“Mestizagem’ y ‘Transculturación” como políticas y prácticas de convivencia: Gilberto Freyre (Casa-grande & senzala, 1933) y Fernando Ortiz (Contrapunteo cubano del tabaco y del azúcar, 1940)

Abstract

This article compares two classic texts on the plantation society: Casa-grande & senzala by the Brazilian
author Gilberto Freyre and Contrapunteo cubano del tabaco y el azúcar (1940), by the Cuban
Fernando Ortiz. The two authors describe and analyze the coexistence of groups and individuals of
different ethical, cultural, and social origins with two concepts that signify profoundly different values:
‘mestizaje’ or miscegenation (Gilberto Freyre) and ‘transcultural’ (Fernando Ortiz). With ‘mestizaje’
the ‘myth of the three races’ is maintained. The basis of coexistence is ultimately biological
miscegenation under the conditions of the colonial society, the laws and order of which are not challenged
by the process of miscegenation. The coexistence of mestizaje is marked by ambivalence
between repression and protection. Fernando Ortiz’s ‘transculturation’ defines the subjects by their
social practices and their position in the economic and social power settings. As a consequence, it
addresses complex processes of empowerment and negotiation in which both the dominating subject
and the dominated are involved. Despite their differences, the two concepts make a significant
contribution to a reevaluation of Latin American cultures in comparison with Nordic cultures.