WestminsterPapersinCommunicationandCulture2011(UniversityofWestminster,London),Vol.8(1):16.ISSN17446708(Print);17446716(Online)

Editorial:

RevisitingLatinAmericancommunicationandculture

YennuZrateCommunicationandMediaResearchInstituteUniversityofWestminster,UKLatinAmericaisamulticulturalterritorywithalongstandingmosaicofidentitiesand hybrid cultures (GarciaCanclini, 2005) in continuous transformation. Amelting pot of distinctive heterogeneity and difference, from the indigenousancestry blended with European, African, and Asian migrations. Hall (1987)wouldcallitthemoveablefeast,transformedprogressivelybyculturalsystemsaround us, now intensified with globalization. ln recent decades, upheavals insocial, economic, and political processes pervaded the region. Militarydictatorships, civil wars in Guatemala, Nicaragua, and El Salvador, ArgentinasDirtyWar, theongoingarmedconflict inColombiaand,morerecently,Mexicosviolentdrugwartonameafewexampleshaveallhaddevastatingeffects.Theregion is also fraughtwith relentlessness problems of poverty, socio economicinequality,andexclusionthroughout.Theseareissuesthatneedtobeaddressedinrelationtotheregionsintegrationintotheglobaleconomicandpoliticalorder.In recent transitions to democratic and neoliberal regimes in the region,particularlyduringthelastdecade,theshifttoleftwingprogressivegovernmentshas been a distinctive feature of South America that have changed thegeopolitical, social and economicmap. Also, asmigration flows have increasedacross the continent, and European capitals, the boundaries of Latin Americancultures have been redrawn (Waisbord, 1998) and the hybridisation processpushedfurther.Alltheseprocesseshavetransformednotonlysocietiesandeconomies,butalsoculture. Latin American cultural and media research developed from an

Zrate,Editorial

2

epistemological break from the British, European andNorth American CulturalSchool paradigms and a decentralised and dewesternised analysis ofsociocultural and political processes in the region. Given the concern of theunequal communication structures, and cultural imperialism, academics andintellectualsboosted thenewworldorder for informationand communicationMcBride Report (One world, multiple voices, UNESCO) towards nationalcommunicationpolicies.Fromearlyon,communicationscholarsintheregionhada strong connectionwith social change, (Pasquali, 1972;MartinBarbero, 1987;GarcaCanclini,2005;Beltrn,2000;Freire,1970).This traditionrecovered theconcept popular, as an object of enquiry heretofore disregarded, mestizaje,hybrid cultures, and mediations. Given that Cultural Studies are undergoingdiversechangesinalltheregionalscenarios,itremainsahighlycontestedfieldofintellectualdebateandanalysis.TheLatinAmericanculturalandcommunicationacademyiscurrentlyatacrossroad;itneedstoarticulatearobustvoice,aswellastocirculateknowledgeandtoengageindialogueswithotherregions.ThisnewissueofWestminsterPapersofCommunicationandCultureisdedicatedfor the first time to Latin America, and by revisiting the cultural andcommunicationstandpointsundertakenintheregion, itwillhelptoaddresstheongoingquestionsonglobalisation,andculturalhybridisationfromthelocalandregionalcultures.Thepapersexplorearangeofimportantissuesincludingmediademocracy, hybrid identity, media and migration, structure and agency, socialchange,technology,andresistance.Articlesoriginatefromandrefertodifferentcountries:Mexico,Brazil,Argentina,Colombia,Spain,UnitedKingdom,andUnitedStates.Theseconferdiverseapproachesanddifferentperspectivesofthestudyofcultureandareauthoredbydifferentgenerationsofscholars(bothconsolidatedand early career researchers), giving a glimpse of the latest research and newdirectionsoftheresearchagenda.Aninterestingcharacteristicisthatmanyoftheauthorsarean academicdiaspora (bothLatinAmericansworking in theWestand vice versa). Whilst we faced the challenge of a linguistic and academicdiscoursedivide(seePrezLlantadaetal,2010)duringthecallforpapersandincollating the collection, such amixof perspectives shouldhelp tohighlight andadvanceLatinAmericaculturalresearch.

WestminsterPapersinCommunication&Culture8(1)

3

As an introduction to the intellectual development of Latin American culturalstudies, SilvioWaisbord, themedia and politics scholar, and culturalistMnicaSzurmuk jointly analyse the political frameworks of cultural studies (includingtheworkofStuartHallandRaymondWilliams)inordertoexplainhowthestudyof culture in the region has been, somehow, divorced from the political andeconomy enquiry. This, the authors argue, is one of the reasons for a currentimpasse. In order to overcome it, they put forward new research directionsregarding how developments in the region help to understand longstandingquestionsofpower,globalization,conflict,andcollectiveidentities.The second paper by Jess MartinBarbero, a key figure in Latin Americanculturaltradition,analysestherelationshipbetweencultureandtechnology,andthe possible ways to overcome technological determinism. Two processes aredramatically shifting the place of culture in Latin America: the revitalization ofidentity and technological revolution. The latter makes more evident thetechnologicalandsocialdivides;thisinequalityisalsocultural,yetmobilizesthesocial imagination. These new forms of cultural resistance are Barberosmediations revisited in the Twentyfirst Century. The author proposes culturalsustainability and cultural convergence in order to include cultural diversity ofregional and indigenous minorities in the network society; he drafts a map ofstrategicactiontoengagewiththedigitalrevolution.Thereisconsolidatedresearchonthephenomenonofmigrationfromdevelopingnationstotheglobalnorth.Unsurprisingly,thisisakeymultidisciplinarytopicinLatinAmericanstudies,yetmediamigrationenquiryisstilladevelopingfield.Inthisregard,this issuepresentstwoarticlesanalysingmediaandmigrationfromdifferentapproaches.Firstly,fromtheperspectiveofdiasporaandpoliticalnews,Gabriel Moreno evaluates the news coverage of Univisin the largest SpanishlanguagebroadcasterinUnitedStates.HehasconductedacontentanalysisofthenewscastprogrammeNoticieroUnivisin,withreferencetothecontroversialantiillegal immigration law Arizona SB 1070 passed in April 2011 that aims toidentify,prosecuteanddeportillegal immigrants.Thisisapointofdeparturetoinvestigate theconstructionofdiasporicpublic spheresandwhethermediacanmake significant contributions to the empowerment of transnational

Zrate,Editorial

4

communities. This thoughtprovoking article proposes a new regard of theconfigurationoftransnationalLatinAmericanethnicity,andtheir mediascapes,by delivering an original understanding of the largest ethnic minority in theUnitedStates.Jssica Retis and Francisco Sierra study the production, consumption, andreceptionpatterns of transnational LatinAmericandiaspora in London,MadridandLosAngeles.Withglobalization,recentmigratoryflowshaveslightlyshiftedfromNorth America to European capitals. The authors undertake a theoreticalcritiquetoculturalconsumptionanalysiswithregardtomigration,byofferingastructured literature review of the regions media research. Given that asignificant proportion of Latin Americans live outside their geopolitical region,the authors acknowledge that the study of diaspora andmedia in theUSA andEurope focused in Latin America is still a pending task, and propose a novelresearchagenda.WhenwethinkaboutmodernLatinAmericancapitals,large,dynamic,sprawlingurbangrowth,andslightlychaoticcitiescometoourmind(e.g.MexicoCity,SoPaulo).Whilstmetropolisarenotusuallyassociatedwithculturalenquiry,PuertoRican scholar Patria RomnVelzquez and Alejandra GarcaVargas, intertwinethe urban, cultural and communication research of ordinary cities within thecontextofglobalization.Thiscomprehendsnewformsofbeingurbaninordinarycitiesandunderstanding thepolitical contextsunderwhichurbanpracticesareoccurring.Thisworkstressestheimportanceofmovingawayfromthenotionofglobalcitiesasproduction,informationhubs,andeconomicsflows,totheideaofthecityasasiteofsymbolicexpression.Thereon,theresearchproposesdifferentwaysofnarrating,imagining,andunderstandingthecapitalandprovincialcities,oftendisregardedfromtheprevailingurbanculturalstudies.Citizens media emancipation through community media is an emblematicallandmarkintheregionthatgoesbacktoFreireandBeltrntowardsdemocraticparticipation.Inthisregard,AlejandroBarranqueroembarksinacomprehensiveexploration and analysis of communication for social change in the region, byreviewingthestandpointsofLatinAmericancommunicationresearch.Theseare

WestminsterPapersinCommunication&Culture8(1)

5

skilfully interlacedwith contemporary theories of participatory anddemocraticcommunication. Through examination of the regional grassroots and criticalframeworks in the region, the author sheds light on theWestern participatorycommunicationparadigm.ThelastpaperbyCarolinaMatosanalyseshowmediademocratizationcanassistin deepening the political democratization process in Brazil. In a comparativeperspective with European countries, her examination of media systemdevelopment in Latin America shows a history of neglect of publiccommunication.Therelationshipbetweenpubliccommunicationand thepublicinterest, in particular, illustrates the historical deficiencies of publiccommunication frameworksand themishandlingofpolitical,private, andsocialinterests.TheBrazilianmediaenvironmenthaschangedover thedecades,withmediaconglomeratesexpanding,thepaperhighlightstheimportanceofamediacommitted to its citizenship, wherein public media is a mechanism that canreinforcebothnationaland local identities,andcultures innegotiationwith thepublicsphere.The issues first book review by Anastasia Kavada, media and technologiesscholar, provides an analysis of Communication Power (2009) by Spanishlandmark scholar Manuel Castells. By progressing from the ideas of theInformation Age trilogy, in the context of the network society the bookinvestigatesthefunctioningofcommunicationpower,oneofthekeyquestionsincurrentacademyenquiry.Andrea Medrado writes the second book review. A specialist on media andBrazilian favelas (shantytowns), she provides a wellgrounded assessment ofJanicePerlmansbookFavela.FourDecadesofLivingontheEdgeinRiodeJaneiro(2010). During the sixties, Perlman, lived and researched a favela. Thirty yearslater, she returned to reexamine it.The findings reevaluation in twodifferentperiodsopensupoldmethodologicalquestionsregardingtheappropriatelengthoffieldworktofullyunderstandaphenomenon.

Zrate,Editorial

6

Finally, it is important to note that marginal (i.e. indigenous) cultures areunfortunately not included in this issue. A lack of economic and academicresourceshasaffecteddevelopmentworkinthisarea.Thisproblemexemplifiessome of the arguments raised in this issue and also the importance of furtherresearch to be done. However, this new issue of Westminster Papers ofCommunication and Cultureaims to open up awindowof scholar dialogue andexchange.Thisisaspecialopportunitytobringtogetherestablishedscholarsandyoungresearchersandtoofferanoverviewofresearchintheregion.ReferencesBeltrn,L.R.(2000)InvestigacinsobrecomunicacinenLatinoamrica: inicio,trascendenciayproyeccin,LaPaz:Plural.Freire,P.(1970)PedagogiadelOprimido,Montevideo:TierraNueva.(English trans.,1996,PedagogyoftheOppressed,trans.M.BergmanRamos.London: PenguinBooks.)GarciaCanclini,N. (1990)Culturashbridas: estrategiaspara entrar y salir de la modernidad,Mexico City: Grijalbo. (English trans., 2005,Hybrid Cultures: strategiesforenteringandleavingmodernity,trans.C.L.Chiappari,andS.L. Lpez,Minneapolis:UniversityofMinnesotaPress.)Hall,S.(1987).MinimalSelves inBhaba,H.K.(ed),Identity:Therealme:Post Modernism and the Question of Identity (ICA Documents, No. 6: 4446). London:InstituteofContemporaryArts.MartinBarbero, J. (1998[1987])De losmediosa lasmediaciones:Comunicacin, cultura y hegemona,Mexico City: GistavoGilli, SA. (English trans., 1993, Communication, Culture and Hegemony: From the media to mediations, trans.E.Fox,andR.White,London:SAGE.)Pasquali,A.(1972)Comunicacinyculturademasas,Caracas:MontevilaPerezLlantada,C.,Plo,R.,Fergusson,G.R.,(2010)Theperceptionsandpractices ofseniorSpanishacademicsregardingresearchdisseminationinEnglish, EnglishforSpecificsPurposesJournal,30(1):1830.Waisbord,S.(1998)TheTiesthatStillBind:MediaandNationalCulturesinLatin America,CanadianJournalofCommunication23(3):381401.