A review by wanderlust_romance
Inventing Latinos: A New Story of American Racism by Laura E. Gómez

challenging informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

Inventing Latinos is a thorough examination of the roles of American imperialism and extractive, exploitative capitalism have had across Latin America while also analyzing the impact on racial and ethnic identity, immigration, and domestic policy. The introduction delivers some hard truths regarding anti-blackness and colorism within Latine communities before unraveling how Latine people have even used their proximity to whiteness as a route to protection and privilege. If you've ever heard a family member or friend say, "I can't be racist, I'm Latino," this is the notion Gomez lays bare. While Gomez aims for a broad lens, she focuses her historical examples on the regions of Mexico, Central America, and Puerto Rico. From the origins of mestizaje under Spanish colonizers, to the exploitation of the Catholic church, to the more recent extractive capitalism of the United Fruit Company, and the export of American militaristic violence via The School of the Americas, Gomez traces the history and reflects on it's connection to the present. This is the history that is rarely taught in schools. Or if it is, it's the briefest of mentions without any discussion or dissection on the impact it has had in the present day. Inventing Latinos is an exceptional introduction to understanding the connections between the legacy of colonial empire and the inheritance thrust upon its people in the present day. It's a heavy read but immensely insightful and thoroughly researched. I listened to this as an audiobook and found its arguments and examples clearly communicated through this format.
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