LatinaLista — University of Chicago professor Raúl Coronado delivered an interesting talk in 2011 as part of the Chicago Humanities Festival, that examined how “Latinos came into being.”
Since he studies the history of Latino identity, Coronado has been particularly interested in how Latin Americans become Latinos. Part of that examination is comprised of looking at literature. Coronado explains that he is fascinated with such questions as: Why do Latinos write; When did they start writing?; and What does writing mean to Latinos?
Recognizing that literature itself is more than just the written form of stortelling, Coronado outlined four attributes of writing:
1. It entertains. It is moving and fascinating.
2. It gives us a model of sociability: the way we should engage with others.
3. It gives us a model of interiority: the way we can think about ourselves.
4. It tries to capture the divine: the sense of being moved by aesthetics and insight.
Taking those four points into consideration, Coronado explains the evolution of Latino identity and how Latinos see themselves in the broader picture of community, state and nation.
