According to historian Shifra Goldman, Latin American cultures were not concrete entities.

1 Instead, she feels that they were the conflictual result of relations between highly diverse groups with common or convergent histories.2 Cultural movements in Latin America during the 1960s personify this conflictual history between Latin Americans and themselves, as well as their relationship with Europe and the United States. Protest literature became a way for Latin Americans to define themselves during the 20th century, after more than three centuries of being subjected to European colonialism. Although the colonial era was long over, Latin America suffered at the helm of American intervention throughout much of the early 1900s and as a result, cultural issues became increasingly important in shaping the relationship between Latin America and the United States. In this paper, I will discuss how protest literature shaped the relationship between the United States and Latin America by providing a textual analysis of a few protest poems and songs and commenting on how they were received. Defining themselves with(out) the United States: Latin American nationalism In Jose Martis criticism of American imperialism in his Character of the United States, he comments that nations must live of themselves, and sweat through the heat.3 This is an interesting notion because Marti later argues that many of the struggles endured by Latin America were the result of two useful truths: the crude, uneven, and decadent character of the United States, and the continuous existence there of all the violence, discord, immorality, and disorder blamed upon the peoples of Spanish America.4 American involvement in the affairs of Latin America, up until the mid-20th century, meant that Latin American people were never able to sweat through the heat and live of themselves, as Marti argues in his criticism. Similar to Marti, Marial Iglesias account of the American intervention in Cuba after the Spanish-American war suggests that Cubans struggled from the same disposition. In her book, Iglesias quotes Isaac OFarrills poem about American intervention: On the one hand, the American intervention has yielded numerous benefits, on the other it has produced a series of things so anomalous as to be the source of constant confusion. All that we want to be, we know; but we are entirely ignorant of what we are.5 At the turn of the century, Cubans were fraught with confusion not only because of their experience with colonialism and the war which followed in consequence, but because of the persistent American involvement in Cuban affairs for the next several decades. Iglesias writes, much like Goldman, that post-colonial Cuba existed in an era marked by two aspirations existing in constant tension.6 Cubans were caught between the Americanization of their culture and an emergence of nationalist yearning for a sovereign, independent republic.7 These tensions inspired many writers during the 19th and 20th century, who wrote to influence fellow Latin Americans during their cultural emergence. Jose Rodos Ariel was written in 1900 and was meant to be a literary analogy of the relationship which Latin America shared with the United States.8 Rodo warned of the United States, which he refers to as Caliban in his book, and writes that North American life, in fact, perfectly describes the vicious circle

1Goldman, Shifra. Dimensions of the Americas. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1994, p. 1 2Goldman, p. 1 3The Character of the United States, p. 64 4The Character of the United States, p. 64 5Iglesias, Marial. A Cultural History of Cuba. Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 211, p. 11 6Iglesias, p. 11 7Iglesias, p. 11 8Ariel, p. 79

identified by Pascal: the fervent pursuit of well-being that has no object beyond itself.9 Rodo preferred to view Latin American aesthetically and was intimating that its culture was of a higher essence, unlike North American culture.10 He argued that although the United States had achieved great things, that they were never focused on meeting an end.11 Similar to Rodo, Simon Bolivar, a political leader from Venezuela, commended the United States for its achievements, but at the same time argued that it was destined to plague America with torments in the name of freedom.12 What these men wanted for Latin America was for it to express itself in relation to the United States. Specifically, Rodo wanted Latin America to embody his aesthetic vision, and by the mid-20th century, Latin Americans began to express themselves in this way. A closer look at the literature that was inspired by these discontents with American imperialism provides insight into how culture shaped the relationship between the United States and Latin America and helps us understand how important culture became in defining the national identity of Latin Americans. From Protest Poetry To Protest Songs Ruben Darios poem To Roosevelt is a great example of early protest literature. Dario, a Nicaraguan, expresses his discontent with American imperialism in his poem, calling Roosevelt one part George Washington and one part Nimrod.13 This piece mirrors Rodos writing on the United States in Ariel: just as Rodo praises the United States for its achievements, he focuses more on its backwardness. Dario expresses the same thing, praising Roosevelt for being like George Washington, but immediately calling him a nimrod. He continues to criticize the United States for its contradictions, focusing on the aestheticism of Latin American culture. Dario ends his poem with And though you have everything, you are lacking one thing: God!14 It was these thoughts that helped define the Latin American culture in light of American imperialism. Darios poetry revealed the tension between the United States and Latin America at this time. On another front, American media was manipulating the image of Latin America through Carmen Miranda, a Portuguese-born Brazilian from Rio Di Janeiro.15 The Americanization of Miranda during her Hollywood career alienated the emerging nationalism in Latin America. Scholars argue that Miranda homogenized Latin America: she became a monocrop,16 similar to the banana plantations run by United Fruit; as a woman, her story with Hollywood is similar to Latin Americas story with the United States17; and finally she also represented the conflictual cultural identities that existed within Latin America, by being a Portuguese woman who was representing Brazil.18 Miranda was important in uniting and polarizing Latin America and the crafters of the protest song movement began to feel a greater need to reconcile Latin America in relation to the United States. Almost thirty years later the Latin American protest song was born. Inspired by the earlier writings of Rodo, Bolivar and Dario the Latin American protest song used popular folk rhythm and politicized lyrics to form a solidarity movement.19 Robert Holden and Eric Zolov
9Ariel, p. 79 10Ariel, p. 80 11Ariel, p. 80 12Destined to Plague America with Torments, p. 19 13To Roosevelt, p. 92 14To Roosevelt, p. 92 15Bananas Is My Business. Dir. Helena Solberg, Fox, 1998: Film 16Palmer, Steven. Class Lecture. October 31st, 2011 17Palmer, Steven. Class Lecture. October 31st, 2011 18Palmer, Steven. Class Lecture. October 31st, 2011 19Songs of Protest from Latin America, p. 261

write that Each country developed its own contribution based upon different musical traditions, and the songs often explored political and philosophical themes as well as sentimental ones.20 Musicians began using music as a cultural movement against American imperialism and the protest song became an effective way of espousing nationalism and establishing a stance against the United States.21 At the First Protest Song Conference in Havana, the protest movement became a symbol of solidarity against the United States and also served as a symbol of Latin Americanism.22 New Songs: How Protest Songs Affected US-Latin American Relations The protest song movement became known as Neuva Trova in Cuba and Neuva Cancion around the rest of Latin America.23 Havana was a symbolic city in the protest song movement because it was the first free territory of America.24 Holden and Zolov point out that during this time, the left-wing governments of Latin America were sympathetic to protest songwriters, while right-wing governments that were directly funded by the United States crushed any dissent that was expressed against the American government. Castros government in Havana and other Latin American governments such as Allendes in Chile helped facilitate these songwriters who made the protest song movement a pivotal role in the relationship between the United States and Latin America.25 The height of the protest movement was in the 1960s, during the Cold War. Up until this point, and even well after, the United States was deep into the affairs of Latin America and musicians began to express their discern with this. During the conference of protest songs, the end goal of protest-song writers was summarized as follows: Protest-song workers must be aware that song, by its particular nature, is an enormous force for communications with the masses, to the extent that it breaks down barriers like illiteracy song must be a weapon at the service of the peoples.26 Silvio Rodriquezs Playa Giron is a perfect example of a protest song that expresses discontent with American imperialism. Holden and Zolov explain that Playa Giron used the popular rhythm of Cuba folk music mixed with highly politicized lyrics about the Rodriquezs revolutionary spirit, which evoked a strongly sympathetic response from Latin Americas middle-class youth.27 The song was named after the beach that was used during the botched Bay of Pigs CIA mission and became a symbol of anti-Americanism.28 Written in 1969, Rodriquezs Playa Giron was similar to other protest songs during this time. The lyrics of the song subtly introduces the struggle that Latin Americans have felt in trying to identify themselves: What should one say, what borders should I respect?29 The lyrics go on to read that if someone steals food, and later gives life, what is to be done? How far do we practice the truth? How much do we really know? Then let them write history, their own history.30 These words express the anguish that Latin Americans felt during the colonial era and even the subsequent era of American imperialism: how do you respond to the hand that crushes your people and feeds them at the same time? Rodriquezs suggestion is to let the United States
20Songs of Protest from Latin America, p. 261 21Songs of Protest from Latin America, p. 261 22Songs of Protest from Latin America, p. 261 23Songs of Protest from Latin America, p. 261 24Songs of Protest from Latin America, p. 261 25Songs of Protest from Latin America, p. 261 26Songs of Protest from Latin America, p. 262 27Playa Giron, p. 271 28Playa Giron, p. 271 29Playa Giron, p. 273 30Playa Giron, p. 273

continue to write history, but their own.31 Latin Americans need to write their own history, much like Jose Rodo suggested in 1900. Rodriquezs lyrics can be seen as a response to the Americanization of Latin American culture and history. Two examples of this are Carmen Mirandas Hollywood career and how her Latin American image was Americanized and Ariel Dorfman and Armand Mattelarts criticism that Disney was responsible for distorting the image of Latin America through some of its earlier films.32 Miranda was the lady in the Tutti-Frutti hat33 who represented the Americanized version of Latin America and many Latin Americans did not know how to receive her. Disney, according to Dorfman and Mattelart, projected an image of Latin America onto the world that falsely represented its culture.34 They argue that
the hegemony which we have detected between the child-adults who arrive with their civilization and technology, and the child-noble savages who accept this alien authority and surrender their riches, stands revealed as an exact replica of the relations between metropolis and state, between empire and colony, between master and slave.35

It was in response to these problems that song writers in Latin America felt the need to express themselves Early Latin American poets did a fine job of outlining their discontents associated with American imperialism, which provided the foundation by which protest songwriters could help continue fight against the struggle of American intervention. Protest literature was a response to the early struggles suffered by Latin Americans under European rule and later American imperialism and gradually it became a cultural movement against the Americanization of Latin America. The image which Hollywood created of Carmen Miranda no longer exemplified Latin America and songwriters such as Silvio Rodriquez felt that it was necessary to lead the revolution, which was carried inside of [him],36 against the Untied States so that Latin Americans could begin to develop their national identities. In this paper, I have discussed how protest literature shaped the relationship between the United States and Latin America. The response of Latin American poets, authors and songwriters to American imperialism helped develop a cultural movement that used solidarity against the United States. A close look into the words of these poems and songs show that poetry and song was used to provide Latin Americans with an outlet to express themselves and to show their discern with American imperialism. These poems and songs shaped the relationship between the United States and Latin America because it brought the people together on common ground by reconciling the conflictual history of Latin America. Although European colonialism was over during this time, the people of Latin America wanted the era of American imperialism over as well and the use of poetry and song helped them achieve this.

31Playa Giron, p. 273 32The Culture of Imperialism, p. 275 33The Lady in the Tutti-Frutti Hat, p. 154 34The Culture of Imperialism, p. 275 35The Culture of Imperialism, p. 275 36Playa Giron, p. 271