From Interethnic Alliances to the “Magical Negro”: Afro-Asian Interactions in Asian Latin American Literature

Abstract

This essay studies Afro-Asian sociocultural interactions in cultural production by or about Asian Latin Americans, with an emphasis on Cuba and Brazil. Among the recurrent characters are the black slave, the china mulata, or the black ally who expresses sympathy or even marries the Asian character. This reflects a common history of bondage shared by black slaves, Chinese coolies, and Japanese indentured workers, as well as a common history of marronage. These conflicts and alliances between Asians and blacks contest the official discourse of mestizaje (Spanish-indigenous dichotomies in Mexico and Andean countries, for example, or black and white binaries in Brazil and the Caribbean) that, under the guise of incorporating the other, favored whiteness while attempting to silence, ignore, or ultimately erase their worldviews and cultures.

Keywords

• Afro-Asian interactions
• Asian Latin American literature and characters
• Sanfancón
• <i>china mulata</i>
• “magical negro”
• <i>chinos mambises</i>
• Brazil
• Cuba
• transculturation
• discourse of mestizaje