"Mother, what exactly does a negro want?". Racial representations in the Vistazo magazine, 1957-1991

Abstract

The article analyzes the portrayal of Negroes in the Vistazo magazine, one of Ecuador’s most popular publications since its inception in 1957 until 1991, year of its discontinuity. Its main thesis is that the national Ecuadorian identity deprives Afro-Ecuadorians of humanity, ergo, of representation, in favor of the valorization and exaltation of Euro-Ecuadorians, followed in second place by White-Mestizos. The author interprets the cosmovision of society and the Ecuadorian outlook on nationality through imagery and discussions on Negroes in above mentioned magazine. Thus, Afro-Ecuadorians are represented as the "ultimate Others" in the scheme of the national identity of the Ecuadorian elite.

representation; Afro-Ecuadorians; national identity; miscegenation; imaginary