Café Con Leche: Race, Class, and National Image in Venezuela

By Winthrop R. Wright

Book Overview

For over a hundred years, Venezuelans have referred to themselves as a caf con leche (coffee with milk) people. This colorful expression well describes the racial composition of Venezuelan society, in which European, African, and Indian peoples have intermingled to produce a population in which almost everyone is of mixed blood. It also expresses a popular belief that within their blended society Venezuelans have achieved a racial democracy in which people of all races live free from prejudice and discrimination. Whether or not historical facts actually support this popular perception is the question Winthrop Wright explores in this study.

Wright's research suggests that, contrary to popular belief, blacks in Venezuela have not enjoyed the full benefits of racial democracy. He finds that their status, even after the abolition of slavery in 1854, remained low in the minds of Venezuelan elites, who idealized the European somatic type and viewed blacks as inferior. Indeed, in an effort to whiten the population, Venezuelan elites promoted European immigration and blocked the entry of blacks and Asians during the early twentieth century.

These attitudes remained in place until the 1940s, when the populist Acci n Democr tica party (AD) challenged the elites' whitening policies. Since that time, blacks have made significant strides and have gained considerable political power. But, as Wright reveals, other evidence suggests that most remain social outcasts and have not accumulated significant wealth. The popular perception of racial harmony in Venezuela hides the fact of ongoing discrimination.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0292790805
• ISBN13: 9780292790803
• Release Date: October 1993
• Publisher: University of Texas Press
• Length: 184 Pages
• Weight: 0.68 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.1" x 8.9"

Customer Reviews

Closest study to reality

Being a native and also someone who has lived outside of the country, I can say that this book digs deep into the ambiguous relationship between class and race in Venezuela. Racism isn't an outright problem, classism is, but color does tend to relate to class, a way of thinking that is still inherited from colonial times. I just wish the book gave a closer look at modern times. Maybe one day there will be a sequell. A good book that must be read in the context of the country and realize that racism in North America cannot be used as a litmus test for racism else where since each region has its own heritage. If you read it with racism in the United States in mind, then you will miss the meaning and conclusions of the book. The book examines the almost forgotten but still unconsciously practiced bias that skin color plays in a Latin American society.

"Cafe con Leche" - Be Ready to Stir in a Whole Lot More

As a student soon to graduate with degrees in Spanish and Latin American Studies and as one who lived in the Dominican Republic for some time, this book is fascinating. It discusses the very serious and prevalent issues of identity, "race", and "racism", that exist in many parts of Latin America on some level. It is a perceptive and intelligent look at a very real topic that is usually not found in detail about places such as Venezuela, or Latin America in general for that matter. I found it to line up with all of my study regarding Latin America as well as my experiences in the Dominican Republic and Mexico. I learned from this book, and so will you.