• Caribbean Soccer: Hispanoamericanismo and the Identity Politics of Fútbol in Puerto Rico, 1898-1920s.

    Author(s):
    Antonio Sotomayor (see profile)
    Date:
    2017
    Group(s):
    History, Latin America and the Caribbean, Sports History
    Subject(s):
    Sports, History, Latin America, Caribbean Area
    Item Type:
    Article
    Tag(s):
    Puerto Rico, Soccer, Sports history, Latin American history, Spanish Caribbean
    Permanent URL:
    http://dx.doi.org/10.17613/M6348GF8Z
    Abstract:
    When the United States took possession of Puerto Rico in 1898, an aggressive Americanization project introduced cultural practices, including American sports. However, although Puerto Ricans incorporated U.S. sports to their sporting profile, they did so adhering to a larger Hispanic- American ideology. Although soccer, or f ´ utbol, was played in Puerto Rico during the first decades of the United States occupation, it was associated with Spain and Hispanoamericanismo. Due to this, soccer was discriminated and unpopular in a population that incorporated American sports. I argue that through soccer we see another important element in the negotiation overU.S. imperialism in Puerto Rico and in the broader expansion of Hispanoamericanismo in the early twentieth century. Despite its unpopularity, soccer’s limited space within Puerto Rican sports came to symbolize a Hispanic and Latin American sport, helping to fuel broader notions of nationhood. In this regard, Puerto Rican soccer illustrates the conciliation of a colonial nation hoping to fit within Latin America, while also adopting American sports. Through Puerto Rican soccer we can observe broader cultural and political negotiations over Americanization and Hispanidad in the Spanish Caribbean and how this process can in turn help develop strong ideas of national identity.
    Metadata:
    xml
    Published as:
    Journal article     Show details
    Pub. Date:
    June 2017
    Journal:
    The Latin Americanist
    Volume:
    61
    Issue:
    2
    Page Range:
    193 - 224
    Status:
    Published
    Last Updated:
    5 years ago
    License:
    All Rights Reserved

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