarce resources. I argue that the production and negotiation of difference rework Latin American geopolitics, US-Colombia relations, local racial dynamics of Philadelphia, and US and Latin American racial ideologies, as Colombiana/o/xs attempt to avoid being positioned at the bottom of the racial hierarchy.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
Similar content being viewed by others
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2023 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Garbow, D.R. (2023). Chapter 5: Asserting difference: Racialized expressions of Colombianidades in Philadelphia. In: Rincón, L., Londoño, J., Harford Vargas, J., Cepeda, M.E. (eds) Reimagining US Colombianidades: Transnational subjectivities, cultural expressions, and political contestations. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-21784-5_5
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-21784-5_5
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-031-21783-8
Online ISBN: 978-3-031-21784-5
eBook Packages: Literature, Cultural and Media StudiesLiterature, Cultural and Media Studies (R0)