Yásnaya Elena A. Gil is the fifth guest of the international residency program of CCCB & UOC.
The Myth of «Mestizaje»
The linguist, writer, and researcher Yásnaya Elena A. Gil invites us to reflect on the notions of mixing and miscegenation and their role in sustaining colonial and nationalist narratives.
One of the founding myths of various Latin American countries has been the integration of their populations as mixed-race nations. In various accounts from ancient metropolises, racial mixing between indigenous and European peoples is celebrated as a positive consequence of colonization, highlighting the results of the blending of cultures and populations. A number of nationalist narratives are also based on the celebration of mestizaje (mixing races), which is discussed with pride. What mechanisms are behind these narratives? How does the blending of cultures and populations become a political category?
In this lecture, the linguist, writer, and researcher Yásnaya Elena A. Gil, a leading figure in the defence of linguistic and cultural diversity, reflects on the need to establish “processes of blending” as a distinct category from "processes of mestizaje".
Modorated by Mario Obrero.
Venue
Sala Teatre CCCB
5 Montalegre Street
Barcelona
Espanya
When
26/09/2025 18.30h
Organized by
Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona and Encuentros Cultura y ciudadanía
Program
This conference opens the participation of Yasnaya Elena A. Gil in the program Resident CCCB, a collaboration between the CCCB and the UOC with the support of the Mir-Puig Foundation.
It is part of the programming of the XI Encuentro Cultura y Ciudadanía, organized by the Ministry of Culture, in the framework of the Àgora Cívica, a space for debate and exchange on the role of culture in the construction of contemporary societies that accompanies the celebration in Barcelona of Mondiacult 2025, the UNESCO World Conference on Cultural Policies and Sustainable Development.