The Cosmic Race / La Raza Cosmica

By José Vasconcelos

Book Overview

In this influential 1925 essay, Jose Vasconcelos predicted the coming of a new age, the Aesthetic Era, in which joy, love, fantasy, and creativity would prevail over the rationalism he saw as dominating the current age. In this new age, marriages would no longer be dictated by necessity or convenience, but by love and beauty; ethnic obstacles, already in the process of being broken down, especially in Latin America, would disappear altogether, giving birth to a fully mixed race, a "cosmic race", in which all the better qualities of each race would persist by the natural selection of love. The work, which has generated much controversy since it was first published, is here presented in a bilingual format, and includes an introduction by its translator, Didier Jaen, and a new introduction by Joseba Gabilondo.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0801856558
• ISBN13: 9780801856556
• Release Date: August 1997
• Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press
• Length: 160 Pages
• Weight: 0.47 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 5.5" x 8.0"
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

Spiritual and not scientific

If read in the light of race, Vasconcelos at first appears disturbing. However, Raza Cosmica needs to be read in the light of the spiritual vs. materialist debate raging in Latin America through the 19th century into the mid 20th. The Author is reflecting on "Anglo" materialism vs. "Hispano" spiritualism, and the idea of race is really secondary when compared to his vision of the future. An absolute must read for the debates of the Revolution in Mexico and all of Latin America trying to find a place in the world of a North Atlantic economy.

an out of the ordinary book

This book basicly revolves around a central thesis that all of the races on earth tend to intermix at a gradually increasing pace, and eventually will give rise to a new human type, composed of selections from each of the races already in existence. This race will be called the Cosmic Race. It is an interesting theory that in some ways is similar to the darwinist doctrine. This book is exceptionally well written and very compelling. I enjoyed this book and would recommend trying it out.