15
face of multiple identities and localized belongings, the aim to see a unified Latin
America to propose a distinct cultural challenge to Europe and the US seems to be
vanishing. This dream to see one América was to a significant extent built on the
Synthetic Paradigm of race that we have seen, but it was also shared by figures such as
Bolívar, Guevara, and Martí. Without such a dream, perhaps there is little use in thinking
of the continent as a cohesive collective unit.
While the dream of Nuestra América may be over in the area south of the US, US
Latino identity may have use for the Synthetic Model. In terms of US Hispanic identity,
there is little that has been written so far about the issue of race in defining the identity of
this group, which is now the largest US ethnic minority. Jorge Gracia’s work is a
significant contribution, but treats the issue philosophically and in terms of logic rather
than ethno-culturally. Moreover, much of the literature on Latino Identity treats different
groups separately, such as Mexican Americans, Dominicans, Puerto Ricans, and Cubans,
seeking to respect diversity. The negative side of this is that it misses the point that there
is a growing intertwining of Latin American cultural traditions that is occurring within
the US, and that in this complex process, race is a pivotal concept. Moreover, the
mestizaje of Latino peoples in the US stands in contrast to the dualist paradigm that has
dominated US race issues. Future research should try to examine this phenomenon since
it has great social, cultural and political implications. For political theory, the ethics of
identity in the making of Latino selfhood is a topic that would benefit from our
understanding of the development of the Synthetic Paradigm of race in the history of
Latin American Political Thought.
Convention