Narratives of Migration, Relocation and Belonging: Latin Americans in London [1st ed.] 9783030534431, 9783030534448

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STUDIES OF THE AMERICAS

Narratives of Migration, Relocation and Belonging Latin Americans in London Patria Román-Velázquez Jessica Retis

Studies of the Americas

Series Editor Maxine Molyneux Institute of the Americas University College London London, UK

The Studies of the Americas Series includes country specific, crossdisciplinary and comparative research on the United States, Latin America, the Caribbean, and Canada, particularly in the areas of Politics, Economics, History, Sociology, Anthropology, Development, Gender, Social Policy and the Environment. The series publishes monographs, readers on specific themes and also welcomes proposals for edited collections, that allow exploration of a topic from several different disciplinary angles. This series is published in conjunction with University College. London’s Institute of the Americas under the editorship of Professor Maxine Molyneux.

More information about this series at http://www.palgrave.com/gp/series/14462

Patria Román-Velázquez · Jessica Retis

Narratives of Migration, Relocation and Belonging Latin Americans in London

Patria Román-Velázquez Institute for Media and Creative Industries Loughborough University London, UK

Jessica Retis School of Journalism The University of Arizona Tucson, AZ, USA

Studies of the Americas ISBN 978-3-030-53443-1 ISBN 978-3-030-53444-8 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-53444-8 © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, expressed or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Switzerland AG The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland

Acknowledgements

This book would not have been possible if were not for the people that collaborated with us by sharing their experiences of migration, to them all our sincerest gratitude. We would also like to thank Prof. Maxine Molyneux, editor of this series, for believing in this project from the start and for her words of encouragement when we most needed them. A very special thank you to Deborah Bowen at Loughborough University for carefully proofreading our draft chapters. We are eternally grateful to Alejandra García-Vargas and Ramon Burgos at the Universidad Nacional de Jujuy in Argentina for hosting Patria Román-Velázquez during her shortened study leave period. Despite having to rush back to the UK due to the coronavirus outbreak, she would always be grateful for the intellectual discussions, the fun and inspiring asados, and the lovely terrace from which parts of this book were finalised. We would like to acknowledge the British Academy Small Grant Scheme for support to Dr. Patria Román-Velázquez with the project Latin Americans in London; Migration, place and identity (SG090716). We would also like to thank the Institute for Media and Creative Industries and Institute of Advanced Studies at Loughborough University for funding Jessica Retis’ visit to London and the organisation of the international symposium Latin American Media: Power, Inequality and Representation (June 2018) from which some of the ideas for Chapter 6 in this book emerged. v

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

A special thanks to our close ones for their encouragement and support throughout the process of writing this book. Leon and Oscar, Alba and Alberto, thank you for helping us understand and embrace the challenges and opportunities of motherhood in academia and in the migratory experience. To our partners, thank you for your constant support.

Contents

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Introduction: Narratives of Migration, Relocation and Belonging

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Migration, Transnationalism and Diasporic Identities 2.1 Transnationalism 2.2 Super-Diversity and Transnational Networks 2.3 Place and Identity 2.4 Identity 2.5 Digital Diasporas 2.6 Latina/o Critical Race and Communication Theories 2.7 Understanding British Latinidad References

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Latin American Immigration to Europe: The Case of London 3.1 The Constitution of Contemporary Latin American Diasporas in Europe 3.2 European LAC Diasporas: A Historical Perspective 3.3 LAC Diasporas in the UK 3.4 Latinos in Global Cities 3.5 Latin American Diasporas in London 3.6 Latin Migrant and Ethnic Business

1 7 9 10 13 15 18 20 23 25

31 34 38 43 47 49 54

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CONTENTS

3.7

Narratives of Migration, Self-Representation and Belongingness References 4

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Narratives of Migration and Relocation 4.1 Narratives of Migration: Routes, Routines and Roots 4.2 Routes into London 4.3 Mobility and Routes Across London 4.4 Multiple Feelings of Belonging: Loneliness and the Idea of Return 4.5 Routes and Routines References Narratives of Migration Around Work 5.1 Social Networks and ‘Migrant Division of Labour’ in London’s Service Economy 5.2 The Role of Social Networks in Getting Work 5.3 Workplace Relationships: Integration, Solidarity and Conflict 5.4 Workplace, Home and Family References Latino Media Spaces in London: The Interstices of the Invisible 6.1 Diasporic Media Across Europe 6.2 Latinos and Their Media in London 6.3 The Origins: Ethnic Media for the Newcomers en español 6.4 Print Outlets: Looking for noticias de aquí y de allá 6.5 Diasporic Latinx Airwaves and Digital Platforms in London 6.6 Challenges of Mapping Latinx Media in the UK 6.7 Latinx Media Dynamics Appendix 1: Latino Media Outlets and Social Media (July 2012) Appendix 2: Latino Media Outlets in the UK (Dec 2019)

55 56 63 65 67 70 76 79 80 83 84 88 90 97 99

105 108 113 115 120 126 130 131 132 143

CONTENTS

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Appendix 3: British Latinx Cultural Projects and Events in London 2019 References

147 152

Latin Urbanisms: Resisting Gentrification, Reclaiming Urban Spaces 7.1 Latin Urbanisms Under Review 7.2 Latin London: The Making of London’s Latin Barrios References

157 159 162 189

British Latinidad as Social and Spatial Justice 8.1 On British Latinidad References

193 199 201

Index

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List of Maps

Map 7.1 Map 7.2 Map 7.3 Map 7.4

Migrant, ethnic and independent business directory Elephant and Castle Shopping Centre, October 2017 Latin American businesses in Elephant and Castle, October 2017 Latin American businesses in Southwark, October 2017 Brazilian London: Brent, October 2015

164 165 166 169

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List of Tables

Table 3.1 Table 3.2 Table 3.3 Table 3.4

European LAC diasporas by nationality and countries of residence European LAC diasporas by country of residence (2011) Latin American diasporas in the UK (2011) Latin Americans in London (census 2011)

40 41 46 52

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CHAPTER 1

Introduction: Narratives of Migration, Relocation and Belonging

‘I am Senorita Rita’, so hailed a vibrant self-defined drag queen at the opening night of the first Festival of Latin American Women in the Arts (FLAWA) in London. As Senorita Rita made her way to the stage in a cabaret-style performance, she warned the audience about her accent, act and dress code. It was a bold act from Peruvian artist Pepa Duarte, with a strong commentary on gender inequality, racism and cultural difference achieved by challenging and interrogating preconceived ideas of what being a Latina is all about. The first Festival of Latin American Women in the Arts took place in a range of venues across London between 15 and 19 May 2019, aiming to celebrate the creativity of Latin American women, ‘whether cisgender, transgender, queer or non-binary creators’. Organised by a group of four Latin American migrant women settled in the UK, this group is comprised of a young generation of professional Latin American women creating a cultural space and voice for under-represented UK Latinx women in the arts. Latin Americans in London gain empowerment through culture and the arts. They do so by creating cultural spaces to recover and heal their memories of the past—whether it be positive memories, or memories of violence related to oppressive dictatorships or civil wars. Such is the case of Sin Fronteras, a youth group led by Latin American Women’s Right Services; the Latin American Women’s Aid Change Makers programme; © The Author(s) 2021 P. Román-Velázquez and J. Retis, Narratives of Migration, Relocation and Belonging, Studies of the Americas, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-53444-8_1

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the cultural magazine Ventana Latina by Latin American House; and more grassroots projects such as Bordando la memoria by Jimena Pardo and other self-organised poetry and reading groups such as Sonia Quintero’s Poetry groups across various East London libraries. These programmes use art and crafts as a catalyst for empowerment, resistance and healing. They are safe spaces within which discussion about identity and everyday experiences to enrich and build common ground around migration can take place. It is about gaining visibility as much as it is about providing a space for greater recognition, and an opportunity to build communities of resistance, belongingness and a sense of social justice. Music and dance are also used as forms of resistance and assertions of spatial justice. For example, Talentos Group takes over urban landmarks in the capital (e.g. Tower Bridge or Big Ben) to assert a form of Latin American identity through its dance and colourful folkloric costumes. This takeover of city space invokes a fusion of styles by overlapping folkloric rhythms, dance and dress on London’s most recognised urban landmarks. New generations of DJ’s and music promoters such as Movimientos, Latinos in London and Latino Life or music groups such as WARA and music festivals such as Cimarron, all use dance and music as a means of expressing solidarity through resistance practices by supporting charitable causes. The development of local and translocal media outlets is another way of creating spaces of recognition and solidarity for a group whose everyday news consumption needs are almost absent from the UK’s mainstream media outlets. Multimedia consortiums such as Express News and Extra Radio, for example, appear as a combination of platforms providing mostly local and transnational news and events. More specialist news outlets such as The Prisma provide bilingual digital content and in-depth analyses of current affairs; or the political news magazine, Alborada, which mostly provides in-depth analyses of Latin American politics. These expressions are about new ways of belonging by invoking cultural heritage and fusions in London’s familiar, and less familiar, urban surroundings. It is about creating spaces of self-representation, of having a voice and unravelling trajectories of migration. Again, it is about asserting greater recognition and belongingness to the city that Latin American migrants now call home. Whilst cultural and media spaces emerge as a response to past and current events and as a way of forging networks of solidarity, Latin Americans also become empowered and bring significant cases in support

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of workers in the cleaning sector, through trade union memberships. Take, for example, the following legal cases represented by the relatively new trade union, United Voices of the World. ‘Topshop 2: Victory!’1 ‘Former Topshop cleaner Susana wins bumper pay-out’2 declared United Voices of the World Union after Carolina Caceres3 and Susana Benavides,4 two of its trade union members, won their legal cases for unfair dismissal by Britannia Services Group Limited due to their trade union activities in demanding the London Legal Wage for subcontracted cleaners at Topshop’s flagship store on London’s Oxford Street. The cases of Ms. Caceres and Ms. S. Benavides (Claimants) against Britannia Services Group Limited (cleaning services contracting company for Arcadia group—which includes Topshop) were led by United Voices of the World (‘UVW’), a relatively new union that represents predominantly low-paid migrant workers—many of whom are Latin American cleaners. Both cases were heard separately by the employment tribunal, and, in the case of Ms Benavides, it concluded that: ‘it is clear beyond any argument that the Claimant was dismissed for the reason that she had taken part in the activities of the independent trade union’ (Employment tribunal case 2208186/2016, p. 15).5 The court ruled that both workers were unfairly dismissed because of their trade union activities. These two Latin American women found solidarity and were empowered to demand the London living wage, through their trade union activities. Their gains were significant for workers in the cleaning sector who were demanding better working conditions and union representation in a sector that is largely operated by subcontracting firms. Unionism amongst low-paid workers, and particularly in the cleaning sector, is almost non-existent. United Voices of the World fills an important gap in unionist work amongst low-paid, and often subcontracted, work in 1 https://www.uvwunion.org.uk/news/2018/9/top-shop-2-victory. Accessed 24 June 2019. 2 https://www.uvwunion.org.uk/news/2019/2/susana-wins-bumper-payout-topshop. Accessed 24 June 2019. 3 Ms. Caceres Employment Tribunal case number: 2208251/2016. 4 MS Benavides Employment Tribunal case number: 2208186/2016. 5 https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5c37606340f0b67c6c8d07eb/ Miss_S_Benavides_-v-_Britannia_Services_Group_Limited_-_Case_2208186_2016_-_ Full.pdf. Accessed 17 June 2019.

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the cleaning sector in high street chains, office blocks, hospitals and universities. These are just a few examples of the many voices and diverse experiences emerging from politically aware groups of Latin Americans in London who are challenging institutionalised everyday racism and sexism via the arts, media, unionisation and protest as a way of asserting their rights and place in London. In this book, we try to capture some of the many narratives through which Latin Americans recognise themselves as such in diasporic and transnational spaces, and how they develop strategies to navigate the city and the system whilst also capturing how they claim their space in the global city. The next chapter provides a conceptual map that allows us to think through the myriad of spaces, narratives and practices we engage with whilst doing the research that informs this book. The chapters that follow capture the journeys undertaken by Latin Americans in their migratory circuits: from arrival through to gaining recognition and claiming their right to the city. Chapter 3 begins by capturing some of the mega narratives around migration of Latin Americans to Europe, and London in particular. The fourth chapter builds upon this by navigating some of the narratives we encounter whilst exploring routes and routines into and across London, some of which are traumatic, others, less so. The participants of the experiences highlighted in this chapter are often embraced on economic and political matters that either stimulate or constrain their movement and thus, possible migratory circuits. We capture a diversity of experiences that are testament to journeys into London. Some are stories of enjoyment and adventure, whilst others are stories of resilience and endurance. We soon realised that most people we spoke to spend a long time travelling to and from work, and so Chapter 5 explores narratives of solidarity and conflict in the workplace. Chapter 6 moves into mediatic spaces to explain how Latin Americans are creating spaces of recognition, self-representation, production and consumption through digital channels, now more available than ever, in diasporic transnationalism conditions. This occurs despite, and because of, the underrepresentation of Latin American-related issues (whether in London or in Latin America itself) in London’s media spaces. Chapter 7 captures contemporary struggles over space which are due to gentrification processes that are affecting London’s largest Latin American business clusters and spaces. It focuses how cultural expressions are used as tools to resist gentrification and invoke equity and equality around spatial justice.

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At times when large sections of the population face uncertainty and displacement due to gentrification, stronger female voices emerge to capture an active community where, through their activism, women are the drivers of social change. This is seen in most leading charities in cases of gentrification where women outnumber men and lead significant campaigns against gentrification; it is also seen in attempts to resist exploitation by multinational corporations, aided by strong unionisation and also by celebrating the myriad of perspectives emerging from the arts and cultural spheres. These contrasting examples capture the diverse experiences and discourses emerging from Latin Americans in London, whilst asserting their right to the city from cultural, labour or urban perspectives. These multiple voices and experiences are presented here as examples of claims to the right to belong, to assert one’s place in the city, to seek social and spatial justice, and are testament to different levels of belongingness, engagement and trajectories of Latin Americans in London. As we undertake the task of writing about the relatively new and growing presence of these groups in the British capital, we examine their narratives on the processes of migration, relocation and belonging. We seek to provide resources to fill a gap on triangulation of research methods and theoretical approaches to fuel a much-needed debate on the invisibility of these communities. We are mindful of the limitations of this project. Therefore, we intend to present mainly the beginning of a larger discussion on the economic, social and cultural settings of Latin Americans in London. Throughout this book, we use the terms Latin Americans, Latino, Latina, Latino/a or Latinx to refer to these diverse and heterogeneous communities. Latin Americans are the peoples born in Latin American countries, although they can relate to different ethnic or racial backgrounds. Thus, we are not referring necessarily to a common or unique ethnicity, but to a geographical liaison to a region where our interviewees trace their origin to. Whilst in the United States the panethnic terms Hispanic and Latino have been used interchangeably since the mid-twentieth century, our sources in London use mainly Latino or Latin American to self-identify. In the United States, the term Hispanic refers to peoples of Spanish-origin populations whereas Latino is mostly used to refer to people who trace their cultural liaisons with Spanish- or Portuguese-speaking countries. At the change of the century, the terms Latino/a Latina/o were incorporated to denote the masculine and feminine endings and to promote gender inclusion. With the digital era, the

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term Latinx was adopted as a gender neutral and alternative to Latino and Latina and it has had its supporters and detractors. More recently, it has been adopted by academia to promote inclusiveness and reinvigorate the intersectional debate. All these pan-ethnic labels have been used in the United States in various momentums on the one hand by political administration, marketing discourses or media campaigns whereas they have been also embraced by various groups in self-identification, coalition building and critical approaches. This was the case of the emergence and development of the conceptualisation of the US Latinidad. Towards the conclusion of this book we bring these discussions into our own understanding of British Latinidad.

CHAPTER 2

Migration, Transnationalism and Diasporic Identities

Transnational practices capture the diverse geographical, cultural and political networks that migrants forge across borders. We argue that diasporic transnationalism (Georgiou 2006) allows us to consider what we call the circuits of migration, to capture migrants’ multi-local networks and practices. The research presented in this book engages with transnationality by exploring multiple narratives, networks and practices emerging from the experience of migration into London via primary, secondary and tertiary routes. We seek to contribute to the increased debate on how multiple and mixed forms of migration and mobility become more common and demand an interdisciplinary approach (King and Skeldon 2010; Castles 2007; Portes 1997; Retis 2014). The scale and diversity of transnational practices amongst migrant populations in London has led to what Vertovec (2007) has called ‘superdiverse’ cities. Thus, for us it is also important to understand the multiple dimensions that contribute to increasingly changing and malleable identities and a sense of belongingness to places. This is compounded by an ever more complex circuit of migration that ties people to multiple localities and feelings of belongingness. We extend the concept of transnationalism beyond the two-layered (country of origin and host country) perspective that has dominated transnationalism studies, to incorporate multiple migratory circuits. This will lead us to explore the experiences

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of those Latin Americans who settled in London via first, second or third migration routes. Drawing on Castles (2010), we seek to examine the complexity, diversity and contextuality of migratory processes. As Castels argues, researchers should seek to integrate the insights of the various social sciences to understand the regularities and variations of a range of migratory processes within a given historical and socio-economic contexts (Castles 2010, p. 1582). In examining Latin American diasporas in London, we pursue an examination of the factors that influence these migratory processes and the connections between them. Transnational migratory circuits are marked by intersectionality. This approach retains its explanatory power in an increasingly transnational world in which people’s experiences are shaped within country and between country structures (Purkayastha 2012, p. 59). By this, we mean that diasporic movement and resettlement are intercepted by wider discourses and discriminatory or exclusionary practices based on religion, gender, class and race. For us, it is important to consider the complex ways in which intersectionality is played out in people’s narratives of migration, everyday working practices, the media and urban environments—particularly so in response to asserting their rights to the city in their search for social and spatial justice. The exponential growth of new forms of digital communication, including social networks, amongst international migratory circuits that led to the twin forces of mass mediation and electronic mediation as human motion and digital mediation, is in constant flux. As a result, the circulation of people and mediatised content occurs across and beyond nation-state borders and provides ground for alternative community and identity formations (Leurs and Ponzanesi 2011). Scholars have argued that new theoretical and empirical perspectives meet up at the transdisciplinary junction of media and migration research: ‘These include, but are not limited to, the ways this scholarship understands the symbolic power of the media in shaping social imaginaries on migration; the increased role of data in the enactment of security and humanitarian responses to migration; and, the growing significance of digital technologies in imagining, organising and surviving migrant journeys’ (Smets et al. 2019, p. XLVII). In this section, we build a conceptual map to frame the research material that we include in subsequent chapters. We begin by mapping out transnationalism; we then link this discussion to super-diversity and proceed to consider re-conceptualisations of place and identity. We reflect

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on the implications of these discussions for our understanding of digital diasporas in the context of migration and mobility, and we use this material to map out our understanding of what we call British Latinidad.

2.1

Transnationalism

Transnationalism involves the crossing of borders and the interconnection of ‘people, ideas, objects and capital across borders of nation states’ (Glick Schiller 2007, p. 449). However, this process does not go unchallenged and ‘it is often accompanied by increased expressions of inequality, uncertainty, ethnic conflict and hostility’ (Anthias 2010, p. 230). Globalisation, on the other hand, refers to a ‘period of intensified integration of the world through capitalist systems of production, distribution and communication’ (Glick Schiller 2007, p. 449). In this sense, globalisation processes place emphasis on a greater system that regulates, facilitates or hinders movement of culture, capital, labour and communication (Anthias 2010). Whilst globalisation is used to describe systems that affect the world on a global scale, transnationalism is linked to ongoing practices and processes across specific geopolitical borders. As succinctly summarised by Anthias (2002), ‘globalisation … with its attendant to transnational movements of capital and ideas as well as communication flows, has made issues of location more central to people’s understandings’ (p. 500). Anthias (2002) implies that globalisation goes beyond the national lens— for example, financial markets do not depend on physical boundaries for transactions to occur across nations. Transnationalism, on the other hand, is about the impact of global processes at a local level and thus the significance of place and locality. In this context, transnationalism is ‘the process by which immigrants forge and sustain multi-stranded social relations that link together their societies of origin and settlement. We call this process transnationalism to emphasize that many immigrants today build social fields that cross geographic, cultural, and political borders’ (Basch et al. 1994, p. 6). Transnationalism allows ‘researchers to take into account the fact that immigrants live their lives across national borders and respond to the constraints and demands of two or more states’ (Glick Schiller et al. 1995, p. 54), and to explore ‘simultaneous embeddedness’ amongst those who live across borders (Glick Schiller 2007). In this sense, transnationalism acknowledges multi-local perspectives to migration studies in that it

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considers transactions across borders as much as practices linking migrants to different places, including, but not restricted to, place of origin. Drawing on Vertovec (2001), our study seeks to examine transnationalism and identity as concepts that are in juxtaposition. As we explore connections between Latin groups in London and back to the Latin American region, we attempt to contribute to the idea that many peoples’ transnational networks of exchange and participation are grounded upon some perception of common identity. In other words, we seek to understand how identities of numerous individuals and groups of people are negotiated within social worlds that span more than one place across the Atlantic.

2.2

Super-Diversity and Transnational Networks

Transnational networks have intensified and diversified migrant transnational practices across borders (Vertovec 2007). The density and diversity of transnational networks and practices not only occurs when facilitated by technological advancements, but also as a response to hostile or unreceptive responses in the countries in which migrants have settled (Glick Schiller et al. 1995). Transnational migration is not new. However, it is the increased density and diversity of transnational networks and practices that deem them worthy of study. Such exchanges and transactions take place under increasingly sophisticated technological and financial contexts and in an ever more complex and, at times, hostile environment towards migrants. The scale and diversity of transnational practices amongst migrant populations worldwide has led to what Vertovec (2007) has coined ‘superdiverse’ cities. These include cities such as London which, according to the 2011 census, has the smallest percentage of White British people, at 44.9%,1 with 270 nationalities and 300 languages represented.2 However, super-diversity is not just about country of origin, it also accounts for other significant differences and forms of identification. Super-diversity refers to ‘the differential convergence of factors surrounding patterns 1 See https://www.ethnicity-facts-figures.service.gov.uk/uk-population-by-ethnicity/nat ional-and-regional-populations/regional-ethnic-diversity/latest. Accessed 1 March 2020. 2 See https://www.standard.co.uk/news/270-nationalities-and-300-different-languageshow-a-united-nations-of-workers-is-driving-london-6572417.html. Accessed 1 March 2020.

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of immigration since the early 1990s’ (Vertovec 2007, p. 1049). These factors include country of origin, migration channel, legal status, human capital, access to employment, locality, transnationalism and responses by local authorities, service providers and local residents. These differences are also captured in the diversity of local and transnational practices used by migrant populations to assert new and different forms of belongingness. Transnational ways of belonging refer to conscious awareness of those practices and actions that signify or enact an identity: If individuals engage in social relations and practices that cross borders as a regular feature of everyday life, then they exhibit a transnational way of being. When people explicitly recognize this and highlight the transnational elements of who they are, then they are also expressing a transnational way of belonging. Clearly, these two experiences do not always go hand in hand. (Levitt and Glick Schiller 2004, p. 1011)

Thus, a transnational way of belonging is about how activities are ‘represented, understood and translated into an identity politics’, whilst ‘transnational ways of being include everyday life actions and interactions across borders’ (Glick Schiller 2007, p. 458). Transnational living will include the practices and social relations that individuals engage into form transnational networks (Guarnizo 2003). In assessing the economics of transnational living amongst migrants, Guarnizo (2003) calls for an approach that considers the cross-border relations and practices that link migrants with different places (in and outside of Britain). Transnational living is a ‘dynamic social field that involves and affects simultaneously actors (individuals, groups, institutions) located in different countries’ (Guarnizo 2003, p. 670). It accounts for how migrants’ transnational practices influence and transform countries of origin and new localities, but it is equally important for the unintended global economic consequences of such practices (finance, trade, production and consumption of culture). Thus, a focus on migrants’ transnational practices provides a different account of global processes, one that is ‘driven from below by migrants’ (Guarnizo 2003, p. 668). Not all migrant communities participate in transnational practices on equal terms. Different migrant groups will have differentiated and unequal access to the exchange of information and resources. As Portes et al. (1999, 2002) have highlighted, most migrants,

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regardless of sharing the same space, have differentiated access to, and uses for, the technologies at their disposal. This brings power at the centre of the analysis, in that transnational links are embedded in fields of interaction which are, as indicated above, not only multi-local, but also multi-layered (Alexandre 2013; Levitt and Glick Schiller 2004). The multi-layered and multi-local nature of transnational practices is best exemplified in the case of business formation by migrant entrepreneurs whereby their activities involve ties and connections across a diversity of locations. Their economic transactions are dependent upon global financial exchange and the importation of goods, subject to local regulations: Migrants’ transnational engagement has significant influence and transforming effects not only on the development of their localities and countries of origin, but also on global macroeconomic processes, including international finance arrangements, international trade, and the production and consumption of culture. (Guarnizo 2003, p. 667)

The degree to which migrant entrepreneurs can have an impact upon new locations and countries of origin is dependent upon the resources at their disposal and the specific contexts in which they relocate. Thus, a focus on transnationalism will facilitate our analysis in a super-diverse city such as London, by considering the complexity of transnational social fields embedded in our discussion of Latin American entrepreneurs, media and community organisations. Transnational practices would include the activities of migrant entrepreneurs in the supply and demand chain, as much as the activities of organisations promoting cultural events that would reinforce national identity abroad (Portes et al. 1999, 2002). A focus on transnationalism will also facilitate ‘the analysis of structures of power that legitimate social inequalities’ (Glick Schiller 2007, p. 449). So far, we have discussed how globalisation processes and transnationalism are better understood from below, that is by the very practices, transactions and social relations that make possible transnational movements and networks. However, in the context of London, the concept of ‘super-diversity’ has been used to describe how globalisation and transnationalism have accelerated the changing character of global cities, and particularly relevant for us, the multiple ways in which transnational practices materialise in cities. What stems from these discussions is a renewed interest in localities, places and identities—a discussion to which we now turn.

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Place and Identity

Processes of globalisation, transnationalism and migration have led to conceptual shifts in understandings of place and identity (Massey 1993, 1999; Giddens 1990; Harvey 1989, 1993; Foucault 1988; Hall 1990, 1995; Butler 1990; Gilroy 1993; Bhabha 1994). If, throughout modernity, places were conceptualised as fixed, bounded and stable, during the period of late modernity and as part of globalisation discourses, places are thought of as fluid, porous and open to transformation. This shift is partly explained in terms of the changes brought about as part of the spread of modernity around the globe (Giddens 1990) or the developments of capitalism (Harvey 1989). Ideas about identity have also shifted from being stable, homogeneous, unified and dependent on society, to being unstable, fragmented, heterogeneous and displaced—as part of modern thought, identities were considered to be collective and dependent on territorial belongingness. If modern thought brought stability to ideas about identity, late modern thought incorporates feelings of ambiguity, difference and exclusion to contemporary understandings of identity. However, it is still the case that identity is explored in terms of the positive relationships developing with and across places, leaving aside questions about how this relationship might be dominated by feelings of fear, anxiety, antagonism and non-belongingness. The bulk of research on place and identity can be divided into two main strands—one that mainly focuses on the identity of places; the other sets out to explore the links that different groups of people, defined by either their ethnic or geographical background, establish with places. These studies have been significant in that they adopt a progressive sense of place and anti-essentialist position with regard to identity. Reconceptualising place as unbounded, multi-layered and not exclusively territorial has been a central concern in these writings—whilst identity is taken to be unfixed and in a continual process of transformation. Both strands of research tend to regard places and identities as active, porous and open to transformation and contestation. Some of the work produced under the umbrella of place and identity (Orum and Chen 2002; Hall 1990) has been pivotal in highlighting the particular ways in which people establish a link with places, and for understanding the practices through which places are transformed and, in this process, given particular identities.

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In the first instance, it is often the case that identity is vaguely explored and illustrated via a series of visible signifiers. Identity seems to be regarded as the physical characteristics of individuals, groups and places. In this sense, identity is treated as a matter of representation, and in the process of de-codification, a series of assumptions are made about certain people, their practices and their place of origin. What was once regarded as a novel approach to identity and place has, more than ever, become a descriptive account of the series of visible characteristics about a place and the people that inhabit and exist in those places. To rethink places and identities as unfixed, hybrid and open to transformation, does not solve the problem of how they have been researched. It is not a matter of describing places and identities in terms of their conceptualisation—that is to describe them in terms of being hybrid, unbounded and unfixed— but to consider the historical and material practices that contribute to our understanding of places and identities as such. To reduce identity to its representation will only result in a superficial exploration of the relationship between place and identity. Instead, we suggest an approach that considers the way in which identity and place are embedded in longer historical processes and material practices. Second, the relationship between place and identity all too often appears in terms of attachment, solidarity and belonging. We suggest that feelings of detachment, ambiguity and of not belonging are equally important for how we are to understand the relationship between place and identity. Feelings of detachment and non-belonging are positive forces contributing to further understand how, if at all, the relationship between place and identity develops. However, further understanding of how this happens is needed and very little has been done in this area. The point here is that the relationship between place and identity could be in the form of attachment, bond and solidarity and/or detachment, ambiguity and feelings of not belonging. We suggest the need for an approach that considers identity not just in terms of its representation, but through a thorough understanding of the historical processes and material practices which contribute to the changing character of identities. We also urge a reconsideration of identity in terms of feelings of ambiguity and detachment as invaluable for understanding the often unstable, uncertain and malleable sense of identity or experience of identity. As such, we argue that feelings of detachment, ambiguity and of not belonging are equally important for how we are to understand identity formation or the experience of identity.

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Identity

Identity has become increasingly significant in the social sciences. Modern identities were thought of as stable, unified and static; in late modernity or postmodernity, these are regarded as unstable, fragmented and open to transformation. This re-conceptualisation has played a key role in the pursuit of present and future research projects and agendas across disciplinary boundaries. Identities invoke history, language and culture as a matter of becoming as well as of being. Thus, identities are not grounded in an essentialised past, but refer to how we position (or understand) ourselves in relation to historical and cultural discourses, but also, to how that might change (Hall 1990). In this sense, then, identity, as Gilroy (1993) has expressed it, is about difference as much as it is about a shared sense of belonging. In this respect, identification entails the demarcation of boundaries, in terms of not only what is of common ground or shared characteristics amongst individuals, but also most importantly what is left outside of those boundaries. Thus, identities are constructed through difference. This notion of identity also points to the idea that identities are constructed within discourse. This approach is an attempt to move from the idea of identity as a shared sense of belonging through history, solidarity and allegiance, to one that considers identities as fragmented, fractured, in a constant process of transformation and that ‘multiply constructed across different, often intersecting and antagonistic discourses, practices and positions’ (Hall 1996, p. 4). A distinction needs to be made concerning the use and application of the concept of identity that circulates amongst psychoanalysis, sociology and cultural studies. The problem seems to be that each approach uses the term in a rather limited and exclusive way. In sociology, identity is still explored with reference to issues of class, gender, religion, family and community; in cultural studies, the emphasis is on the discursive, whilst in psychoanalysis a great deal of attention is paid to the individual, the self and the body. These traditions might intersect; however, it is often the case that the psyche and discursive aspects of identity (Hall 1996)— and we may also add the institutional dimensions of identity—do not meet. Thus, the call to rethink identity in terms of a meeting point is not about rejecting the concept altogether, but rather revisiting it with a clear understanding of what identity is. After all, this seems to have been the problem, the concept of identity is often taken for granted and reduced

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to a label that is illustrated with regard to places, people or practices. We argue that it is precisely this lack of knowledge about identity per se that has produced a body of research that reduces identity to its representation or to the institutional dimension of society (or to how the institutional dimensions of society contribute to identity formation). It seems to us that in order to move forward, recognition of the merits of each approach and an attempt to merge the best of them to form a valid working concept of identity is required. The most notable attempt made to do this has been by Stuart Hall. However, the difficulty is that whilst appreciated on a theoretical level, when utilised, much of the richness of this argument is lost, most frequently to its representative dimension. Identity, according to Stuart Hall refers: … to the meeting point, the point of suture, between on the one hand the discourses and practices which attempt to ‘interpellate’, speak to us or hail us into place as the social subjects of particular discourses, and on the other hand, the processes which produce subjectivities, which construct us as subjects which can be ‘spoken’. Identities are thus points of temporary attachment to the subject positions which discursive practices construct for us … Identities are, as it were, the positions which the subject is obliged to keep up while always ‘knowing’ (the language of consciousness here betrays us) that they are representations … (1996, pp. 5–6)

There are three main points to Stuart Hall’s understanding of identities. First, identities are constituted within discourse in as much as discourse produces what it names and regulates; second, identities are constituted through difference in the way in which it is dependent upon that which it negates; and finally, identities are enacted through the subject positions made available through language and cultural codes (Du gay et al. 2000). Identities are understood as the positions we take up and identify with as subjects of discourse (Woodward 1997). This is an approach to establish a bridge between the discursive and psychoanalytical versions of identity: particularly those exploring the relationship between subject and language. It draws from the structuralist and post-structuralist approaches to languages in that identities are enacted through the subject positions made available through language and cultural codes, and that identities are constituted through difference (Redman 2000). The main difference here is that it places identity

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production outside of ideology and amongst the discursive. Placing identity within the discursive field rather than the ideological is indicative of the way in which the relationship between the subject and language has been theorised. We need to only consider Louis Althuser’s (2014) approach to ideology to find some resonance of his argument on Hall’s version of identity. Althusser’s main argument is that we recognise ourselves as subjects in so far as we are conscious of the practices of ideological recognition. Recognising ourselves as subjects entails the process through which ideology interpellates individuals as subjects. In this respect, ideology transforms the individual into subjects by the process of interpellation. This necessarily involves a consideration of how individuals are recruited to the subject positions made available in ideology and of the subject as constituted from outside. Thus, Hall’s idea that identity does not exist within the subject but is constituted through the subject positions made available through language and cultural codes (Redman 2000), owes a lot to Althusser’s theorisation on the subject and ideology. For Althusser, ideology interpellates individuals as subjects and produces subject positions which we get to know through language and cultural codes. That is, we get to know about the subject positions through systems of representation. This part of the argument also draws on structural and post-structural linguistics, in so far as language is a system of representation, for which the idea of difference and cultural specificity is crucial to how we understand the production of meaning. So, in this sense then, ‘discourses and systems of representation construct places from which individuals can position themselves and from which they can speak’ (Woodward 1997, p. 14). Stuart Hall does not fully locate identity production amongst the sphere of the discursive, but also acknowledges the possibilities brought about by psychoanalysis. The psychoanalysis approach takes on board the idea of the subject positions by considering the types of investments that people might take when assuming an identity (Woodward 1997). In Stuart Hall’s terms, these subject positions are made available to us through language by a process of representation. This perspective differs from the psychoanalytical version of identity in that it does not refer to that type of ‘human material that is always already present’ (Redman 2000, p. 10), that is pre-social, true or essential to the human body, but to the way in which identities are enacted through subject positions, which again, we can only get to know through language and cultural codes.

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As we have explained, the definition of identity outlined above is an attempt to bridge different approaches to the concept of identity. However, it is often the case that identity is illustrated via a series of visible signifiers resulting in a vague exploration of the concept. Identity seems to be regarded as the physical characteristic of individuals, groups and places. In this respect, identity is treated as a matter of representation, and in the process of de-codification, a series of assumptions are made about certain people, their practices and their place of origin. One of the points we stress is that ‘identities‘ cannot simply be interpreted, assumed or ‘read’ from the most obvious visible images or audible codes—television forms, dramatic genres, new musical styles that draw from a variety of sources, clothing that combines ‘eastern’ and ‘western’ forms of dress, displaced mixed cuisine or fused music sounds (Negus and Román-Velázquez 2002). Such obvious manifestations do not in any straightforward way indicate a change of identity, nor a movement towards ‘hybrid’ or ‘cosmopolitan’ identities (García Canclini 2005; Georgiou 2013). Our point is that cultural identities are established by people in relation to specific times and places; powerful social forces enable or allow certain practices and not others. Hence, to understand identity we need to do more than interpret the signs on the streets or codes being beamed into homes. We need to ask questions about the presence and absence of people and things, and the practices that enable or constrain the endurance or transformation of identities. It is in this light that we now turn to a more specific discussion on how these concepts intersect with transformative digital spaces. Consideration of the experiences of digital diasporas allows us to understand issues of representation and transformative identity practices—a discussion we develop in subsequent chapters.

2.5

Digital Diasporas

Throughout the last two decades, the concept of diaspora has been central to debate in a wide range of fields such as cultural, media, post-colonial and area studies, as well as politics, sociology, international relations and social anthropology. Not without criticism, the term has expanded discussions on its conceptualisations, meanings and theoretical usefulness. This is partly the product of a desire and need amongst scholars to explore new dimensions of human mobility and connectivity:

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One needs to explore the multiple ways in which the debate on diasporas and the very concept of “diaspora” converge with broader contemporary debates of globalization and late modernity. Such an examination involves a search for the intersections between a “theory of globalization” or of “transnationalism” and the study of diasporic cultures. It requires thinking in terms of transnational and global flows and situating “diasporic cultures” in their midst, understanding them in terms of their relation to the complex ethnoscapes, financescapes, mediascapes, technoscapes, and ideoscapes that make up the global terrain and the networks that populate these. The intersection of the complex connectivity that underpins the transnational field and of the processes of cultural reinvention and reconstruction that the diasporic condition sets in motion effectively renders media technologies and diasporic media crucial factors in the reproduction and transformation of diasporic identities, and of diasporas in general. (Tsagarousianou and Retis 2019, p. 3)

In communication studies, the term diaspora experienced a revival due to the link with new technologies and how these enabled transnational migrants to connect around the world (Witteborn 2019). Several researchers have focused on the discourse of connectivity between migrants and the relationship to transnational economic, political and sociocultural formations across borders (Alonso and Oiarzabal 2010; Brinkerhoff 2009; Georgiou 2006). With the advent of the digital revolution and its implications for migration processes, new concepts and terms such as the ‘online’, ‘connected’ or ‘co-present migrant’ (Nedelcu 2019; Diminescu 2008; Nedelcu and Wyss 2016) enriched the academic discussion around digital diasporas. These terms refer to migrants who are intensively engaged in transnational ways of being and ways of belonging, who are developing transnational habitus and disseminating cosmopolitan values, whilst simultaneously engaging in reviving and/or reinventing narratives of origin (Nedelcu 2019). The incorporation of the new technologies in the analysis of migration and mobility also brought light to the conceptualisation of digital diasporas—diasporas organised on the Internet—as diasporas may use digital spaces as instrumental networks to promote and recreate collective and individual identities (Brinkerhoff 2009). Research on digital diasporas has evolved to new conceptual developments such as polymedia (Madianou and Miller 2012) or diaspora and cosmopolitanism (Nessi and Guedes 2014; Christensen and Jansson 2014), and mediatised migrant (Hepp et al. 2012), amongst others. As researchers have asserted, we are still

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confronting two main obstacles. On the one hand, the term digital diaspora still lacks a clear definition; on the other hand, the field of digital diaspora studies has insufficiently accounted for diverging geopolitical motivations to form communities, the multi-spatial specificities of living and communicating within and across the Global North and the Global South, as well as the diversity which is reflected, reinforced and possibly contested within and across digital diasporas (Candidatu et al. 2019, p. 33). We agree with Candidatu et al. (2019) that ‘digital diasporas are relationally constituted here and there, across platforms, spaces, borders and networks, online and offline, by humans and data, users and platforms, through material, symbolic, and emotional practices that are all constitutive of intersecting power relations’ (p. 40). Our approach incorporates this relational aspect to our study in order to implement a broader scope into the understanding of the Latino/a-Latin American diasporic transnationalism settings in European contexts. Moreover, as we seek to explore and analyse the concept of ‘British Latinidad’, we incorporate the contributions from Latin American and Latina/o Critical Race Theory perspectives into our theoretical approach.

2.6 Latina/o Critical Race and Communication Theories Since its inception in the 1980s, Critical Race Theory (CRT) (Crenshaw et al. 1995) paved the route to the discussion on how race, instead of being biologically grounded and natural, is socially constructed, emphasising the importance of incorporating the analysis within historical and cultural contexts to deconstruct racialised frameworks. Critical race scholars advanced the discussion through the Latina/o lens when studying the relationship between race, racism and power (Alemán and Alemán 2010; Delgado and Stefancic 2001). Latina/o Critical Race Theory (LatCrit) is concerned with a progressive sense of coalitional Latina/Latino pan-ethnicity (Valdes 1999), and addresses issues often ignored by critical race theorists (Delgado Bernal 2013) in the United States. As Delgado Bernal annotates, ‘LatCrits theorize issues such as language, immigration, ethnicity, phenotype and sexuality. It’s a theory that elucidates Latinas/Latinos’ multidimensional identities and can address the intersectionality of racism, sexism, classism and other forms of oppression’ (Delgado Bernal 2013, p. 392).

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Most of the LatCrit work started from critical educational research perspectives and moved to other areas of study in the United States. Solórzano (1998) outlined the main themes that formed the basic perspectives, research methods and pedagogy of a critical race theory in education: (1) the centrality and intersectionality of race and racism; (2) the challenge of dominant ideology; (3) the commitment to social justice; (4) the centrality of experiential knowledge; and (5) the interdisciplinary perspective. In this context, and as Anguiano et al. (2012) annotated, an important contribution of LatCrit has been an explicit focus on the intersections of oppression that come from multiple parts of identity, including ethnicity, culture, nationality and language issues. Efforts from LatCrit scholars are committed to four main aims: (1) the production of critical and interdisciplinary knowledge; (2) the promotion of substantive transformation; (3) the expansion and interconnection of antisubordination struggles; and (4) the cultivation of community and coalition amongst outside scholars (Valdes 1999). We concur with these critical perspectives where they urge researchers to highlight the experiences of people of colour as validated holders and creators of knowledge (Delgado Bernal 2002). Moving this discussion into the communication arena, Castañeda et al. (2017) examined the lack of Latina/os in the academic discipline of communication in the United States, which affects the production of scholarship that claims to be politically committed to responding more broadly to the demographic, political and cultural changes. Despite these overwhelming challenges and their minimal presence in the discipline, Latinx communication academics have made important scholarly contributions that bring together communication/media studies with Chicana/Latina/o studies: ‘through these efforts, these scholars bring new forms of conocimiento in order to broaden the communication discipline to include, analyse and draft the public and personal voices, discourses, stories, and images of Latinx individuals and communities’ (Castañeda et al. 2017, p. 160). In this context, the theoretical progression of critical Latina/o communication studies as a framework that can potentially speak to the material, verbal, visual, and discursive experiences of Latinx in a globalised world, is increasingly evolving within the discipline. At first glance, it might seem obvious that the topic of Latinos/as, media and representation would fit squarely with the work of critical race theorists (CRT) who are interested in studying and transforming the relationship

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between race, racism and power (Delgado and Stefancic 2001). Yet whilst there has been work in that area, Anguiano and Castañeda (2014) illustrate that communication researchers have not been overly enthusiastic in connecting their work within this tradition. In this globalised world of digital media, Anguiano and Castañeda (2014) propose a confluence of the subfields of CRT and Latino Critical Race theory, or LatCrit, to create ‘Latina/o Critical Communication Theory’, in an effort to ‘contribute to critical communication studies and its commitment to investigate inequality in order to foster social change’ (p. 109). They intend to disrupt silos by encouraging a cross-functional bridge that can potentially ground common theoretical tenets about Latina/o subjectivities. The Latina/o Critical Communication Theory framework proposes an effort to move away from the fragmented examinations of Latina/os as racialised subjects centring the analysis in: (1) centralising the Latino experience; (2) deploying decolonising methodological approaches; (3) acknowledging and addressing the racism faced by the Latina/o community; (4) resisting literacy-colour-blind language/rhetoric toward Latina/os; and (5) promoting a social justice dimension. Latina/o Critical Communication Theory requires us to put Latina/o experiences at the centre and to focus on the racist encounters experienced by Latina/os in media, policy discourse and intercultural interactions in order to uncover the discrimination that exists based upon Latina/o identity (Anguiano and Castañeda 2014, p. 115). We seek to explore these dimensions into the Latinx experience in European contexts. Throughout a decade-long research period, taking both sociological and communication approaches, we have been seeking to build a comprehensive theoretical approach that uncovers most aspects of the Latina/o/s condition to conceptualise and understand the dynamics of these heterogeneous groups (Retis 2019). We seek to engage with concepts and perspectives that can better help to understand the specificities of ‘European Latinidad’. By bringing the US Latinidad into the European discussion on migration and diversity, we seek to draw on a distinctive and coherent disciplinary core and substantive topics and theoretical orientations, to explore this new area of scholarship.

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Understanding British Latinidad

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In the early 2000s, Angharad Valdivia examined how, within two decades of the announcement that Latina/os had become the largest segment of the minority population in the United States, the twin forces of institutional and marketing needed to construct, survey and sell to an identifiable ethnic group as well as internal Latina/o community, strategies to forge a pan-national, pan-ethnic political and cultural group from which to make demands on the state and other social institutions—‘we now have the category Latina/os, the cultural identity of Latinidad, the state of being or performing Latina/o identity, and the formation of Latina/o Studies in within the academy’ (Valdivia 2004, pp. 107–108). As argued elsewhere, the diverse self-perceptions of what it is to be ‘Latino/a’ or ‘Hispanic’ in the United States reflect the complex and heterogeneous nature of continuum of collective and individual identities (Retis 2019). Latina/os, as a group, hold so much internal heterogeneity and political contradiction when understood as a singular identity, which is why cultural representation of Latinidad became the terrain where scholars, critics and educators can approach the question of coherence (Del Río 2017). Drawing on Laó-Montes and Dávila (2001), it is essential to understand: (1) how Latinidad became, not only a keyword in the field of Latina/o Studies in the United States, but also an analytical concept that signifies a category of identification, familiarity and affinity; (2) how Latinization constitutes the analysis of practices or historically framed and situationally located processes of formation and transformation (LaoMontes 2001); and (3) how both conform critical perspectives when studying the structures and dynamics behind its production, circulation and consumption (Dávila 2001). Hailing from a wide variety of methodological and thematic approaches, the relatively new and growing scope of Latina/o Studies and Latina/o Media Studies in the United States embrace understanding complex and hybrid realities. Most of the latest work seeks to understand everyday social conditions faced by Latina/os. Both constitutive and reflective of the political moment within which we are living, they exemplify the manner in which today’s Latina/o Media Studies offers a dynamic set of templates for grappling with mediated difference (Cepeda and Casillas 2017, p. 7). Scholars are also investigating how, despite the invisibility in most media venues, Latinos/as and most racial ‘majorities’ are no longer numerical ‘minorities’, and how to pay more attention to

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the political economy and cultural politics of Latino media within media, communication and cultural studies whilst encouraging more work to fill the enormous voids in these growing fields of study (Dávila and Rivero 2014, p. 3). In this book, our work chronicles contemporary international migration from Latin America to the UK, addressing the complexities of invoking a sense of Latinidad in transnational and diasporic contexts within a larger theoretical and interdisciplinary discussion relevant to our understanding of hybridisation and heterogeneity (Retis 2019). It also draws on the specificities that the geopolitical context brings to our understanding of the tensions, dissonances and power relations that are built around manifestations, expressions and practices of ‘Latin London’ and ‘Latin urbanisms’ (Román-Velázquez 1999, 2014). We seek to foster a comprehensive transdisciplinary approach in an expanded geographical scope that can contribute to our understanding of territoriality, race, class and nation as well as how Latinidad is a multidimensional category that is constantly negotiated, reconstructed and reinvented. In the case of Britain, we argue that the concept of Latinidad is fraught between a political stance to disassociate from a colonial past—mostly evident in groups that identify as Latin Americans in a concerted campaign for recognition in local and national monitoring forms—to one that invokes its colonial heritage as a strategic positioning—evident in the Luso/Ibero-American campaign. Whilst every story and crisis around immigration reveals that the subject of migration is neither linear nor contained within nation-states (Hegde 2016), neither diasporic identity nor the media should be taken as a stable and unquestionable reference for people who share the same origin and similar names or surnames (Georgiou 2006). As Georgiou demonstrated, critical reflexive adoption of both media and anthropological ethnographic practice helps examine appropriation of symbols and active formation of meanings on social relations and identity construction. In this context, we seek to understand how the British Latinidad has become a new form of identification, one that constitutes a hybrid imagined community with pieces collected from various countries that make up the Latin American and the Luso-Iberian region, but that finds commonality in the relational context in which they meet—a Britain who, over time, has transformed into a multi-ethnic culture. Yet, finding Latinidad in a British culture, as we perceived in our interviews and observation

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practices, demands wide-ranging multilevel spaces and sets of belongingness—one that also includes the digital, diasporic and transnational levels. In looking at both shores of the Atlantic but focusing on the hyperlocal and transnational realities in the European context, and more specifically the hyper-diverse global city of London, we seek to compare and contrast the multiple dimensions of the Latina/o experience in the United Kingdom, that might resemble some of the patterns faced by Latinas/os in the United States, but which includes the specificities of the experiences of non-European and diverse ethnic groups in a multi-ethnic London. The chapters that follow are an attempt to chronicle the trajectories of a diverse group of Latin Americans with diverse experiences of migration. The titles of each chapter capture such trajectories from the point of migration, to finding work and asserting spaces of recognition in diasporic media practices and urban spaces.

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Nedelcu M., & Wyss M. (2016). ‘Doing Family’ Through ICT-Mediated Ordinary Co-presence Routines: Transnational Communication Practices of Romanian Migrants in Switzerland. Global Networks, 16(2), 202–218. https://doi. org/10.1111/glob.12110. Negus, K., & Román-Velázquez, P. (2002). Belonging and Detachment: Musical Experience and the Limits of Identity. Poetics: Journal of Empirical Research on Culture, the Media and the Arts, 30(2–3). Holland and US: Elsevier Publishers. Nessi, L., & Guedes Bailey, O. (2014). Privileged Mexican Migrants in Europe: Distinctions and Cosmopolitanism on Social Networking Sites. Crossings: Journal of Migration and Culture, 5(1), 121–137. Orum, A. M., & Chen, X. (2002). The World of Cities: Places in Comparative and Historical Perspective. Oxford: Blackwell. Portes, A. (1997). Immigration Theory for a New Century: Some Problems and Opportunities. International Migration Review, 31(4), 799–825. Portes, A., Guarnizo, L. E., & Landolt, P. (1999). The Study of Transnationalism: Pitfalls and Promise of an Emergent Research Field. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 22(2), 217–237. https://doi.org/10.1080/014198799329468. Portes, A., Guarnizo, L. E., & Haller, W. J. (2002). Transnational Entrepreneurs: An Alternative Form of Immigrant Economic Adaptation. American Sociological Review, 67 (2), 278–298. https://doi.org/10.2307/3088896. Purkayastha, B. (2012). Intersectionality in a Transnational World. Gender & Society, 26(1), 55–66. Redman, P. (2000). The Subject of Language, Ideology and Discourse: Introduction. In P. du Gay, J. Evans, & P. Redman (Eds.), Identity: A reader (pp. 9–14). London: Sage. Retis, J. (2014). Latino Diasporas and the Media: Interdisciplinary Approaches to Understanding Transnationalism and Communication. In F. Darling-Wolf (Ed.), The International Encyclopedia of Media Studies: Research Methods in Media Studies (Vol. 7, pp. 570–594). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley-Blackwell. Retis, J. (2019). Homogenizing Heterogeneity in Transnational Contexts. Contemporary Latin American Diasporas and the Media in the Global North. In J. Retis & R. Tsagarousianou (Eds.), The Handbook of Diaspora, Media, and Culture (pp. 115–136). Hoboken, NJ. Willey-Blackwell. Román-Velázquez, P. (1999). The Making of Latin London: Salsa Music, Place and Identity. London: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/978131 5238487. Román-Velázquez, P. (2014). Claiming a Place in the Global City: Urban Regeneration and Latin American Spaces in London. In Eptic Online (Vol. 16). Retrieved from https://repository.lboro.ac.uk/account/articles/9463370. Smets, K., Leurs, K., Georgiou, M., Witteborn, S., & Gajjala, R. (2019). The SAGE Handbook of Media and Migration. London: Sage.

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CHAPTER 3

Latin American Immigration to Europe: The Case of London

The refugees and migrants who arrived in Britain in the immediate postwar years had to develop new ways of making sense of their lives. They gave up their everyday immersion in the ordinary world of family, village and small-town life for the sake of a future which they could only dimly imagine. They left familiar environments and, as they disembarked at Tilbury, Southampton, Liverpool or London Airport, instantly became strangers. They were marked as outsiders by their language, accents, clothes, customs and, sometimes, their skin colour. Even fifty and sixty years after their arrival in a still mono-cultural Britain, it is rare to meet post-war immigrants who feel a straightforward sense of belonging, however happy and successful their lives have been. They will always be from elsewhere (Wills 2017, pp. x–xi). Public discourse about migrants has varied since the origins of the European Union (EU). This has ranged across a number of perspectives that consider population flows from former colonies overseas; the guest worker image during the years after World War II when interregional migration initiated from Southern to Northern European countries; the establishment of the Schengen Agreement on a common visa policy and the abolition of systematic internal borders in the mid-1980s; the so-called refugee crisis in 2015; and, more recently in the context of Brexit, continuous debates about the presence of non-European

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immigrants. However, some groups have remained invisible, underrepresented, miscounted by different European governments, and hence, have remained understudied in the field of migration research. Over the last ten years, pioneer researchers have attempted to address these lacunae in terms of a broad focus on Latin Americans in the European context (McIlwaine et al. 2011), but there is still a long way to advance. In this chapter, we intend to provide historical and transnational perspective on the origins, evolution, current trends and possible future of EU Latin American diasporas in London. The invisibility of migrants can affect their rights, protection, treatment, entitlement and recognition. In international settings, irregular migrants, victims of trafficking, forced migrants, domestic workers or unaccompanied children are amongst the groups that tend to remain invisible (Battistella 2017). However, getting to the surface of visibility means facing several challenges and requires scholars to value its relevance from different perspectives such as social, legal, political and religious visibility (Battistella 2017), to name a few. Although invisibility remains a problem when defending immigrants’ rights, distorted visibility can signify a challenge. More than a decade ago, the International Organization of Migrations alerted us to the fact that in spite of the revolution in communications, there are many people who have inadequate information on the magnitude, implications and the socio-economic context of migration (IOM 2011). Through the analysis of several public opinion surveys, in 2011 the IOM showed that there has been a gradual decline in support of immigration in OECD countries, notably in the second half of the 1990s, suggesting that there may be a correlative relation with increased international immigrant flows (IOM 2011). When a group of immigrants remain understudied or unexplored, their existence goes unnoticed and thus, they remain invisible. As addressed elsewhere, Latin American migration is a collectively constructed social phenomenon (Retis 2014). Due to the lack of regional and comparative data in both regions (EU and LAC), it remains challenging to obtain an accurate picture of Latin American diasporas in Europe. Moreover, precise documentation on the increasing number of Latin Americans arriving in the UK, and specifically to London, is scarce. Consequently, we consulted a wide range of secondary sources and estimates provided by several researchers who are trying to clarify the magnitude of migration flows from Latin America to Europe, and to the UK in particular.

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From our previous research projects, we were aware of the growing numbers of Latin Americans in the UK and Spain during the 1990s and the turn of the century (McIlwaine 2015; Román-Velázquez 1999; Retis 2006). We argue that the lack of data around these growing communities in the European scenario demonstrated political disinterest in considering these minorities within the European region. The fact that there were no reliable sources that accounted for the growing presence of Latin Americans in the European region implies a political will to make them invisible in the context of non-European immigration. In addition, there were no reliable sources documenting comparative analyses of the number of emigrants from the Latin American region to the European region. Henceforth, it was challenging to produce a comparative analysis at regional level. More than two decades after the continuous increase of migration flows from Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) to Europe, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) published its first report (Pellegrino 2004). It was the first attempt to examine what was until then an understudied area after the turn of the century. Whilst numbers identified flows directed mainly towards the southern countries, there was also a significant increase to other north European countries—and we would say, mainly cities—during those years. What explains the peak of these flows by the turn of the century? Why did it take so long to start examining EU-LAC relations, particularly those focusing attention on migratory flows? Why is it that Latin Americans have been mostly invisible in European immigration discourse? We argue that the expansion of the geographical and historical scope of this scenario is important to understand not only push/pull factors on both shores of the Atlantic, but also the transnational essence of LAC diasporas as well as the political economies at the turn of the century. These would include: the economic recession and social conflicts in Latin American countries; the tightening of immigration control in the United States; and the new opening of European doors to foreign workers during those decades. It is fundamental to incorporate a transnational perspective and a wide geographical scope when examining the contemporary history of LAC diasporas in Europe. With the objective of setting the sociodemographic context of Latin Americans in London, we extend the historical and geographical dimensions of our analysis to put into perspective the specificities of contemporary diasporas in global cities (Sassen 2001). In doing so, we underline

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international migratory trends between Latin America and Europe in a larger historical span. First, we address how both regions transitioned from ‘receiver’ to ‘sender’, and how these trends conditioned current scenarios; second, we review the origins and evolution of LAC migrations to Europe with specific attention placed on the difficulties of obtaining an accurate picture due to a lack of access to comparative data; third, we address a contemporary history of Latin American immigration to the United Kingdom with particular emphasis on the hyper-diverse city of London and the position of Latin Americans in the non-European migration context in the British capital. The leitmotiv of this chapter is to examine the paradoxes of an invisible presence.

3.1 The Constitution of Contemporary Latin American Diasporas in Europe During the first decade of this century, European statistics showed a rapid increase in the number of Latin Americans mainly in Southern European countries. Unlike Latina/o migrants to the United States, these were identified as highly feminised groups, with women constituting over half of the total migratory flows (Pellegrino 2004). The constituency of European-Latin American (EU-LAC) diasporas has been heterogeneous since its inception: from a reduced number of highly skilled migrants, asylum seekers and exiles, to a majority of economic migrants looking to obtain an ever-increasing number of unskilled jobs during the European economic boom—particularly between the late 1980s and early 2000s— to an increased flow of human trafficking, amongst others (Bermudez 2003; Román-Velázquez 1999). Whilst Southern European countries were considered the ‘newcomers’ to the European Union, Latin American migrants constituted the ‘newcomers’ in those states (Retis 2006). At the turn of the twentyfirst century, the European Union started strengthening ties with Latin America, due mainly to growing investment and economic interests in the region. The awareness of an increasing number of Latin Americans in Southern European countries brought attention from policymakers who started seeing opportunities and challenges in this scenario, particularly important since the EU Commission’s proposal to enhance co-operation and partnerships with third countries and to promote the dialogue on migration between the EU and LAC (Pellegrino 2004).

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International migrations have played an important role in the history of Latin America and its diasporic formations, and the evolving character of contemporary mobility is also confirmed within their constituency in transnational contexts. Public discourse tends to homogenise such diverse groups into an allegedly homogenous collective group, misrecognising the various intersections in terms of race, ethnicity, gender, age, class, language, religion, citizenship and nation (Retis 2019). Latin American countries are constituted by heterogeneous communities; hence, despite the trend in public discourse, their diasporas shouldn’t be considered as a homogeneous group. The extended geographical and historical scope helps us to examine how the constitution of EU-LAC emerged as a result of geopolitical positions and realignment of labour relations beyond both regions’ borders (Retis 2006). Historically, international migrations have played an important role in the constituency of Latin American countries, which is why the region became one of the most diverse in the world, with historical ties to several other continents, including Europe (Retis 2017, 2019). Its transformation by the mid-twentieth century into one of the most relevant sending areas of labour migration worldwide has been addressed by scholars arguing for the need to advance in the analysis of Latin American diasporas’ governance (Soltész 2016) which still remains a pending task on both sides of the Atlantic. For centuries, Latin America has transformed its multicultural composition into diverse groups of indigenous, mestizos, mulattos, blacks, whites and Asians, with roots in and outside the region. Contradictions between modernisation and democratisation processes led to a continuous progression of transculturation, influencing the formation of Latin American ‘hybrid cultures’ (García Canclini 2005). Our approach to the analysis of LAC diasporas in Europe looks at the examination of the various categories of movements and their historical phases. Drawing on Portes (2017), we can identify five types of international migrations into and from the region: Colonizing and coerced migrations during the colonial era that brought populations from Europe and Africa, followed by induced migration by the end of the slavery that brought more migrants from Europe but also from Asia. The colonizing, coerced and induced migrations that had populated the continent for three centuries were followed by spontaneous internal and external migration to the region.

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By the second half of the nineteenth century, the region gradually intensified emigration flows across the Atlantic. In this context, we should point out that even though international migration from Latin America has been driven mainly by economic reasons, it is indispensable to include those groups of people that left the region to escape civil war or political violence in order to seek refugee status. Following Pellegrino (2003), we can identify four historical phases: after the first phase of colonisation, the post-decolonisation processes and the formation of nation-states coexisted with the economic internationalisation of the region. The extensive territories with low demographic density in Latin America were complemented by the growth of the European population, which was going through the first stages of its demographic transition and experienced strong internal and international mobility. Former colonies adopted the principle of freedom of entry to their territories and enacted laws tending to promote the arrival of immigrants, conforming the second phase. The crisis of the 20s and the end of economic liberalism, which was complemented by the retraction of Europeans, meant that Latin America would receive last waves of transcontinental immigration originated mainly in Southern Europe, conforming the third phase, taking place approximately between the 1930s and mid-1960s. During this period, internal movements towards urban areas predominated and international migration acquired a regional and border character, functioning as a complement to internal migration. The fourth phase began in the second half of the twentieth century. The migratory balance in the region became steadily negative and emigration to North America and Europe came to be constant. For its part, Europe also underwent its transformation from a region of emigration to one of immigration. After the recovery from the effects of World War II, the continent entered a phase of gradual economic growth, unevenly distributed between northern and southern EU countries. Significant migration into post-war Europe began with labour migration in the 1950s, with workers brought in on temporary contracts. As Parsons and Smeeding (2006) annotated, these Gastarbeiter were not seen as prospective citizens but as filling a passing need in labour markets. Whilst ‘guest worker’ programmes attracted mainly labour migrants from Southern European countries, by the 1970s large numbers had not returned home and they increasingly brought in families to establish full-fledged communities in European cities: ‘Whatever their legal commitments to tolerance and social capacity for long-term integration,

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European people generally did not actively choose to let recent migrants in’ (Parsons and Smeeding 2006, p. 7). During those years, and as a result of decolonisation processes, Caribbean countries started migration flows from Asia and Africa to former metropolitan European countries. Our approach to understand Latin American diasporas in the UK considers flows coming from these Caribbean countries, because even though we concentrate our analysis mainly in Latin America, both groups tend to cohabit local areas in the British capital. The strong economic growth of Europe during the mid-1970s implied a new transformation of the region. On the one hand, the European Union (EU) became stronger and welcomed new members, such as the United Kingdom (1973), holding the first European Parliament direct elections in 1979. On the other hand, the economic bonanza of the region spread to Southern European countries that were incorporated to the UE in the early and mid-1980s, such as Spain and Portugal (1986), two countries with strong colonial liaisons with Latin America, whilst Italy was part of the EU since its inception during the 1950s. As we will see, these countries became attractive destinations for Latin American international migration (Retis 2006). The geographical and political economic perspectives of the trend of events on both sides of the Atlantic during the last quarter of the century contribute to the understanding of the pendular movement from one shore of the Atlantic to the other. Whilst Europe experienced an economic bonanza in the 1970s, Latin America faced deep economic, political and social crises. The 1980s were coined by critical studies as the ‘Lost Decade’ due to the external debt crisis that created years of contractionary macroeconomic policies, stagnation of the economy, a rise in unemployment and consequent political and social struggles, amongst others (Hermann 2017; Ocampo 2013; Devlin and French 1995). This conjuncture led to an increased number of emigrants due to economic, but also political, reasons. During the last quarter of the twentieth century, economic labour immigrants arrived mainly in Spain, Portugal and Italy, but also the United Kingdom, to join political and exiled Latin Americans who settled in Europe by the mid-twentieth century. These groups started growing and intensifying their presence during the 1990s and the 2000s but limited information and access to data made it very difficult to quantify and compare their presence in most European countries, with the exception of some in the south.

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The direct consequence of this lack of information made the LAC diasporas almost invisible in the old continent. Since the early 2000s until now, pioneer researchers have been indicating various obstacles in obtaining statistical information that could contribute to better comprehend interconnections within European LAC diasporas at local, national, regional and transnational levels (Pellegrino 2004). On the other side of the Atlantic, statistics on Latin American flows to Europe were inaccurate. The Centro Latinoamericano y Caribeño de Demografía (CELADE) reunites census data on LAC migrants in all countries of the region as well as in the United States and Canada from 1960 and forth, but not for Europe. Thus, there was scarce access to regional comparative data. Moreover, as European censuses categorise immigrants based on their citizenship, it prevents identification of those who claimed nationality via heritage lines, which was the case for a good number of Latin Americans in southern countries. Furthermore, some data is based on registers of residence, on work permits or social security adscriptions which, at the time, made it very difficult to have accurate and comparative data on LAC diasporas in Europe. To these difficulties, we must add scarce data on irregular migration, although data exists in some cases (Pellegrino 2004).

3.2

European LAC Diasporas: A Historical Perspective

Historical phases and geographical origins and destiny of international migrations from Latin America and the Caribbean countries to Europe become crucial to understanding the current scenario. Researchers have identified the first wave as the one that started in Afro-Caribbean areas during the post-war years. Following the path of other former north Europeans to former metropolises, their main destinies were the UK, the Netherlands and France. Scholars argue that their shape and continuity depended on specific decolonisation policies and different rationales for integration (Byron and Condon 2008). Following Bayona-i-Carrasco and Avila-Tapies (2019), we can identify the second wave as occurring between the 1960s and the 1980s. Political turmoil in the region intensified flows from Caribbean and South American countries such as Cuba, Argentina, Chile and Uruguay. Political exiles escaping from Latin American dictatorship regimes, most of them highly educated professionals and students, found place in European academic and professional spheres

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(Retis 2006; Parsons and Smeeding 2006). As annotated earlier, the second wave started between the late 1970s and 1980s and intensified between the 1990s and 2000s—some authors even find a new wave around the turn of the century (Dias and Martins Junior 2018). Mainly for economic reasons—although the flow of political exiles has remained constant—major countries of origin were Colombia, Brazil, Ecuador, Argentina, Peru, Dominican Republic, Bolivia, Cuba and Venezuela (Córdova 2015; Pellegrino 2004; Bermudez 2003). Latin American migration flows concentrated mainly in Southern European countries, with the majority settling in Spain, but also in Italy and Portugal. Although not with the same intensity as in the south, in the Northern European countries the presence of Latin American diasporas was also growing. The worldwide economic recession of 2008 created a new change in the context of international migrations from LAC countries, to Europe. On the one hand, emigration flows slowed down considerably—although it has been annotated that return migration flows were not as important as expected (Córdova 2015; Ramos 2018). On the other hand, new migration waves of LAC from Southern European countries to Northern European countries started to occur (Martínez 2006; Córdova 2015; Ramos 2018). Latin Americans who had once settled in Spain, Italy or Portugal started new migratory projects, this time in the UK, Germany, France, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and the Netherlands. The complexity of this new wave within international migration flows has been examined by demographers as a response to the European economic recovery and the worsening of some LAC countries’ economic and political stability (Bayona-i-Carrasco and Avila-Tapies 2019). The first closest data we found by reviewing secondary sources is that collected by Pellegrino (2004) almost two decades ago (see Table 3.1). The report provided approximations based on LAC migrant stock by nationality in selected European countries, taken from the Système d’Observation Permanente des Migrations (SOPEMI) database of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). These statistics showed an approximative overview of the growing presence of Latin Americans in Europe between the 1980s and 2001s. Data shows the increased number of LAC immigrants in Southern European countries: mainly Spain, but also Italy and Portugal. Also remarkable is the increasing presence of LAC immigrants in Northern European countries such as Germany, the UK and Sweden; those numbers were to become greater in later years.

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Table 3.1 European LAC diasporas by nationality and countries of residence LAC immigrants in Europe by nationality (in thousands)

Foreign citizens in European countries (in thousands)

Italy

Belgium Denmark Germany Greece Spain

Nationality 1986 2001 Peru − 29.6 Portugal Nationality Brazil Venezuela Spain Nationality Ecuador Peru Dom. Rep. Colombia Cuba Argentina Sweden

1989 2001 10.5 23.5 4.9 3.5 1986 − 2.2 1.7

2001 84.7 33.8 29.3

3.4 48.7 5.5 21.5 12.2 20.4

South America Argentina Bolivia Brazil Chile Colombia Ecuador Guyana Peru Paraguay Suriname Uruguay Venezuela Other S. Amer.

Italy

2000 4357

1999 2646

2000 58,873

1998 2108

1999 2000 84,678 76,073

0 0 1621 1258 847 0 0 631 0

203 50 870 568 245 119 40 297 17

4766 1681 22,390 6408 7964 3256 137 7825 835

229 19 719 323 334 51 14 148 49

17,007 1148 7012 5827 19,412 7046 16 24,879 512

7496 975 17,307 3138 7656 7110 18 27,639 390

0 0 0 0

3 99 133 2

39 764 2808 0

1 60 161 0

1 3907 6911 0

13 1143 3188 0

Nationality 1986 2001 Chile 10.2 9.9 United Kingdom Nationality 1991 2002 Jamaica − 50.0 Source Pellegrino (2004)

Fifteen years later, we discovered a new attempt to identify the latest approximative picture on LAC migrations to the European region, this time by Bayona-i-Carrasco and Avila-Tapies (2019, see Table 3.2). They collated different datasets and, according to their calculations, around 4.6 million Latin American and Caribbean immigrants are residing in Europe, with half of them living in Spain. Registration by immigration of people from LAC reached 3.82 million between 1998 and 2015, accounting for around 6.2% of the total flows registered in Europe during

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Table 3.2 European LAC diasporas by country of residence (2011) LAC Migrants in Europe, by Country of Residence, 2011

Spain Italy United Kingdom Netherlands France Germany Portugal Switzerland Sweden Belgium Norway Austria Ireland Denmark Greece Others Total

Total population

Immigrants

LAC

% immigrants

% total population

46,815,910 59,433,744 63,182,180

5,648,995 4,803,567 7,985,585

2,265,685 515,377 436,710

40.11 10.73 5.47

4.84 0.87 0.69

16,655,799 64,933,400 80,219,695 10,562,178 6,587,556 9,482,855 11,000,638 4,979,956 8,401,940 4,574,888 5,560,628 10,816,286 111,544,803 514,752,456

1,868,655 7,321,237 11,373,438 871,813 1,830,536 1,338,010 1,517,608 611,433 1,312,688 766,640 501,911 1,286,067 4,255,863 53,294,046

340,199 279,529 187,314 171,351 91,067 76,355 45,650 24,551 18,674 14,532 14,389 7597 22,696 4,511,676

18.21 3.82 1.65 19.65 4.97 5.71 3.01 4.02 1.42 1.9 2.87 0.59 0.53 8.47

2.04 0.43 0.23 1.62 1.38 0.81 0.41 0.49 0.22 0.32 0.26 0.07 0.02 0.88

Source Bayona-i-Carrasco and Avila-Tapies (2019)

the same period. These estimations were not easy to provide due to the lack of homogeneity of statistical data at the European level. Thus, as they argue, despite the undeniable improvements in the production and dissemination of official statistics on international immigration to European countries, the retrospective analysis of the quantitative evolution of the LAC population in the continent continues to be a challenge: ‘Similarly, the causes and consequences of LAC migration to Europe and the policy actions implemented by the different countries of destination have not been sufficiently studied’ (Bayona-i-Carrasco and Avila-Tapies 2019, p. 3). Throughout the years, statistics showed the increased importance of the old continent as an attractive destination for LAC flows. According to Bayona-i-Carrasco and Avila-Tapies (2019), Europe currently concentrates 13.0% of LAC migrants living outside of their home country. In 1990, it was estimated that Europe hosted 1140.154 LAC immigrants,

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around 7.4% of the LAC migrant population worldwide. By 2015, the population increased to 4,645,947, around 13% of total LAC migrants living abroad. Despite the obstacles of comparative statistics, the increased numbers of LAC immigrants in Europe are contributing to their gradual visibility, particularly so within the total non-European immigrants in the continent. From constituting only 2.3% of the total 49 million immigrants registered in Europe in 1990, LAC migrants reached 6.5% of the 72 million counted in 2010, at their highest ever recorded level, declining slightly to 6.1% in 2015 when Europe reached 76 million immigrants (Bayona-i-Carrasco and Avila-Tapies 2019, p. 6). The most indicative figures they provided after combining diverse data sets (Table 3.2) are as follows. As we can see in Table 3.2, Spain, Italy and Portugal remain the major European countries with a notable presence of LAC immigrants. Although, one remarkable difference in this dataset is the noticeable growing presence of Latin Americans in Northern European countries such as the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, France and Germany. There is also a growing presence of EU-LAC diasporas in Switzerland, Sweden and Belgium. Although the presence of Latin American and Caribbean immigrants in Europe is relatively low compared to other nonEuropean immigrants in the region, it is estimated that their numbers will grow further. Moreover, these numbers consider national-level percentages. The revision of numbers at local levels would reflect an increased presence that is imperative to consider. A third secondary source of information providing estimations of migration from LAC to the European Union comes from a recent report of the International Migration Organization. According to their data, in 2013 there were 4.2 million LAC immigrants residing in the European region. Six main countries of origin in LAC were Brazil, Ecuador, Colombia, Argentina, Peru and Venezuela, in descending order. In comparison with data collected in 2010, researchers found a decrease in percentage and order. In that estimation, the main migrant fluxes originated in Ecuador, Colombia, Brazil, Argentina, Peru and Bolivia (Córdova 2015). These sources provide us with a wide panorama of the state of migration flows from Latin America to European countries. We would now like to draw our attention to setting up the scene for LAC diasporas to the UK, with the aim of informing and contextualising discussions we address in subsequent chapters.

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LAC Diasporas in the UK

Just as Pellegrino’s OIM report (2004) was one of the first attempts to examine the growing presence of Latin American immigrants in Europe, the McIlwaine et al. (2011) now multi-cited report, No Longer Invisible, was one of the first efforts to estimate the extent of Latin American migration to the British capital and, by extension, the United Kingdom. The research for the report was undertaken before the 2011 census data was made available. As its title suggests, Latin Americans—a group with no apparent or immediate obvious historical link with the UK—were gradually and increasingly arriving in the UK. Paradoxically, Latin Americans remained almost imperceptible in public discourse and, as it happened in the European context, scant access to precise statistics was a barrier to being able to draw a clear picture of the scope and dimension of the Latin American population in the UK. Latin Americans’ invisibility was due to a lack of research and of shortcomings in the way official statistics are collected in the UK. The findings of that report ‘provided a picture of considerable hardship, discrimination and social exclusion’ (p. 4). How, when and why do Latin Americans start arriving in the UK? Until recently, there were attempts to address the lack of research in terms of a broad focus on LAC in the European context with specific focus on the UK, where research has been very limited. As McIlwaine et al. (2011) addressed, although it is growing, research on Latin Americans in the UK has concentrated attention on specific nationality groups— mostly Colombians or Brazilians (Guarnizo 2008; Cwerner 2001)—or based on small-scale qualitative research (Mas Giralt and Bailey 2010; Wright 2010). Pioneer researchers attempted to include a broader scope (Román-Velázquez 1996, 1999, 2009; Carlisle 2006; McIlwaine 2010). Most research projects—many of them dissertations conducted by graduate students—concur that one of the first migratory flows occurred around the 1970s, specifically after the Immigration Act 1971 that legislated for work permits and visas to the UK (Román-Velázquez 1996; Bermudez 2003; Moreno 2018; Gutierrez 2012, 2018; Lopez 2012). It introduced the concept of right of abode, an immigration status that gives a person the right to enter and live in the UK. It took effect in 1973 and altered strict immigration rules that allowed only residents from former British territories and colonies, to enter the country. Historically, and long before the 1970s, Latin Americans arriving in London were mainly politicians and authors seeking British support for independent

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movements from the Spanish Empire in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. As we will see in Chapter 6, this era marked the origins of Latino media in London. The largest groups of Latin Americans arriving in the British capital by the 1970s were mainly fleeing from social and political hardship. At the time, the majority were coming from Chile, followed by other southern countries (Uruguay, Argentina or Brazil) or the Caribbean (Cuba). But during the 1980s, the debt crisis increased economic reasons for emigration flows. That period, often known as The Lost Decade—due to the effects of the structural reform programmes directed by international agencies and institutions during the stagnation of the economic growth, inflation and high unemployment rates that generally entailed the privatisation of state-owned strategic institutions and the reduction of government expenditures—influenced the first major waves of emigration in the region. Although most of the migratory flows were directed to North America and mainly to the United States, some groups began to arrive in Europe, mainly to Spain, Italy and Portugal, and some to the UK, mainly London. Mostly Colombians and Brazilians joined those groups that had already settled in Britain in previous years. Whilst Latin Americans established a foothold in Europe during these decades, it was during the late 1990s and the turn of the millennium when the increased presence of Latinos in London promoted the formation of urban Latin circuits in the British capital. Pioneer studies such as those conducted by Román-Velazquez examined the construction and communication of cultural identities, arguing that the movements of Latin Americans across London were in part related to the policy attempts to regulate, classify, order and control the entrance of people into Britain (Román-Velázquez 1996). As Bermudez (2003) addressed, whilst Europe was initially only a destination for the Colombian elite, political refugees and intellectuals, it was in the 1970s when the UK government authorised the entry of non-skilled migrants to work in services that between 4000 and 10,000 Colombians arrived as temporary workers. Most Colombians and Latin Americans in general settled in or around London, and as the Latin American communities increased in size, so also did its heterogeneity. After the 1980s, migration of Colombians continued through social networks and asylum seekers as people fled the worsening armed conflict (Bermudez 2010; McIlwaine 2015).

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Researchers found that the first Brazilian migration waves (1980– 1990), associated with the Lost Decade and led by migrant pioneers who settled, were crucial in the development of social and economic structures that provided support for the less-off migrants to move and be accommodated in the host society (Siqueira 2009; Kubal et al. 2011). It is estimated that around 1.3 million Brazilians migrated from the late 1990s onwards, and this period has been identified as the second wave of Brazilian migration (Patarra 1996, 2005; Dias and Martins Junior 2018). Currently, the United Kingdom is the European country with the third-largest number of Brazilians, after Portugal and Spain. The presence of Brazilians in the UK has been expanding since the 1990s, and it accelerated in the 2000s (Dias and Martins Junior 2018). Using the 2011 census data, the recent Annual Population Survey and other statistical figures, McIlwaine and Bunge (2016) produced a second report, this time obtaining the largest estimates ever analysed for Latin Americans at city and borough level in London. As they annotated, the census profile analysed a 10% sample of the 2011 data and included approximately 14,500 Latin Americans in England & Wales, of which 8600 reside in London. In this new report, titled Towards visibility, they argue that even though there are more available statistics, it is most likely that Latin Americans are still not included in sufficient numbers due to the fact that immigrants living under a precarious status, with limited command of the English language, may be reluctant to participate in activities related to the British government. Consequently, these numbers might be providing information on more established Latin Americans. To these numbers, it is indispensable to add the most recent groups of Latin Americans arriving as EU citizens from other European countries (Dias and Martins Junior 2018; Ramos 2018). Chileans, Uruguayans and Argentinians were the largest Latin American groups arriving in the UK during the 1970s. The 1980s saw an increase in the number of Colombians and Ecuadorians, with many claiming asylum or family reunion. As many researchers have addressed, during those years, several migrant organisations were established, such as Latin American Women’s Rights Service (LAWRS), Casa Latinoamericana and Carila. During the 1990s and 2000s and following the increased number of migration patterns from Latin America to Europe, an increasing number of economic migrants, refugees, asylum seekers and college students arrived in the UK, and mainly in London. During those years, main groups were arriving from Colombia and Ecuador, but also

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Table 3.3 Latin American diasporas in the UK (2011) England & Wales

Scotland

Country of birth

Immigrants

Immigrants

Brazil Colombia Argentina Mexico Ecuador Venezuela Peru Chile Bolivia Cuba Dominican Rep. Uruguay Paraguaya Central Americab South America Total

50,570 25,182 9865 9065 8657 8385 6793 6576 3642 2355 1303 1298 478 4028

36.6 18.2 7.1 6.6 6.3 6.1 4.9 4.8 2.6 1.7 0.9 0.9 0.3 2.9

1194 507 616 620 82 712 358 495 113 104 74 66 29 234

22.9 9.7 11.8 11.9 1.6 13.7 6.9 9.5 2.2 2 1.4 1.3 0.6 4.5

138,197

100

5204

100

%

N. Ireland %

Immigrants

194 875 1069

%

18.1 81.9 100

a Paraguay in England & Wales calculated from the London figure b Includes: Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama

Source McIlwaine and Bunge (2016)

from Bolivia and Peru. As had happened to their counterparts in other European cities such as Madrid or Barcelona (Spain), Rome or Milan (Italy) or Lisbon (Portugal), Latin Americans in London started establishing a range of commercial activities such as ethnic stores and media outlets (Román-Velázquez 1996, 1999; Ramos 2018). McIlwaine and Bunge (2016) also reported that since 2005, an increased number of new immigrants arriving from Brazil was noted, and since the recession of 2008, so the number of Spaniards increased. We must also note that a group of those coming from Spain were Latin Americans with Spanish citizenship, and the UK became the second or third migration route for these new Latin American arrivals from Spain. The latest estimations annotated around 250,000 Latin Americans residing in the UK in 2011, of which around 145,000 were in London (around 58% of the total). As we can see in Table 3.3, latest data indicates that the majority of LAC in England and Wales come from Brazil, with more than 50,000 people representing one-third of the total population. More than

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25,000 Colombians (representing around 18% of the total population) constitute the second-largest group, and the first LAC Spanish-language speaking community in the country. Both groups, Brazilians and Colombians (as we discuss in Chapter 6) will become the major force behind the increasing production of British Latino media in London. Taking into account the following groups by number, Argentinians, Mexicans, Ecuadoreans, Venezuelans, Peruvians and Chileans constitute communities with more than 5000 people. As we have addressed previously, these numbers must be considered mostly as indicative data due to the fact that they might not incorporate, at this point, those in irregular situations or those who entered the country with a citizenship other than that of their country of birth.

3.4

Latinos in Global Cities

Nearly thirty million Latin Americans live away from their home countries. The majority choose the United States as their principal destination (70%) followed by Spain, Canada, Japan and other countries of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) (Pizarro et al. 2014). Between 2000 and 2011, Spain shifted from hosting 4.5% of the Latin American immigrants in OECD countries, to registering nearly 20% of Latin American migrants, whilst Canada, the UK and Japan emerged as increasingly popular destinations (Retis 2019). Following the 2008 economic crisis (and against all predictions), international migration abated only slightly, as many did not cease to emigrate and those already living in their countries of origin did not return in mass to their homelands. Nevertheless, these individuals were harmed by loss of employment or a reduction in salary (ibid.). As a consequence, international immigrants began to develop new strategies in order to continue sending remittances and attempting to ensure the stability of their transnational families by securing a second employment (ibid.) or by embarking on a new migratory project, creating new patterns of geographic dispersion linked to processes of geographic concentration (Retis and Badillo 2015). In recent decades, urban environments and particularly large metropolises have transformed into key centres for these movements that simultaneously form part of a phenomenon that is also occurring at the global level. Since 2008, and for the first time in history, more than half of the world’s population resides in urban areas (54%), a proportion that is estimated to increase to at least 66% by 2050 (United Nations 2015).

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In this context, Latin American immigrants have been establishing themselves in diverse metropolises considered ‘global cities’ (Sassen 2001) that constitute centres of attraction for the flow of capital and populations and act as nodes within the global economic system. Whilst in US cities such as New York and Los Angeles, Latin Americans led moderate population increases in the 1970s and 1980s, and very significant growth in the 1990s and 2000s, in European cities such as Madrid and London, the increase in Latin Americans was not noteworthy until the turn of the century. In the aforementioned US cities, secondand third-generation Latinos are now seen, whereas in Madrid, demographers began to identify the 1.5 generation (Portes et al. 2009), and in London, one begins to note an increase in the number of Londoners born to Latin American mothers (McIlwaine et al. 2011). At the demographic level, in the last decades, two mutually influencing phenomena have emerged: on one hand, the impact of neoliberal readjustments in Latin American economies and the consequent increment in international migration beyond the region factors, particularly with respect to the United States and Spain (Pellegrino 2004; Martínez 2008; Retis 2006). On the other, the rapid evolution of technological advances brought about a lowering of transportation costs and increased the accessibility of new technologies of information and communication— particularly in the urban environments of global cities (Castells 2006; Sassen 2001; Retis 2011). Critical analysis from a postcolonial perspective helps to understand just how population flows follow capital flows, albeit in an inverse manner (Said 1993; Mignolo 2005; Quijano 2007), whilst a network and migratory chain viewpoint permits us to comprehend the reconfiguration of these ties within transnationalism (Levitt and Glick Schiller 2004; Smith and Guarnizo 1998). The study of media flows and counter-flows (Thussu 2007), the shape and evolution of media linguistic regions (Sinclair and Straubhaar 2013) and the culture industries (Yúdice 2009; Dávila 2001), much like class media (Wilson et al. 2003), enables us to understand the macro-structural complexities of media production, circulation and consumption. More concretely, studies from diasporic transnationalism and media spaces in urban settings (Georgiou 2006; Georgiou and Silverstone 2007; Karim 2003) elucidate the particularities and contradictions of the communicative practices of Latin American immigrants in hyper-diverse cities in the Global North (Retis 2008, 2011, 2019).

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Latin American Diasporas in London

Scholars have pointed out how Latin Americans remained invisible in the 2011 census, thus constituting one of the ‘hidden communities’ in the capital (Pharoah and Hopwood 2013). In our attempt to examine the origins, evolution and future of contemporary Latin American diasporas in London, we argue that they can only be understood in the context of an increasingly transnational terrain. In other words, we need to explore their diasporic transnational constituency. Formation of contemporary diasporas relates to making sense of belonging in transnational and translocal contexts; therefore, the study of contemporary diasporas demands a complex and extensive approach (Tsagarousianou and Retis 2019). As we examined earlier, British Latin American diasporas’ historical progression is interconnected to push/pull contexts within both Latin American countries and the UK several decades ago, and going back in history even several hundred years ago. In understanding the contemporary history that led to current trends, we can find a series of phases that originated in the 1970s with the arrival of groups coming predominantly from the South Cone. Mainly Chileans, but also Uruguayans and Argentinians, many of whom were fleeing political and social turmoil in the region, pave the way to the establishment of the first Latin American charitable organisations in London. The effects of the Lost Decade in the increase of ‘other Latinos’ in London were evident with the arrival of major groups coming from Colombia, Ecuador and Brazil in the following decades. These new arrivals came, possibly due to the change in legislation in the UK with the Immigration Act of 1971. Since then, economic immigrants, asylum seekers and family members joined previous political exiles in what we now know as diasporic transnational practices. The confluence of new and old migrants in London made it possible for organisations and associations to emerge and consolidate, such were the cases of the Latin American House (Casa Latinoamericana), CARILA (Campaign Against Repression in Latin America), LAWRS (Latin American Women’s Rights Services) and LAWA (Latin American Women’s Aid). These associative networks became, not only meeting centres, but also main sources of information and support, service providers and consultants for newly arrived immigrants from Latin America. All these initial networks became registered charities in the UK and all, except CARILA, continue to provide specialist services for the growing and changing needs of the local Latin American population. These were also

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the years of the making of Latin American cultural circuits in specific locations of the city, related to different social experiences and time-space practices across London such as salsa venues, but also the beginning of commercial initiatives, such as Doña Olga’s Latin American restaurant that also operated in the premises of the Latin American House, as well as an art gallery which occasionally exhibited the work of Latin American artists (Román-Velázquez 1999). As we examine in more detail in Chapter 6, those years saw the initial attempts to organise and provide information to Latin Americans living in London, through media forms and cultural activities. Such were the cases of the two outlets that commenced their publications during the 1980s, Crónica Latina—founded in 1984 by Juan Salgado, first as Notas de Colombia until 1986 when it changed its name—and Noticias Latin America—that began publishing in London a short time after Crónica Latina. In addition to these publications, a few broadcast projects were launched during those years, such as Radio Spectrum (55.8 AM), established in 1990 to feature a programme dealing with issues from Spain and Latin America, between 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. every day. Sports events also became important for the growing communities in the city. Such was the case of the Lambeth and Clapham football leagues organised by the Alfredo Fernández Cup and Libertadores de América, throughout the year. A Latin American Spring Tournament of basketball, volleyball and football for children and women was also organised throughout the summer each year (Román-Velázquez 1999). As Román-Velazquez (1996, 1999) documented, Latin Americans started to position economically in particular areas of London. Most of the shops and restaurants were located south of the River Thames. Small businesses were set up around the administrative boroughs of Lambeth and Southwark. Starting at the Elephant and Castle Shopping Centre, there were ten shops owned by Latin Americans by the mid-1990s, and there were also around a dozen shops or restaurants from the circuit of roads around Elephant and Castle. The shops were located close to Brixton, Vauxhall and Clapham Common underground stations. Elephant and Castle, Camberwell, Peckham and Borough could be identified as the areas where these shops were located. Over the years, Latin Americans also started running shops, restaurants and music clubs in other areas of north and east London, such as Stoke Newington, Manor House and Hackney, leading the beginning of the geographical dispersion around the British capital. During the 1990s, both the Latin American House area

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and the Elephant and Castle Shopping Centre became main nodes for the different ways in which Latin American cultural identities, practices and commercial activities developed in London. The turn of the century brought new fluxes of students, refugees and economic migrants, with many working in the low-paid, low-status sectors of the labour market (McIlwaine and Bunge 2019). These groups were joined by those Latin Americans arriving from Southern Europe, mainly to Spain, Italy and Portugal. It becomes indispensable to incorporate this perspective when seeking to understand second or third migration projects directed to the Northern European cities and originated in Southern European cities—such as some of the narratives that emerged from those we interviewed during our long-term, multi-situated fieldwork in Europe. But these groups were also connected to the change of migratory policies in the United States after 9/11 when migration from Latin America saw a shift in preferred destinations from North America to Europe. According to the latest data available (see Table 3.4), Brazilians comprise the largest group of Latin Americans residing in London with over 30,000 people and constitute almost 40% of the total population of Latin Americans—estimated to be around 83,000 according to the 2011 census data. Colombians constitute the second-largest Latin American groups but the first Spanish-language speaking community with around 20,000 people that constitutes close to a quarter of the Latinx diaspora in the British capital. The other 30% of Latinx diasporas are constituted of Ecuadoreans, Argentinians, Venezuelans, Mexicans, Peruvians, Chileans and Bolivians—all with more than 2000 people residing in the city. They are followed by a thousand Cubans, and less than a thousand people coming from Uruguay, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Paraguay, Costa Rica, Panamá, Honduras, Nicaragua and Puerto Rico. To these groups, we must add those Latin Americans arriving in London with European citizenship (e.g. Spanish, Italian or Portuguese). Despite comprising a wide range of different nationalities, ethnicities and diverse cultures, Latin Americans in London are generally referred to as a homogeneous community, as happens in US cities such as New York, Miami or Los Angeles (Retis 2019). However, as McIlwaine (2009) addresses, these groups have become a ‘community’ in the sense of denoting people from the same continent, sharing language (except for Brazilians) and a very close cultural affinity. It is not based on homogeneity and social cohesion (McIlwaine 2009). Therefore, most

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Table 3.4 Latin Americans in London (census 2011)

Country of birth

Immigrants

Brazil Colombia Ecuador Argentina Venezuela Mexico Peru Chile Bolivia Cuba Uruguay Dominican Republic El Salvador Guatemala South and Central Americaa Paraguay Costa Rica Panama Honduras Nicaragua Puerto Rico Total

31,357 19,338 7171 4567 3822 3785 3301 2913 2694 1055 540 465 364 305 298 287 254 229 164 154 135 83,198

% 37.7 23.2 8.6 5.5 4.6 4.5 4 3.5 3.2 1.3 0.6 0.6 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.2 0.2 0.2 100

a Not otherwise specified

Source McIlwaine and Bunge (2016)

organisations, services and resources originated around the Latinx circuits in London tend to focus on Latin Americans rather than specific nationalities, mainly because of the small numbers involved; this is also reflected in the growing institutional support for the Latin American population from civil society organisations over time. In her examination of Latin American immigrant networks, McIlwaine (2009) addressed how most migrant organisations were first established to campaign against military dictatorships in Latin America, and evolved into service-oriented groups such as the Campaign Against Repression in Latin America (CARLILA) which became the Latin American Welfare Group, and the Latin American Women’s Rights Services, the Chile Democrático group that became Indo-American Migrant and Refugee Organisation (IMRO), as well as the Latin American Advisory Committee which was instrumental in the creation of the Latin American House.

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Although the numbers of Latin Americans in London cannot be relied upon as exact, these are the most accurate figures that exist to date given the limitations for self-identification on census data. To these numbers, we must add those who remain in the city in irregular conditions. It was only in 2005 that the UK Home Office tried to estimate the number of irregular migrants, arriving at a median of 430,000 with a low of 310,000 and a high of 570,000, based on the 2011 census. Estimations on the number of irregular migrants are complex as they might need to include those who entered the country in a wide range of situations from clandestine conditions, to the asylum system. As McIlwaine (2009) explains, although there is little available data on the nature of irregular migration in the UK, it is thought that most are generated through people overstaying their visas. Research has addressed the implications for newly arrived migrants when ‘super-diversity’ intersects with ‘super-austerity’ against a background of everyday bordering practices, ‘hostile environment’ policies and an increasingly deregulated labour market. Latin Americans in London face multiple barriers in accessing services, as understood by frontline service providers. Berg argues that ‘examining such barriers, including how they compound each other, provides a window onto the production of precarity and new inequalities in super-diverse-cum-superaustere Brexit Britain’ (Berg 2019, p. 185). Drawing on Lowndes and Gardner (2016), Berg (2019) explores how the UK has gone through a protracted period of public sector austerity, retrenchment and restructuring, including a redrawing of boundaries between the public, private and third sector, characterising a situation of ‘super-austerity’ in what seems an implicit nod to super-diversity. As a result, there has been created, a ‘hostile environment’ for immigrants with a tendency to debate around the eligibility of migrants to access public services or benefits. In this context, several Latinx organisations emerge and consolidate to provide a wide range of services, including information, legal advice and resources, but also spaces of communication and a sense of belonging in diasporic transnational nature.

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3.6

Latin Migrant and Ethnic Business

Latin American businesses began operating and trading in tandem with the development of charitable organisations. As explained above, South London—Elephant and Castle in particular—was evolving as a key area for the establishment of commercial practices in London. This trend continued and a pioneering mapping of the Elephant and Castle by Román-Velázquez in 2012 accounted for nearly 70 Latin American businesses trading in the area (Román-Velázquez et al. 2012). An updated mapping in 2016 (Roman-Velazquez and Hill 2016) registered nearly 100 Latin American shops in the Elephant and Castle area. Latin American businesses are an integral part of London’s migrant and ethnic economies and as such contribute to London’s economy and culture. As Román-Velázquez and Hill (2016) argued, although there is no accepted definition of ethnic minority business (EMB), a distinction can be made between EMBs and migrant entrepreneurship (Glick Schiller and Çalgar 2013). The term EMB has been used to identify businesses whose owner and staff are of an ethnic background, those that cater to, or have an ethnic clientele, or as an identifier of the ethnic origin of the owner (Ram 2008, 2012), whilst migrant entrepreneurship is mainly used to refer to those who share a common national background often attached to the experience of migration. Latin American businesses in Elephant and Castle are regarded as both migrant and ethnic, thus migrant and ethnic businesses (MEBs) become a more accurate way to examine them. Ethnic and migrant businesses contribute to local economies by forging local and transnational networks of activity. Migrant demands for goods enable transnational networks and flows of goods and services, and the emerging transactions create a demand for communication, transportation and financial services, crucial for the continuation and sustainability of migrant businesses (Guarnizo 2003). This is especially true for the Latin business cluster as most of this community live and work in the borough of Southwark, and in Elephant and Castle, this is demonstrated by the widespread appeal of large ethnic food stores (Román-Velázquez and Hill 2016). Transnational migrant practices are evident in the importation, promotion and distribution of goods and services. A survey of transnational practices in London’s Latin Quarter (Orellana-Damacela and RománVelázquez 2012) revealed that most shops obtained their products from local importers such as La Chatica Distributor and Mercar who buy

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directly from Latin American companies. The second-largest source was from Spanish importers of Latin American products. Spain was the source of most Ecuadorian and Bolivian products, whereas Colombian, Peruvian, Brazilian and Argentine products tend to be sourced from local importers. The route of the Latin American products arriving in England transcends the local market as these also become exporters to other European markets, such as to Belgium, Holland, France and Germany (RománVelázquez and Hill 2016). We come back to London’s Latin American businesses and their plight in resisting gentrification, in Chapter 7. This narrative and chapter will culminate our trajectory through Latin London—a trajectory that will see us uncovering different narratives about diasporic identities and spaces.

3.7 Narratives of Migration, Self-Representation and Belongingness What does it mean to belong to a place, to assert one’s right and claim to a place—particularly so in instances of multiple displacements embraced in first, secondary and tertiary migratory flows? Within this context of hyper-mobility, what are one’s cultural and citizenship rights? As Miller (2011) points out, two hundred years of modernity have produced three areas of citizenship: political (conferring the right to reside and vote), economic (the right to work and prosper) and cultural citizenship (the right to know and to speak). Economic globalisation favours the mobility of capital but does not allow the same flexibility to population flows. In this sense, we argue that the emergence of new global, post-national and transnational forms of citizenship poses a challenge when transnational cultural rights cannot be fully exercised and when the right to belong to a place is undermined by processes of urban change promoted by national and local policies and private capital. As Rosaldo (1994) argues, the term cultural citizenship is a deliberate oxymoron, a pair of words that do not go together comfortably: ‘Cultural citizenship refers to the right to be different and not to belong in a participatory democratic sense. It claims that in a democracy, social justice calls for equity among all citizens, even when such differences as race, religion, class, gender or sexual orientation potentially could be used to make certain people less equal or inferior to others’ (p. 402). Our proposal follows Enck-Wanzer’s (2011) argument on the relationship between agency and identity and the various forms that this takes in

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efforts to understand rhetorical agency in Latino/a contexts in New York. We also draw on Flores’ (2009) premise that diaspora seems to invite the transformation of places into spaces of cultural production and that the combination of being socially disadvantaged in the new setting conspires to challenge the hegemonies engendered by the asymmetries and to devise alternative lines of communication and community as forms of conscious or unconscious resistance (Flores 2009 cited in Enck-Wanzer 2011). In this book, we focus on understanding diverse narratives of migration, belonging and self-representation. We explore how Latin Americans produce, negotiate and claim digital and urban spaces in the British capital by using the metaphors of routes, routines and roots. First, we explore the chronicles of migration and relocation. Second, we examine narratives of solidarity and conflict around workplace relationships and networks. Third, we scrutinise different cultural productions—whether mediatic, representational or experiential—in London. We do this by focusing on issues of self-representation and cultural production in media spaces and subsequently by describing contemporary struggles over the right to belong in London, with a focus on London’s Latin barrios.

References Battistella, G. (2017). From Invisibility to Recognition: Reflections on the Conditions of Migrants in Our Society. Keynote Address Delivered at Exodus V. August 31–September 3, 2017, Scalabrini Migration Center, Singapore. Available at: https://cmsny.org/publications/invisibility-recognition/. Accessed 14 Mar 2020. Bayona-i-Carrasco, J., & Avila-Tapies, R. (2019). Latin Americans and Caribbeans in Europe: A Cross-Country Analysis. International Migration, 58(1), 198–218. https://doi.org/10.1111/imig.12565. Berg, M. (2019). Super-Diversity, Austerity, and the Production of Precarity: Latin Americans in London. Critical Social Policy, 39(2), 184–204. Bermudez, A. (2003). Gender and Forced Migration: The Experiences of Colombian Refugees Living in London. MSc Dissertation, Department of Geography, Queen Mary, University of London, London. Bermudez, A. (2010). The Transnational Political Practices of Colombians in Spain and the United Kingdom: Politics ‘Here’ and ‘There’. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 33(1), 75–91. https://doi.org/10.1080/014198709031 25838.

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Gutierrez, A. (2012). The Everyday Moralities of Migrant Women: Life and Labour of Latin American Domestic and Sex workers in London. Doctor of Philosophy, Department of Anthropology, London School of Economics, London. Gutierrez, A. (2018). The Temporality of Illegality. Experiences of Undocumented Latin American Migrants in London, Journal of Global and Historical Anthropology, 2018(81), 86–98. https://doi.org/10.3167/fcl.2018.810107. Hermann, H. (2017). Another ‘Lost Decade’? Crisis and Structural Adjustment in Europe and Latin America, Globalizations, 14(4), 519–534. https://doi. org/10.1080/14747731.2016.1236464. IOM. (2011). World Migration Report 2011. Geneva: International Organization for Migration. Karim, K. (2003). Mapping Diasporic Media Scapes. In K. Karim (Ed.), The Media of Diaspora (pp. 1–17). New York, NY: Routledge. Kubal, A., Bakewell, O., & de Haas, H. (2011). The Evolution of Brazilian Migration to the UK: Scoping Study Report. Oxford: International Migration Institute, University of Oxford. Levitt, P., & Glick Schiller, N. (2004). Conceptualizing Simultaneity: A Transnational Social Field Perspective on Society. International Migration Review, 38(145), 595–629. Lopez, J. (2012). Effectiveness and Meaning of ‘Low-Intensity’ Cognitive Behavioural Interventions for Latin American Immigrants in London. Doctor of Clinical Psychology, School of Psychology, University of East London. Lowndes, V., & Gardner, A. (2016). Local Governance Under the Conservatives: Super-Austerity, Devolution and the ‘Smarter State’. Local Government Studies, 42(3), 357–375. https://doi.org/10.1080/03003930.2016. 1150837. Martínez, J. (2006). Migración América Latina-Europa: Una mirada prospectiva. Communication. Presented at colloque Quels défis pour l’analyse et les politiques? organized by OBREAL, GRIAL, EADI, Bruxelles le 6–7 November 2006. Martínez, J. (2008). América Latina y el Caribe: Migración international, derechos humano y desarrollo. Santiago de Chile, Chile: CEPAL. Mas Giralt, R., & Bailey, A. J. (2010). Transnational Familyhood and the Liquid Life Paths of South Americans in the UK. Global Networks, 10(3), 383–400. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-0374.2010.00294.x. McIlwaine, C. (2009). Legal Latins? Webs of (Ir)Regularity Among Latin American Migrants in London. In Identity, Citizenship and Migration Centre (ICMiC) (No. 04). Retrieved from https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/icemic/ documents/mcilwaine-icmic-wp-09-04.pdf.

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McIlwaine, C. (2010). Migrant machismos: Exploring Gender Ideologies and Practices Among Latin American Migrants in London from a Multi-Scalar Perspective. Gender, Place and Culture, 17 (3), 281–300. McIlwaine, C. (2015). Legal Latins: Creating Webs and Practices of Immigration Status Among Latin American Migrants in London. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 41(3), 493–511. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369183X. 2014.931803. McIlwaine, C., & Bunge, D. (2016). Towards Visibility: The Latin American Community in London. Retrieved from https://www.trustforlondon.org.uk/ publications/towards-visibility-latin-american-community-london/. McIlwaine, C., & Bunge, D. (2019). Onward Precarity, Mobility, and Migration Among Latin Americans in London. Antipode, 51(2), 601–619. https://doi. org/10.1111/anti.12453. McIlwaine, C., Cock, J. C., & Linneker, B. (2011). No Longer Invisible: The Latin American Community in London. Retrieved from https://www.trustf orlondon.org.uk/publications/no-longer-invisible-latin-american-communitylondon/. Mignolo, W. (2005). The Idea of Latin America. Malden, MA: Blackwell. Miller, T. (2011). Cultural Citizenship. MATRIZes, 4(2), 57–74. Moreno, U. (2018). Spectral Latinidad: The Work of Latinx Migrants and Small Charities in London. Doctor of Philosophy, Department of Geography and Environment, London School of Economics. Ocampo, J. (2013). The Latin American Debt Crisis in Historical Perspective. Unpublished Manuscript. NewYork, NY: Columbia University. Available at: http://policydialogue.org/files/publications/papers/The_Latin_American_ Debt_Crisis_in_Historical_Perspective_Jos_Antonio_Ocampo.pdf. Parsons, S., & Smeeding, T. (2006). What’s Unique About Immigration in Europe, in Immigration and the Transformation of Europe. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Patarra, N. (1996). Migrações Internacionais Herança XX Agenda XXI . Campinas: FNUAP. Patarra, N. (2005). Brazilian Migration to Portugal: Social Networks and Ethnic Solidarity (CIES e-Working Paper n° 12), pp. 2–20. Pellegrino, A. (2003). La inmigración internacional en América Latina y el Caribe: tendencias y perfiles de los migrantes [International Immigration in Latin America and the Caribbean: Trends and Profiles of Migrants]. Santiago de Chile: CEPAL, CELADE. Pellegrino, A. (2004). Migration from Latin America to Europe: Trends and Policy Challenges (IOM Migration Research Series No. 16). Pharoah, R., & Hopwood, O. (2013). Families and Hardship in New and Established Communities in Southwark. London: Southwark Council.

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Pizarro, J., Cano, V., & Contrucci, M. (2014). Tendencias y patrones de la migración latinoamericana y caribeña: Hacia 2010 y desafíos para una agenda regional. Santiago de Chile: CEPAL. Portes, A. (2017). Migration in the Contemporary History of Latin America: An Overview of Recent Trends. LASA Forum, Spring 2017, XLVIII (2), 12–14. Portes, A., Aparicio, R., & Haller, W. (2009). La segunda generación en Madrid, un estudio longitudinal. ARI, 67, 1–10. Quijano, A. (2007). Coloniality and Modernity Rationality. Cultural Studies, 21(2/3), 168–178. Ram, M., & Jones, T. (2008). Ethnic Minority Businesses in the UK: An Overview. Migracões, Journal of the Portuguese Immigration Observatory, 3, 61–72. Ram, M., Trehan, K., Rouse, J., Woldesenbet, K., & Jones, T. (2012). Ethnic Minority Business Support in the West Midlands: Challenges and Developments. Environment and Planning C: Government & Policy, 30(3), 504–519. https://doi.org/10.1068/c11167b. Ramos, C. (2018). Onward Migration from Spain to London in Times of Crisis: The Importance of Life-Course Junctures in Secondary Migrations. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 44(11), 1841–1857. Retis, J. (2006). El discurso público sobre la inmigración extracomunitaria en España. Análisis de la construcción de las imágenes de los inmigrantes latinoamericanos en la prensa de referencia. Doctoral Dissertation, Universidad Complutense de Madrid. Madrid, Spain. Retis, J. (2008). Espacios mediáticos de la inmigración en Madrid: Génesis y evolución. Madrid: OMCI. Retis, J. (2011). Estudio exploratorio sobre el consumo cultural de los inmigrantes latinoamericanos en España: El contexto transnacional de las prácticas culturales. Madrid: Fundación Alternativas. Retis, J. (2014). Latinos Online: Acceso e inclusión digital de los inmigrantes internacionales en contextos diaspóricos. In G. Carbone & O. Quezada (Eds.), Comunicación e industria digital (pp. 199–209). Lima: Universidad de Lima. Retis, J. (2017). The Transnational Restructuring of Communication and Consumption Practices: Latinos in the Urban Settings of Global Cities. In M. E. Cepeda & D. Casillas (Eds.), The Routledge Companion to Latina/o Media, (pp. 22–36). New York, NY: Routledge. Retis, J. (2019). Homogenizing Heterogeneity in Transnational Contexts: Contemporary Latin American Diasporas and the Media in the Global North. In J. Retis & R. Tsagarousianou (Eds.), The Handbook of Diaspora, Media, and Culture (pp. 115–136). Hoboken, NJ: Willey-Blackwell. Retis, J., & Badillo, A. (2015). Los latinos y las industrias culturales en español en Estados Unidos. Madrid: Real Instituto Elcano.

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Orellana-Damacela L., & Roman-Velazquez, P. (2012, unpublished). The Flavours of Home. Report for Research Supported by British Academy and City University). Román-Velázquez, P. (1996). The Construction of Latin Identities and Salsa Music Clubs in London: An Ethnographic Study. Ph.D. thesis, University of Leicester, Leicester. Román-Velázquez, P. (1999). The Making of Latin London: Salsa Music, Place and Identity. In The Making of Latin London: Salsa Music, Place and Identity. Farnham, UK: Ashgate. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315238487. Román-Velázquez, P. (2009). Latin Americans in London and the Dynamics of Diasporic Identities. In M. Keown, D. Murphy, & J. Procter (Eds.), Comparing Postcolonial Diasporas (pp. 104–124). London: Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230232785. Román-Velázquez, P., & Hill, N. (2016). The Case for London’s Latin Quarter: Retention, Growth and Sustainability. Retrieved from http://latinelephant. org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/The-Case-for-Londons-Latin-QuarterWEB-FINAL.pdf. Román-Velázquez, P., Velasquez, C., & Diaconescu, I. (2012). Latin Elephant: Business Survey and Visual Study. Retrieved from https://latinelephant.org/ wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Latin-Elephant-proposal-updated-2012.pdf. Rosaldo, R. (1994). Cultural Citizenship and Educational Democracy. Cultural Anthropology, 9(3), 402–411. Said, E. (1993). Culture and Imperialism. London: Vintage. Sassen, S. (2001). The Global City. New York, London, Tokyo (2nd ed.). Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. Sinclair, J., & Straubhaar, J. (2013). Latin American Television Industries. London: Palgrave. Siqueira, S. (2009). Sonhos, sucesso e frustrações na emigração de retorno: BrasilEstados Unidos [Dreams, Success and Frustrations in Returning Emigration: Brazil-United States]. Belo Horizonte: Argvmentvm. Smith, M., & Guarnizo, L. (1998). Transnationalism From Below. New Brunswick, CA: Transaction Publishers. Soltész, B. (2016). Migration and Diaspora Policy Institutions in Latin America. Demográfia, 59(5), 49–81. https://doi.org/10.21543/dee.2016.2. Thussu, D. (2007). Media on the Move: Global Flow and Contra-Flow. London: Routledge. Tsagarousianou, R., & Retis, J. (2019). Diasporas, Media, and Culture: Exploring Dimensions of Human Mobility and Connectivity in the Era of Global Interdependency. In J. Retis & R. Tsagarousianou (Eds.), The Handbook of Diasporas, Media, and Culture, (pp. 1–20). Hoboken, NJ: Willey Blackwell. United Nations. (2015). World Urbanization Prospects 2014. New York, NY: United Nations.

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Wills, C. (2017). Lovers and Strangers: An Immigrant History of Post-War Britain. London: Penguin Books. Wilson, C., Gutiérrez, F., & Chao, L. (2003). Racism, Sexism, and the Media. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Wright, K. (2010). It’s a Limited Kind of Happiness: Barriers to Achieving Human Well-Being Among Peruvian Migrants in London and Madrid. Bulletin of Latin American Research, 29(3), 367–383. https://doi.org/10. 1111/j.1470-9856.2010.00412.x. Yúdice, G. (2009). Culturas emergentes en el mundo “hispano” de Estados Unidos. Madrid: Fundación Alternativas.

CHAPTER 4

Narratives of Migration and Relocation

In this chapter, we explore how Latin Americans negotiate and claim their place in the city; we use the metaphors of routes, routines and roots to give voice to those Latin Americans whose journey into and across Europe is as much physical as it is about new ways of belonging and developing a new sense of place. The narratives we include in this chapter capture processes of relocation, endurance and resettlement. We explore how Latin Americans make their way into London, how they navigate across the city and how they explain feelings of belongingness to, and detachment from, London. Following the 2008 financial crisis, a large proportion of the Latin American migration into London came via other European cities (McIlwaine and Bunge 2016; Granada and Mas Giralt 2015; Mas Giralt 2017). The economic instability that led to a significant number of European-settled Latin Americans to London added another layer to the overall profile and needs of what was already a diverse population with acute housing arrangements and precarious working conditions. Despite holding European Union (EU) citizenship and, in most cases, having spent over a decade in European cities, particularly in Spain, most experienced challenges and barriers associated with first wave migrations. As such, their sense of belongingness and relationship to London is

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mediated by low-paid and insecure employment, precarious living conditions and limited, or no, English language skills (McIlwaine et al. 2011; McIlwaine and Bunge 2016). This picture is compounded by the current political climate around the United Kingdom’s future relationship with Europe (Brexit) as their stay is dependent upon prospective agreed terms for European-settled citizens living in the UK. Brexit poses another challenge: going from a secure immigration status, to an insecure status that, for many, increases anxieties around working and housing conditions, and challenges their relationship and sense of belongingness to the UK and in particular, London. Some of the narratives we give voice to in this chapter provide an indication of the sense of belongingness that occurs when migration to London has been via a second or third country. Particularly interesting here is the feelings of belonging to multiple places and the narratives around the idea of return. This interacts with the limitations that the urban context of London poses for these new migrants. Despite facing similar barriers to those already in London, the challenges faced by new Latin American migrants with EU citizenship are more peripheral than in countries such as Spain where the legacy and history of colonialism places them in a slightly different position—with many having claimed EU citizenship through this legacy, and whereby the language barrier is less, though discrimination, as accounted by some of our interviewees, is also high. It is within this context that we give voice to some of these experiences. The narratives accounted for in this chapter tell us different stories of migration: from those who left in search of economic opportunities and adventure, to those seeking safer environments or a new start. We capture the voices of those for whom home became unsafe, unbearable, or frustrating, either because they were forced out due to political instability (in the instances of Chile, Uruguay, Paraguay, Argentina and Brazil), felt threatened by localised conflict (such as in Colombia and Peru), or due to domestic violence. We also capture a sense of endurance when the places to which they relocated were not as welcoming as they might have envisaged. As new immigrants, they face new struggles and challenges, such as learning how to speak a foreign language and dealing with increasing hostility and negative perception towards immigrants. The diversity of migration stories that we present here provides us with an opportunity to discuss issues of solidarity, membership, detachment and antagonism— all of which have been crucial to the development of transnational social networks and diasporic practices.

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4.1 Narratives of Migration: Routes, Routines and Roots Migration is as much about mobility as it is about negotiating new routes, establishing different routines and settling in a new place. In the context of migration, setting roots in a new place does not preclude us from thinking about mobility. In any case, it allows us to think about different and multiple ways of belonging. Here, we invoke Stuart Hall’s (1995) dynamic conceptualisation of identities as non-static and always in transition. If, as we discussed earlier, transnationalism helped us understand the relationships, exchanges and bordering practices between country of origin and destination county, we are now faced with a more complex pattern of migration, one that needs to take into account second and third wave migration locations. We are presented with methodological and theoretical challenges for how we are to understand multiple placebased identities that are mediated by transition and movement. We argue that migration circuits are ever more complex, diverse and transitory, and so is the sense of belongingness, or not, to the places to which people have migrated. Thus, in this chapter, our aim is to understand, first-hand, how people navigate, negotiate and understand their place-based identities in the context of multiple migration circuits. Narratives of migration are about movement as much as they are about the right to settle—to set new roots in a new place. In this sense, narratives of migration draw on memory of the past, but with new aspirations, a new sense of belonging and a claim to set roots in new places. The concept of roots we use here invokes the past and the idea of origins in as much as it provides alternative futures and the right to belong to new places (Hall 1995). Narratives of migration also invoke narratives of location and positionality, allowing for considerations of context, meaning and practice rather than as an individual possession (Anthias 2002, 2008, 2012). Thus, consideration of the narratives of migration of Latin Americans in London will allow us to focus on the spatial, whether local or transnational, and on the contextual dimensions that are constitutive to the making of Latin London. This is a methodological strategy to account for the limitations of identity as an analytical category. Anthias (2002) claims that identity, though necessary and significant in political struggles and important in the recognition of minority racialised groups, runs the risk of being an essentialist perspective that relies on roots and the prominence of identity as a possession rather than a process. It seems to be the

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case that identity matters whenever uncertainty arises with regard to who one is and to where one belongs (Bauman 2004). As noted by Kobena Mercer (1994), identity matters when there is a crisis of representation, and ‘identities are in crisis because traditional structures of membership and belonging inscribed in relations of class, party and nation-state, have been called into question’ (p. 424). Thus, narratives of migration call into question the idea of identity as a possession to focus on how we position (or understand) ourselves in relation to our new locations. Narratives of migration ‘are essentially stories about time and space. They relate (or more accurately, construct) a history and interpellate location and position (social place and hierarchy)’ (Anthias 2002, p. 499). Narratives of migration are also about dislocation and difference. Narratives are thus useful to appreciate how people understand and interpret their place in the world. Narratives then are stories about identification, about our practices and the practices of others. Narratives tell us stories about ‘how people construct their sense of place and cultural identity’ (Bird 2002, p. 519). Thus, narratives of migration tell us stories of movement (routes, routines), location, dislocation, belonging, identification and roots; they are also stories about the possibility of a renewed sense of belonging and a renewed way of understanding our place in the world. As we will discuss throughout this book, people continue to make claims over the identity of places through practices of mobility, and they explain their identities through narratives of belongingness and/or detachment. With the narratives presented in this chapter and throughout the book, we hope to begin uncovering experiences of location and dislocation, solidarity and ambiguity, belonging and non-belonging in the making of Latin London. However, as Anthias (2002) has noted, stories produced in the migration process involve making sense ‘of the traumas and dislocation as well as central positive facets of experience … Narratives are never innocent of social structure and social place’ (p. 500). Thus, it is our aim to uncover how these narratives intersect with the powerful social structures in place. In this chapter, we explore narratives of mobility and processes of social identification through the idea of routes and routines emerging from indepth interviews with Latin Americans in London. The material presented here draws on 47 in-depth interviews with Latin Americans in London on two separate but interrelated research projects. A total of 25 interviews were conducted in 2010 and another 23 interviews in the summer

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of 2012. The sample did not attempt to be representative of any one community or nationality; instead, we sought to interview people from a diversity of nationalities through our networks or via snowballing techniques.1 Interviews took place in a diversity of locations such as cafes, restaurants, parks and churches.

4.2

Routes into London

Stories of movement, location, dislocation, belonging and identification appear in the narratives of migration from those who made their journeys from South America to London, either directly or via Europe. This poses a series of challenges for new migrants, voluntary organisations on the front line of service, advice provision and for scholars. Mobility is often embraced as a positive corollary of globalisation; it is about flows and networks, resulting in positive manifestations of multiculturalism. However, this is not always the case. All too often, we learn about people dying in precarious conditions in their attempt to cross borders. Mobility is not always positive; people move in disparate ways and whilst some are in a position of control, others are trapped by violence and poverty (Massey 1994). The narratives we present here deal with a diversity of experiences. Our first narrative is one of endurance, persistence and hope. Meet Maria,2 a Bolivian mother of two who, after being abandoned by her husband, decided to leave Bolivia in search of a better future for herself and her children. She left her small children behind with a friend in order to make her way into London and, once settled, planned to bring her children to the UK. Many strategies were deployed to convince immigration officers at border crossings of her intentions to travel as a tourist. It took her over one week of treacherous conditions overland to reach Argentina. She set out on a bus route from Cochabamba, Bolivia, to Mendoza, Argentina via Arica, then to Chile. A plane journey would

1 Colombia = 17/Ecuador = 8/Bolivia = 6/Argentina = 4/Brazil = 3/Paraguay = 3/Peru = 2/Uruguay = 1/Venezuela = 1/Chile = 1/Cuba = 1/My thanks to Jacob Lagnado, Lucia Orellana and Nuria Simelio—research assistants to the projects that inform this chapter. All interviews were conducted in Spanish except for the three Brazilian interviews which were conducted in English. All translations are by the authors. 2 Personal interview with Maria, 17 August 2010.

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have cost approximately $1000, whereas the bus journey was substantially cheaper at $100. Her journey to escape poverty is one of endurance. On the route to Mendoza, she became ill due to the low temperatures passing through Iquique. Upon reaching Buenos Aires, she took a plane to Milan, Italy, and from there a train to Bergamo where she faced further insecure conditions—her friend did not meet her at the station and the taxi driver dropped her in the wrong location. She sought help in a petrol station. They directed her to her friend’s house where she spent a week before travelling to Brescia by train in order to continue her journey into London. She had prepared her story and had contact addresses and telephone numbers in order to convince the immigration officer of her intentions to stay in the UK as a tourist. Once she passed immigration controls, she followed directions to a hotel in Camberwell Green where she lived for some time before moving to Scotland where she spent three years with her daughters and new husband. Whilst in Scotland their visa was rejected and they had to leave for London in haste due to fear of deportation. As in Maria’s case, traumatic journeys do not always end upon arrival to the UK. Once in the destination country, another set of strategies and negotiations unfold. For example, Maria married in the UK and secured a student visa, however this was not the end of her ordeal and she seemed forever trapped in search of a safer and better place to live as they negotiated their space away from immigration enforcement agencies. At the time of the interview, she was still trying to resolve her case with the help of a lawyer. Her experience of migration was fuelled by uncertainty and fear of deportation. As the Bolivian economy floundered, and with little prospect of growth for his leather business, Nelson3 decided to migrate to London in 2003 in search of better economic prospects. As with Maria, Nelson bought a tour that would have taken him via Ireland into London, to France, then finally, to Spain. The plan was to abandon his tour once in London. After further questioning in Dublin, he managed to convince immigration officials of his intentions to travel. He spent three days, as planned, in Ireland and from there took the ferry to the UK. Due to his late arrival, he spent the night at Holyhead train station and waited until 5 a.m. to catch the first train to London. He settled in a hotel near Euston and called some

3 Personal interview with Nelson, 25 August 2010.

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friends who came for him and were crucial to his initial settlement in matters such as finding accommodation and a job. Buying a tour across Europe is one of the many strategies adopted by Latin Americans in their attempts to stay in Britain. Due to their uncertain legal status, people’s movements around London are carefully planned to avoid immigration enforcement authorities who often target well-known areas where immigration is high (Román-Velázquez 1999). This, however, poses other challenges such as access to health care, education and job prospects, and more generally, to their access to the city (Román-Velázquez 2009). In the case of recently arrived EU citizens of Latin American background, one might think that barriers and challenges associated with access to secure housing and job prospects would have diminished. However, it has been well documented (McIlwaine 2012; Herrera 2012; Granada and Mas Giralt 2015) that new arrivals, in particular women, face language barriers, limited access to public services and the welfare system, and are likely to experience abuse and work-related exploitation. When compounded by funding reductions to public services and outreach work by third-sector organisations, the barriers faced by new arrivals from Europe seem to mirror those of long-term migrants, regardless of their entitlement to such services. The report ‘Latin American migrants from Europe to the UK: barriers to accessing public services and welfare’ (2015) argues that newly arrived migrants were often practically excluded from health services, education and housing rights due to lack of information as a result of diminished resources from specialist third-sector organisations, in particular those that cater to Latin Americans and other migrant and minority ethnic groups. In a similar way, the experiences and sense of belonging of those EU citizens of Latin American background are mediated by the experience of migration. This time, however, another layer is added to their experience of migration, displacement and sense of belonging—one that places them in a peripheral position and connects them differently to London, regardless of their citizenship. The notion of double or triple displacement is often used by many of those we have spoken to, either by those who have arrived via Europe or by those who are fighting for their place in gentrified neighbourhoods. In the next section, we will discuss the strategies and routes deployed by Latin Americans once in London. This discussion is expanded in the following chapters in which we look at relationships developed whilst at work, through media spaces and in the struggles of Latin Americans to remain in place.

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4.3

Mobility and Routes Across London

Latin Americans in low-paid work in London typically spend a significant proportion of their time at work, often working very long hours, spread across different locations, with a correspondingly large amount of time spent on the move between different workplaces. For some, the excessive hours worked result in little time to do anything outside of work, and their daily routines are dominated by routes to and from work. In the next chapter, we will delve into the narratives of solidarity and conflict emerging around workplace arrangements. Here, we focus on the time spent getting to work and the strategies deployed by many Latin Americans in order to fulfil childcare demands, due to the nature of shift work in the cleaning and hospitality sectors in which many are employed (McIlwaine et al. 2011; McIlwaine and Bunge 2016). For some, the excessive hours worked meant little time to do anything outside of work. It soon became clear that their routes through London were largely dominated by work shifts. In most instances, the routes to and from the workplace would dominate their access, or not, to Latin London and, more broadly, their access and chances to participate in and of the city. Travelling between different jobs over excessively long hours not only added to the stress of their working day, but also dominated their routes through the city and their access to London. Adriana4 started her working day at 5:00 p.m. and finished at 5:30 a.m. with three jobs narrowly overlapping in time and with only twenty minutes between the second and third job. She explained how she moved from one job to the other and how she had to run to arrive on time for the next job. Nelson also felt stressed when travelling between jobs: I have to take one and then another bus. If I am tired, I fall asleep in the buses; it has happened a few times that the lights go off and I am still sleeping in the bus. Things like that, it is mostly the stress caused by the routine … that one has every day. Imagine it, leaving at dawn, go to one job, then the other, then another one, you arrive [at home] at 11:00 pm to sleep. Then wake up early again the next day. This routine makes me stressed.5

4 Personal interview with Adriana, 13 August 2010. 5 Personal interview with Nelson, 25 August 2010.

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Josefina, a cleaner from Ecuador, narrated a very similar experience: she would wake up at four in the morning and spend about three hours on bus journeys travelling between jobs: It is the same daily routine: work, sleep, because you have to wake up so early, you need to sleep. It is tiring going from one place to the other, it is very tiring, and it is more tiring being in the bus than working.6

For many Latin Americans in London, travelling on buses, despite longer journeys and multiple connections, seemed to be the preferred mode of transport—not only because it was cheaper, but also because it provided them with a sense of security. For Sonia, railway stations made her feel insecure and confused to the extent that she preferred to use buses to get to work even when it took her longer. For example, Sonia narrated how she could not feel relaxed when at train stations: … sometimes in stations, when I go in, I don’t always think too much, but sometimes it comes to my head that I don’t have any papers. … sometimes I think what would happen to me if immigration comes by. I think that fear is always there, that feeling of fear is everywhere I go.7

For those whose legal status was undefined or under review, buses felt less threatening and were used as a strategy to avoid the often-visible immigration raids or stop searches at some of London’s underground stations. Their movements are constrained, and this encourages the development of alternative spatial patterns and routes across London. Fear of deportation tends to dominate most aspects of their social life and the jobs they are able to undertake, as well as access to housing, health, education and legal services. Undocumented migrants do not have employment rights and are often susceptible to exploitation in the workplace and, as such, become ‘invisible workers’. Employers’ tendency to recruit low-paid labour in manual work or hotels along with an awareness of the political, civil and economic situation in many Latin American countries, and hopes of better living standards on their return, explain why many people might expose themselves to such circumstances. As noted by McIlwaine (2007), some undocumented Latin Americans avoid Latin American businesses 6 Personal interview with Josefina, 17 July 2010. 7 Personal interview with Sonia, 10 August 2010.

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or Latin commercial centres for fear of being caught by immigration authorities. These places are visited for purchasing specialist Latin American products and for money transfers, but are not places Latin Americans would spend prolonged periods of time in. Access to health care was a contradictory issue for many of those we talked to—on the one hand, they recognised the quality of the health care received, and on the other, they complained about the level of engagement from GPs and the advice they received. Many complained about not having access to a GP and about the difficulty accessing specialist services. For example, Tina, a Peruvian mother of one who arrived in the UK in 2005, explained how difficult she found it to navigate the NHS. She explained: …if you go to the doctor and you want to explain that you have three conditions: pain in the heart, stomach and foot, you need to make three appointments…. I am not convinced with healthcare here, it was a shock for me; in Peru the doctor … spends twenty- or thirty-minutes examining, asking questions and touching you to get their conclusions. Here the doctors tell you it is stress, give you something for the pain and that’s it, that has been my experience here.8

Many also complained about the lack of services and advice provided by the consulate or embassies on issues such as work rights and visa services. Many praised the work of local charities who seem to fulfil the level of advice service and confidentiality lacking in the consulates and embassies. However, as we mentioned earlier, funding cuts to specialist third-sector organisations have seen a notable reduction in advice and service provision and have had a negative impact on Latin Americans in London, in particular for those recently arrived from European countries who still face numerous barriers to accessing local services. For those who have settled immigration status, the routes through the city are informed by personal and economic circumstances as much as by their workplace arrangements. As noted by Román-Velázquez (2009), many Latin Americans lived a rather localised life in London—mostly around the borough in which they lived. Visits to Latin American shops, clubs and restaurants in London became less frequent as time went on, and even though these places remain an important part of their social life, 8 Personal interview with Tina, 10 June 2012.

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they were visited less often than during the first few years after arrival. Festivals, on the other hand, had a more enduring presence and significance in people’s everyday lives. These festivals (music and food) provide occasions for affirming and celebrating a sense of Latin American cultural identity. Some Latin Americans enjoyed experiences of places as varied as that of their workplace experiences and, though also defined by social networks, these were independent from the workplace. For example, being a parent with young children dominated Ximena’s9 experience of London. She would travel long distances to go to the Latin American Catholic Church in Kentish Town and to her son’s Saturday music lesson so that he could be taught by a Latin American instructor. She would also visit some of London’s parks and green open spaces with her children, and indeed, she appeared to derive most personal pleasure from walking with her children in the parks. This fitted with her explanation elsewhere that being a parent, the focus of her attention could not really be elsewhere. But she also had to visit the immigration reporting centre once a month and this provoked a sense of extreme insecurity. For others, access to Latin London was very much defined by social networks developed through work. Carmen10 explained how she gained access to Latin London through her job. She narrated how her job at a Latin shopping centre introduced her to a range of services and products that she did not know existed when she first arrived, and how this provided her with a sense of stability and security. For those whose social networks at work were not based on ethnic solidarity, their routes through London were more varied—still, access to Latin London provided a sense of comfort and a feeling of being at home. Eugenia, who was the only Latin American in her workplace, narrated that she often visits Pueblito Paisa in Seven Sisters because it reminds her of Medellin, Colombia: … I feel that I am in a part of Medellin, not just because of the language, but because of how it looks like, the people, the noise, the ugliness … it does not feel like you are in London.11

9 Personal interview with Ximena, 23 July 2010. 10 Personal interview with Carmen, 19 June 2010. 11 Personal interview with Eugenia, 16 July 2010.

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This sense of familiarity was also present in Victor’s characterisation of the area: … last year I went to a Latin festival in Seven Sisters and it was as if you would have lifted a small bar from a remote town in Antioquia and placed it in London, it was the same and the people were the same. At first it was difficult because you did not know whether you were in Colombia or London. Where were you? It was rather funny because everything was just exactly the same.12

This familiarity and recreation of places like home was disconcerting and ‘even funny’, but not one which Victor, who arrived in 2009 as a student, could identify with given his perception that people who frequented these places were too aggressive. He was ambivalent about these places. He participates in Latin London but does not feel comfortable at some of these places. The three young Brazilian respondents, all quite fluent in English, expressed distance from, and indeed rejection of, all-Brazilian social networks. They still used Brazilian shops and restaurants but felt quite apart from ‘the Brazilian ghetto’, as one of them termed it. Some would also avoid places that catered for Latin Americans because of a perception of risk associated with immigration raids. For example, the arches in the Elephant and Castle area have been raided by immigration officials a number of times.13 Immigration status is often the source of anxiety that dominates people’s lives. Fear and uncertainty would also have an impact upon people’s mobility across London. For Amanda, a Colombian housekeeper who arrived in the UK in 1992 when she was 14 years old, the first four years were limited to the English family she and her sister had come to work for. She explained how she was warned by her sister, who had arrived a year earlier, not to trust people just because of their nationality and shared language. She explained how, even though she is now settled, those first years were marked by uncertainty and lack of trust and this experience has dominated her life here and has left her feeling lonely and isolated:

12 Personal interview with Victor, 7 July 2010. 13 We know of two, but many more are not reported: 24/04/2008 and 11/11/2011.

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…the first people I met hurt me a lot … so I started to detach myself from these people. Now I am in this lonely routine, I share with people and keep my distance, but I am happy.14

For several interviewees, social networks were also constructed in virtual space, including one which also led to ‘real’ contact. Jorge15 retained his links with home via Skype and Facebook, in the absence of deeper bonds in London. Meanwhile, the Couchsurf website was one which responded to his identification with a wider global community of young students-cum-professionals keen on travel and opportunities, wider than the Colombian-dominated identification of work and college. Victor used Skype and Facebook to keep in touch and organise outings with friends in Colombia and Europe. He explained how a group of 16 friends organised a tour through Europe by using social media. Likewise, Brazilian chef, Pedro,16 described how he organised some of his social life via Facebook, as part of such a young multicultural community. For her part, Maria used the Internet to keep in contact with an immigration rights organisation in Scotland where she had lived previously. For many of those interviewed, there was limited time to socialise, and work shifts would dominate their routes and access to London. Whilst for some Latin London offers comfort and a sense of identification, this is not necessarily the case for others whose experience of Latin London is often marred by perceptions of aggression, violence, fear and anxiety. Many of those interviewed narrated how they lived with uncertainty about the system, the constant fear of being caught by immigration authorities, and how they found it difficult to integrate into the city—at times expressed through feelings of loneliness or isolation. The next sections in this chapter will expand on these themes.

14 Personal interview with Amanda, 3 June 2010. 15 Personal interview with Jorge, 23 July 2010. 16 Personal interview with Pedro, 17 November 2010.

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4.4 Multiple Feelings of Belonging: Loneliness and the Idea of Return Feelings of belonging, or not, to London were very much mediated by personal circumstances around migration status, work patterns and social relationships as well as a desire to return. There was an overwhelming feeling of loneliness amongst many of those interviewed which also mediated feelings of belongingness and the idea of return. Jesus17 began his daily shifts at 5:00 a.m. and finished at 8:00 p.m.; this was the case since his arrival from Colombia in 1995, by which time he began to feel lonely and isolated as his wife and daughter were left behind. They finally joined him in 2001 and he now has a granddaughter. He feels ambiguous about his relationship with the UK and Colombia, even though he feels settled here there is always a longing for Colombia. However, he acknowledged that he would find it difficult to return to Colombia and feels that London is his home now. For Doris,18 a Colombian woman who also arrived in 1995, returning to Colombia when she retires is her dream. Not only does she think this will be cheaper, but also an improvement in her quality of life as she feels too lonely. Ana, who migrated from Cuba in 2004 and was a British citizen at the time of the interview, also feels settled in the UK, but deep down feels too lonely in this country: I feel lonely in this country because my friends are not here. … When I say friends, I refer to my Cuban friends because perhaps the system makes us closer, they are like my brothers and sisters… but then they don’t live in Cuba and they have no intention of returning… But I don’t feel marginalised in this country, I feel lonely because I don’t have any friends. … I would like to stay here … but I wouldn’t like to grow old here, not if I am alone, if I have a partner then that’s different, but not on my own. … One feels settled here because one participates of society, but finding friends is very difficult.19

17 Personal interview with Jesus, 20 June 2012. 18 Personal interview with Doris, 22 June 2012. 19 Personal interview with Ana, 12 June 2012.

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For Ana, returning seems an option she longs for as she expects to be surrounded by family and friends, even though she also acknowledges that many of her friends have left and so she might be idealising her return. Despite this, she feels that returning will be better than spending her old age alone in the UK. Returning is mixed with complex feelings and memories, many of which are embedded in a sense of familiarity, of belonging somewhere else, of feeling at ease with the surroundings, of being part of that place they left. For Pedro, a Chilean refugee who arrived here in 1978, the feelings of belonging and longing for return are much more complex since they are not only mixed with feelings of isolation and loneliness, but also a sense of resentment created by the Chilean dictatorship. Here, we have narratives of settlement and resentment, double displacement, a broken life torn in two by the dictatorship. As he explains: When I left Chile, I was 22 years old and I feel that my life has been torn in two phases: the Chilean and the English one. I am not sure, but I think that if I return to Chile this might be another phase, another broken link in my life. I feel as if there is no continuity in my life, I don’t know, I have not been able to put these two stages of my life together, there is Chile and there is England, for me there is no continuity.20

There is a real sense of rupture through migration. His memory is tarnished by two different worlds which he can’t piece together. At the beginning he felt fear of integration, fear that integration meant losing one’s identity, he later realised that it was not about losing an identity but about enriching it. His longing for return is ambiguous, he continues: I think that my experience in England, though long, has been positive. I managed to study, get a degree, work and form a family… now I feel as if I am ready for the third cycle that is to leave this country. The social aspects are what I find the most difficult here and that is what I most missed of Chile. … However, I have changed, people in Chile have changed, we all change, and everything changes, so I also have to be aware of reintegration. … It is not that easy to go back, many people say they want to return, but it is not a return, going back for us means going back to

20 Personal interview with Pedro, 12 June 2012.

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what we were doing 20 years ago, and we can’t go back to that. Many people made that mistake, they thought they will find the same things as before, the same friends and family. But everything has changed, and they realised that they also have to rebuild their lives … and you also need to prepare for that.21

He feels fearful of growing old alone in this country because his daughters have settled elsewhere in Latin America, but he is aware that returning will not be an easy option, though it is one he has considered and one which will mark another sense of rupture, a third cycle, as he explains. Marisol, who arrived in 1987 from Colombia, on the other hand, embraces the experience of migration and feels part of three countries: Spain, England and Colombia: My children are Spanish because of their dad, they have British papers and love this country very much, they also love Colombia, and so they move freely. … I don’t want them to have the same problem I did, papers, that I couldn’t go back, it was terrible, it is very isolating that one cannot move because of papers. They don’t have to live with the same fear I did. I had to work hard, but I leave them with this…

She continues: It has always been the case for me that I want to return, or at least I would like to know that if I don’t return my children will not lose their roots, it is not all bad and drugs, things have changed. There is something that for me its basic, the family, in Latin America and in Colombia, that’s the part that one should never lose, the links with the family are important. … I would like to go back to Colombia, but without detaching from the UK. I feel as if something has deeply changed in me, I am not sure if it because of time, or because I have lived this through my kids, but … I can’t see myself without any of these three countries…I am no longer a foreigner. That’s what I wanted, that they didn’t feel strangers in any of these countries: that when they are in Spain they can say this is the land of our dad, the UK is mine as I was born here and Colombia is the land of my mum; and they are all of them.22

21 Personal interview with Pedro, 12 June 2012. 22 Personal interview with Marisol, 18 June 2012.

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The idea of return is linked to a sense of belonging to more than one place at once. Returning was also mixed with feelings of loneliness and the alternative possibility of returning in retirement, but where links with the UK were not fully broken. Marisol’s sense of belongingness captures a sense of continuity rather than rupture or break—a sense of belonging to more than one place simultaneously. This example highlights some of the more intricate narratives, experiences and self-reflections about the consequences for how we think and understand our place in the world in relation to multiple migration circuits. For many, emotional attachment and sense of belongingness to London was embraced as a transitionary phase, a permanent state, or an ambivalent yet conflictive and diverse one. Many of those we talked to expressed a desire to return to the countries they migrated from, though with some recognition that this might not be a straightforward process. Many have settled here, and the idea of return was met with ambivalence—not only because of the length of time abroad, but also because it involved convincing their children who were either born or raised here, to settle elsewhere. This was not an easy task and one that many were not prepared to undertake. Those who returned, albeit temporarily, were left with an ambivalent feeling as they struggled to make sense of the changes and the fact that loved ones (usually children and grandchildren) would not follow suit. There was a real sense of feeling torn between a land they no longer recognised and the place they now called home.

4.5

Routes and Routines

The way in which people narrated their journeys, their stories of migration and how they navigated the system, provided us with ways of understanding how people develop relationships with new locations and forge new relationships based on trust, but equally so based on mistrust and endurance. Their stories of identification, or not, to London are mediated by individual and collective experiences of migration. The extended interviews were a chance for people to reflect on their feelings towards London and the places they migrated from. This was not always consistent and if anything, feelings of belonging were at times contradictory and expressed in terms of belonging, solidarity, displacement, difference and detachment.

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Getting work and getting to work dominated the everyday routines of most of those we interviewed. Our research also suggests that Latin Americans’ everyday routes through London were dominated by their work routines. Thus, access to London was very much limited to their routes into work. This was not the case with all those interviewed. For some, social networks extended beyond work and our research suggests that routes throughout London might also be related to class issues (in terms of cultural capital and socio-economic background) and general perceptions of well-being, but further research would be needed to assert these observations. Having outlined the contrasting spatial and temporal dimensions through which Latin American immigrants have established a variety of routes and routines, we will now concentrate on how Latin Americans forge relationships of solidarity and conflict around the workplace. This will be complemented by a subsequent chapter in which we explore the role of diasporic media spaces in the construction of transnational networks and cultural identity.

References Anthias, F. (2002). Where Do I Belong? Ethnicities, 2(4), 491–514. https:// doi.org/10.1177/14687968020020040301. Anthias, F. (2008). Thinking Through the Lens of Translocational Positionality: An Intersectionality Frame for Understanding Identity and Belonging. Translocations: Migration and Social Change, 4(1), 5–20. Anthias, F. (2012). Transnational Mobilities, Migration Research and Intersectionality. Nordic Journal of Migration Research, 2(2), 102–110. https://doi. org/10.2478/v10202-011-0032-y. Bauman, Z. (2004). Identity. Cambridge: Polity. Bird, S. E. (2002). It Makes Sense to Us: Cultural Identity in Local Legends of Place. Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, 31(5), 519–547. https://doi. org/10.1177/089124102236541. Granada, L., & Mas Giralt, R. (2015). Latin Americans Migrating from Europe to the UK: Barriers to Accessing Public Services and Welfare. http://www. lawrs.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Latin-Americans-migratingfrom-Europe-to-the-UK.pdf. Accessed 12 Sept 2019. Hall, S. (1995). New Cultures for Old. In D. Massey (Ed.), A Place in the World (pp. 175–214). Oxford: Open University Press and Oxford University Press.

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Herrera, G. (2012). Starting over Again? Crisis, Gender, and Social Reproduction among Ecuadorian Migrants in Spain. Feminist Economics, 18(2), 125–148. https://doi.org/10.1080/13545701.2012.688997. Mas Giralt, R. (2017). Onward Migration as a Coping Strategy? Latin Americans Moving from Spain to the UK Post-2008. Population, Space and Place, 23(3), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1002/psp.2017. Massey, D. (1994). Space, Place and Gender. Cambridge: Polity. McIlwaine, C. (2007). Living in Latin London: How Latin American Migrants Survive in the City. London: Queen Mary University of London, and Leverhulme Trust. McIlwaine, C. (2012). Constructing Transnational Social Spaces Among Latin American Migrants in Europe: Perspectives from the UK. Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society, 5(2), 289–303. https://doi.org/10.1093/ cjres/rsr041. McIlwaine, C., & Bunge, D. (2016). Towards Visibility: The Latin American Community in London. https://www.trustforlondon.org.uk/publicati ons/towards-visibility-latin-american-community-london/. Accessed 20 Dec 2016. McIlwaine, C., Cock, J. C., & Linneker, B. (2011). No Longer Invisible: The Latin American Community in London. https://www.trustforlondon. org.uk/publications/no-longer-invisible-latin-american-community-london/. Accessed 5 Jan 2012. Mercer, K. (1994). Welcome to the Jungle: New Positions in Black Cultural Studies. London and New York: Routledge. Román-Velázquez, P. (1999). The Making of Latin London: Salsa Music, Place and Identity. Ashford: Ashgate. E-book edition: Román-Velázquez, P. (2017). London: Taylor and Francis. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315238487. Román-Velázquez, P. (2009). Latin Americans in London and the Dynamics of Diasporic Identities. Comparing Postcolonial Diasporas. https://doi.org/10. 1057/9780230232785.

CHAPTER 5

Narratives of Migration Around Work

The types of relationships that Latin Americans in low-paid work forge within the workplace are often embedded amongst wider structural inequalities that shape employment-related networks across London. Existing literature on Latin American migration to Spain, the United States and Britain has stated the significance of migrant social networks for Latin American workers (Cuberos 2007; Martín Díaz et al. 2012; Gratton 2007); however, very little is known about the impact these might have upon the types of relationships developed at work, and how these contribute to, or limit, the possibilities of widening social networks in London. We argue that social networks are important for settling in and finding a first job, but that these networks are often part of a commercial transaction open for exploitative negotiations, with further consequences on the nature of the relationships that might form in the workplace. Our research suggests that the workplace is as much a site of solidarity and integration as it is a site of power and conflict, and that gender, class, nationality, legal status and ethnicity are intertwined in everyday work interactions. Social networks and relations formed through the workplace are linked to an individual’s experience of migration and even though this can lead to solidarity amongst co-national or co-ethnic workers, it can also be a source of anxiety, suspicion and conflict.

© The Author(s) 2021 P. Román-Velázquez and J. Retis, Narratives of Migration, Relocation and Belonging, Studies of the Americas, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-53444-8_5

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In studying relationships at work, we selected employees from a variety of workplace environments representing different levels of Latin American presence in the workforce.1 Rather than concentrating on particular national groups, we focused on relevant issues for Latin Americans in low-paid employment in London as suggested by the literature.2 Permission to work depended upon immigration status, thus we considered it important to capture both where possible, given the impact of status on workplace relationships and everyday life. In this chapter, we have chosen to privilege the voices of those interviewed because it is here where the strength of our argument lies.

5.1 Social Networks and ‘Migrant Division of Labour’ in London’s Service Economy The 1980s and 1990s saw a boom in the service sector at every level including financial services in the UK, particularly across the Southeast of England. This was fostered by economic liberalisation in the form of deregulation, compulsory competitive tendering and the erosion of state welfare (May et al. 2007). The use of migrant labour was key to the expansion of this sector: between 1993 and 2010, the number of foreign-born workers as a part of the workforce grew from 7.2% to 13.5% (Rienzo and Vargas-Silva 2011), with migration from European Union member states accounting for a significant proportion since 2006 (Ruhs and Anderson 2010). The geographical distribution of foreignborn workers in the UK is uneven. ‘In 2010, 36% of all foreign-born workers working as employees, and 43% of self-employed foreign-born workers, lived in London’ (Rienzo and Vargas-Silva 2011, p. 2). This trend continued in London, with a disproportionate number of foreignborn workers in low-paid jobs, paving the way to a ‘marked tendency 1 A total of 47 in-depth interviews were conducted between the summer of 2010 and 2012. The types of works represented included: domestic and contract cleaner, café worker, mechanic, media, handyman, housekeeping, nanny, money cashier, flyer distributor, student, housewife and chef. 2 Bermudez (2003, 2010, 2011), Cabrera Serrano (2004), Ceuterick et al. (2007),

Evans et al. (2007), Gaio et al. (2005), Guarnizo (2006), Hearn and Bergos (2011), James (2005), Lagnado (2004), McIlwaine (2005, 2007, 2008a, b, c, d, 2009), Però (2007), (2008), Sveinsson (2007), Wright (2007, 2010, 2011), DPA and URS Corporation (2007), Equal Programme of the European Social Fund (2006), International Organization for Migration (2007).

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towards ethnic segregation,’ with the state’s changing immigration policy towards different groups playing a determinate role in the patterns that emerged (May et al. 2007; Wills et al. 2009, 2010a, b; Ryan 2005). The trend towards ethnic segregation of migrants in low-paid jobs in London is relevant to the consequences it might have upon the formation of ethnic occupational niches and migrant social networks and relationships at work. Hofmeyr (2010) has argued that workforces that include migrant labourers develop ‘ethnic (occupational) niches’, whereby ‘…the concentration and specialisation of members of an ethnic group in a particular occupational activity … arise because of the members’ ability to supply labour through social networks and due to the special skills, experiences and other attributes they possess which employers consider relevant when hiring job applicants’ (Hofmeyr 2010, p. 107).3 Ethnic occupational niche formation is diverse and dependent on a number of factors including cultural and gender preferences (Moya 2007; Eckstein and Thanh-Nghi 2011), ethnic and gender stereotyping (Datta and Brickell 2009), the history of migratory flows from country of origin, temporary convenience, legal constraints and social networks (Waldinger 1994; Gratton 2007; Bastia 2007). The special issue on ethnic niches in the Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies (Vol. 33, No. 4, May 2007; Schrover et al. 2007) showed that ethnic niches are also gendered. The articles in this issue confirm the existence of gender and ethnic segregation in occupational niches. There is also a strong link between ethnic niche formation and migrant social networks (Bastia 2007; Bloch et al. 2009; Eckstein and Thanh-Nghi 2011; Hickman et al. 2008; Hofmeyr 2010; Moya 2007). Within low-paid employment, social networks can contribute to the domination of a particular ethnic workforce which could lead to different forms of exploitation, perceptions of vulnerability and/or superiority amongst different co-workers. This is aggravated by some employers who are inclined to recruit immigrant workers and who are often susceptible to exploitation, particularly those on temporary visas (Ruhs and Anderson 2010). Legal status and the use of stereotypes about certain social groups

3 For a discussion on ethnic niches and its relationship to social networks, see Hofmeyr, A. (2010), reference to London includes Ryan L. et al. (2008) and Thiel (2010). Lagnado (2004) explores this issue with Latin Americans in London. However, as Duffield’s (1988) case study shows (1950s/1960s), this phenomenon is by no means new.

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contribute to a perception of vulnerability amongst immigrant workers in low-paid jobs (Bloomekatz 2007). Latin Americans are part of the increasing foreign-born workforce in low-paid jobs in London, where they appear to make up a significant proportion of the contract cleaning workforce (Datta and Brickell 2009). Most studies of Latin American workers in the UK have focused on those in London where the majority live. Almost two-thirds of national insurance number applications by persons born in Latin American were made in London (McIlwaine et al. 2011). Research suggests that Latin Americans in low-paid work are concentrated in contract cleaning and the hospitality sector—catering, hotel and domestic work (Hearn and Bergos 2011; Lagnado 2004; McIlwaine et al. 2011). Earlier studies are rare and on a much smaller scale, but tend to corroborate this tendency, with national variations across nationality groups (McIlwaine 2007, Evans et al. 2007; Guarnizo 2006; James 2005). The empirical evidence is too limited and sparse to suggest that Latin Americans dominate a particular job sector4 ; however, the issues identified in this literature are relevant to understanding relationships at work amongst Latin Americans in low-paid jobs in London. Despite an abundance of research about the factors underlining ethnic niche formation and the links between these and migrant social networks, very little is known about how these might enable or constrain the nature and types of relationships in the workplace. We argue that there is a strong link between the nature of migrant social networks and the types of relationships forged at work, and that these are important for widening social networks and enhancing participation and social integration amongst Latin Americans in London. Migrant social networks are not always positive and do not necessarily lead to positive relations at work. The research found that migrant social networks are open to commercial exploitation and thus a cause of suspicion and conflict at work. This set of circumstances, coupled with gender, nationality and class differences, leads to contradictory feelings whereby relationships based on solidarity, conflict, suspicion, fear and trust are often mixed up and dominate the workplace environment, in some instances permeating their everyday routines. 4 Despite not dominating a particular job sector, clustering of Latin American-owned businesses exists in South London (Elephant and Castle shopping centre; Tiendas del Sur, Newington Butts; Maldonado Walk—previously Eagles Yard); and in North London (Pueblito Paisa and Tiendas del Norte in Seven Sisters) (Román-Velázquez 2009).

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Issues for Latin American Workers

There was no significant Latin American workforce in London before the 1970s. In this decade, workers arrived from South American countries—from Chile as political exiles, and from elsewhere, but especially Colombia, to work in the hospitality sector. Although the work visa regime which allowed the latter migration flow ended in 1979, a precedent was set for future migration (Román-Velázquez 1999). From the 1990s, they were joined by increasing numbers of Brazilians, Ecuadorians and Bolivians, amongst others, seeking an alternative to economic and political turmoil. Freedom of movement across the European Union since 2006 has allowed secondary migration of Latin Americans naturalised in the European Union, notably Spain, in the face of post-2008 recession (McIlwaine et al. 2011). The Latin American population in London is estimated at 145,000, representing 58% of the total Latin American population in the United Kingdom which has been registered as 250,000 (McIlwaine and Bunge 2016). Latin Americans are mostly concentrated in the service sector with one-third of Latin Americans working in office or domestic cleaning, and with kitchen staff and waiters some way behind (McIlwaine et al. 2011). It is not clear whether this will remain the case given that recent trends suggest that since 2006, more migrants from the European Union countries are taking up vacancies throughout the service sector. However, this tendency may be offset by the effects of the ongoing post-2008 recession in countries such as Spain and Portugal which appears to have stimulated increased secondary migration by Latin Americans with a legal basis for working (by acquiring Spanish or Portuguese citizenship). Immigration status is a major problem facing Latin American workers in London. Undocumented migrants who do not have employment rights are often susceptible to exploitation in their workplace and are more exposed to abuse through, for instance, having to buy identity papers or ‘hire’ bank accounts from others. Large debts incurred by emigration also contribute to vulnerability amongst undocumented workers. Those nationalities which have experienced significant migration over the last 10–15 years are most likely to find themselves exploited (McIlwaine 2007) although broader literature warns against assuming that more established minority ethnic groups face fewer workplace problems, especially in regard to discrimination (Holgate et al. 2009, 2012). Many of our interviewees recounted how disclosure or knowledge of an individual’s legal work status, provoked conflict amongst workers, with managers

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often using the information to their advantage. Thus, immigration status is often a source of anxiety, suspicion and exploitation amongst undocumented workers and is often used to establish hierarchies amongst co-national workers. The violation of employment rights by companies, managers and recruiters is widespread in sectors where Latin Americans feature heavily. These include unfair dismissal, poor working conditions, maltreatment, non-payment of wages and deductions for work-related costs. These cannot be viewed outside the broader picture of structural disadvantages inherent in low-paid and outsourced service sector work upon which migrant social networks are embedded. Such problems are exacerbated by lack of English and knowledge of rights—especially in the face of Englishspeaking managers (CAB 2004; Anderson and Rogaly 2005; Bloch et al. 2009). Lack of language skills also contributes to Latin Americans being deskilled in that they are unable to work in the field for which they qualified (Sveinsson 2007). These issues will have an impact upon the types of relationships forged at work. Latin American workers have organised in London, in response to their working conditions, through trade unions, community associations and workplace groups. Immigration status is used by employers to undermine efforts to organise and claim basic collective and individual employment rights (Però 2007; Hearn and Bergos 2011). However, recent legislation and policy initiatives aimed at curbing irregular migrant working via increased workplace checks and raids appear to have encouraged this rather than fulfilling the Home Office’s policy aim of reducing abuse (Migrants Rights Network 2008). Organisations and networks set up by Latin Americans play an important role amongst workers, but more needs to be done to address sources of exploitation (including economic transactions for finding and getting jobs) across the more informal social networks encountered by some of those interviewed.

5.2 The Role of Social Networks in Getting Work Networks based on ethnic and national background were important for finding work as demonstrated in some of the studies cited earlier, but our research demonstrates that far from being positive and a source of solidarity amongst migrant workers, these networks were often part of a commercial transaction open to exploitative negotiations, with further

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consequences in the nature of the relationships that might form in the workplace. The kinds of relationships developed at the stage of getting work would later have an impact on the type of relationships established in the workplace. Adriana,5 an Ecuadorian cleaner with minimal English, explained in detail how upon arrival in the UK she cleaned public places and buses whilst keeping an ear out for other Latin Americans who she assumed to be sufficiently immersed in the same employment networks, on the basis of their ethnicity and appearance. Although suggesting ‘ethnic’ solidarity, sometimes getting work turned out to be an exploitative transaction. Adriana described how to get the address of an advice agency she had been asked to ‘pay’ by introducing someone to a work connection. Sonia, an undocumented Bolivian cleaner, also claimed that it was common amongst Latin Americans to charge for a ‘work connection’; people were literally selling jobs. Charging for favours extended to any information that might help the migrant survive in the city, and did not always involve monetary payment, but exchange. This word of mouth hiring operated also via family and friends. This could take on a transnational dimension whereby contacts back home would assist, sometimes even before the respondent had left his or her home country. For example, Jorge, a Colombian student, was advised by another ex-student before leaving Colombia, about how to avoid problems relating to the limit on working hours imposed on foreign students. He then got his main job at a snack shop through meeting a Colombian musician friend, now resident in London, via his sister in Colombia. General preparation also involved taking part in ‘Couchsurf’6 meetings of travellers and would-be travellers in his hometown of Medellin. Likewise, Ximena recalled being told by her sister upon leaving Colombia that ‘no work is dishonourable’. And Brazilian flyer distributor, Jose, found work through a friend in the Sao Paolo punk scene, who put him in contact with a fellow punk musician who had moved to London. Victor entered the UK as student through an agency in Medellin, Colombia. For a fee, the agency arranged a place in a language school and accommodation for the first month. Once here he met other Latin American students at the 5 Personal interview with Adriana, 13 August 2010. 6 Couchsurf is ‘an exchange travel website providing for travellers willing to host other

would-be travellers’: http://opensourcebridge.org/2011/wiki/Couchsurfing. Accessed 21 November 2011.

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school and it was through these informal but more localised networks that he found his first job (cleaning in a bar) and accommodation beyond the first month. Transnational networks play an important part in settling and finding a job in London, as evidenced in other studies, but for our younger interviewees, new technologies and social networking sites were widely used at the pre-arrival stage and were also significant in establishing networks across Europe and Latin America whilst in London. These networks explain the concentration of Latin Americans in particular workplaces. Nelson, an undocumented supervisor of cleaners at a West End theatre, described his intermediary role in getting work for others as part of a particular chain of relationships at work, although it was not stated if this involved any monetary exchange.7 However, as Ximena noted, this could lead to supervisors harassing workers in order to leave the job and make way for ‘their people’. Here, ‘their people’ refers to people from the same nationality rather than regional identification. This unequal exchange could lead to lack of integration and conflict in the workplace, as we shall discuss later in this chapter. The transactional nature of social networks, whereby information or monetary exchange takes place, seems to dominate the initial experience of getting a job. These local and transnational networks, whether formed on the basis of trust and solidarity or as a simple economic transaction, would be prevalent in the types of relationships that developed in the workplace.

5.3 Workplace Relationships: Integration, Solidarity and Conflict Relationships developed through work can be of a double nature: they either provide Latin Americans with further opportunities to expand their social networks and thus contribute to enhance their general wellbeing (Wright 2010, 2011) and feelings of belonging and integration in London, or they limit the possibilities of developing new social

7 A few months after the interview, a workplace raid resulted in Nelson being arrested and detained by police and immigration officials alongside all of his colleagues. He believed this was the result of having raised a grievance about the behaviour of a manager—the first time he had made a formal complaint about employment rights in four years with the company.

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networks and thus contribute to feelings of detachment and disengagement with local issues (as studies on immigration and social cohesion have demonstrated, Hickman et al. 2008). 5.3.1

Solidarity and Integration

In some instances, the workplace became a site resonant of home and family, the importance of which cannot be underestimated in view of the uprootedness (desarraigo) and insecurity felt by many Latin Americans in London. For Carmen, a young Colombian woman who arrived in 2006 as a student and with limited English language, her workplace in a money transfer company that employs mostly Latin Americans became a source of stability. She explained how a lack of English language was a barrier to finding jobs and how she spent the first two years distributing flyers or making coffee at a café—jobs that required very little Englishlanguage skills. The company, where she worked when this interview was conducted, was located in a shopping centre that caters for Latin Americans, thus Spanish-language proficiency was an asset to her duties and as her English improved, so did her opportunities for promotion—from teller to client services to quality manager. She explained the importance that language played in her everyday work relations: … the job is in a Latin shopping centre … since I arrive [at 10am] I am listening to Latin music or smelling Latin food… Throughout the day I spend more time talking in Spanish than I do in English partly because my workmates are Latin Americans, though there are also some from Nigeria and the Philippines, which makes them feel uncomfortable because we are always talking in Spanish. It is difficult to work with ‘compañeros’ and speak English; we sometimes try, even though now I can speak good English, but no, it just does not feel right, the truth is I mostly speak Spanish. … I live my life in Spanish not English.8

The familiarity with the sounds (language and music), smells and nationality of most of her workmates made her feel secure and comfortable. The confidence brought about by her native language made her thrive in the workplace, though as she explained, promotion was only 8 Personal interview with Carmen, 19 June 2010.

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possible when her English language improved—the nature of her job meant that transactions with international partners had to be carried out in English. For Jorge,9 a young student recently arrived from Colombia and working in a café, the fact that most of his workmates were also young Colombian students meant a recreation of the same social scene (ambiente) he had been part of back home. Thus, work was a familiar, safe space beyond any potential risk run by working over the hours legally permitted by their student visas. However, this had its limits as Jorge was not hopeful that he would receive any kind of deeper solidarity in case of need. He saw the relationship as strictly reciprocal, with shifts being changed with each other only out of self-interest. The café served as an information exchange point for their common individual goals, particularly their desire to travel. Jorge did not hold out much hope of socialising with his workmates because, in what for him was a metaphor for London life more generally, ‘everyone is doing their own thing’ (cada uno esta con su tema) and therefore too busy or otherwise engaged to be open to new relationships. Jorge had only been in the job and in London a few months, and therefore, this could partly explain his lack of deeper bonds. In contrast, Fernando,10 a young Brazilian working in the coffee bar of an office, identified closely not with his workmates—he worked alone—but with his daily clients: office workers he saw as being young professional people like himself, notwithstanding his current role. He did not see himself as a foreigner but as a member of a global community. This contrasted with other Latin Americans he briefly came across at work (the cleaners). However, notwithstanding other differences, the bonds he and the other two young Brazilians interviewed felt at work did not seem particularly deep, and in that sense mirrored those of Jorge. This sense of superficial relations at work dominated most of the narratives of those interviewed and contributed to their sense of belongingness and/or detachment to London. Ximena, a Colombian asylum seeker with no right to work and with eleven years in the UK, also described how her new contract cleaning job with a mixed Latin American workforce was a source of friendly interaction with people from her own country and, indeed, region. On

9 Personal interview with Jorge, 23 July 2010. 10 Personal interview with Fernando, 23 September 2010.

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a previous contract where the ethnic composition in the workforce was similar, she had seen how this could develop into a thriving social life outside of work as well: …when I started, we worked in a building in Liverpool [Street] and there we were really friends, the building had about eight floors and we were all Colombians and we did share with them. We organised parties and they invited us, it became a circle of friends, one day a party here, another day elsewhere… That’s how we made friends during that period.11

However, she also mentioned that from her experience it was not easy to integrate with other Latin American—notably Ecuadorian—workmates: There were also Ecuadorians, but they don’t integrate with us (…) they say we are, like, racist or that we don’t like them.

National identification could be a source of positive relations, but it could also lead to stark divisions amongst different national groups, as noted in this particular instance. This difference re-emerged in the interview with Nelson,12 who described how he had to be careful not to be seen to be favouring his own (Bolivian) nationality over others, and to keep the peace between different nationalities. The relationship between him and the workers under his charge was mediated by this position, and as such he felt he could not socialise with them outside of work. The relationship with the other workers in the theatre—on contracts or employed directly by the theatre—was generally one of mutual respect. National or regional identification alone was not necessarily the main source of positive relationships at work, in some instances gender identification was stronger. The workplace was also where Ximena established bonds with other co-workers on the basis of gender, in this case a Brazilian with whom, despite some language difficulties, she could discuss ‘women’s things’. This was also the case for Eugenia, a support worker in a residential home for people with learning disabilities, and the sole Latin American working alongside African and Afro-Caribbean migrants. There she also felt ‘strange’ to be caring for English people: 11 Personal interview with Ximena, 23 July 2010. 12 Personal interview with Nelson, 25 August 2010.

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… it feels so strange that I am helping an English person … because deep down we see them [European and English] as superiors [more advanced] to us, to Latinos. Then it is strange that they need the help of a Latin person. 13

For Eugenia, it was strange to be in a position of power over her care clients; she explained this as a reversal of the expected relationship between British and Colombians. This sense of feeling strange, and power relations at work, manifested differently in the case of Ximena who had worked as a lawyer’s secretary in Colombia. At first, she felt embarrassed to be picking up a mop in full view of office workers, but encouraged by her cousins (who she worked alongside initially), she soon focused on the work in hand in the knowledge that the office staff were not even looking at her, let alone assessing her work as she had imagined. The de-skilling of Latin Americans once in the UK is a problem often experienced by many. McIlwaine et al. (2011) found that a relatively large number of Latin American women, almost on par with men, are in work before emigrating, with over a third of these coming from professional and managerial jobs. Once in the UK, they are as prevalent as men in higher-end jobs, but more prevalent in low-skilled occupations because of their disproportionately high presence in domestic roles. Domestic work provided the opportunity for closer interaction and greater solidarity with the employer. Maria,14 an undocumented Bolivian woman, compared her domestic work favourably with her contract cleaning job. In Sonia’s15 case, she avoided an immigration raid on her home the day before our interview by moving her family to a house she was temporarily looking after whilst her employer was on holiday. Similarly for Maria, working alone in a private house offered a sense of relative calm and safety given their legal status. Maria described feeling like she ‘owned’ one of the houses she cleaned and described her relationship in family terms: ‘the husband says I am like their mother’. Being in someone else’s comfortable middle-class home contrasted with the stress caused by living in the cramped, unsafe conditions of her family home where we held the interview. 13 Personal interview with Eugenia, 16 July 2010. 14 Personal interview with Maria, 17 August 2010. 15 Personal interview with Sonia, 16 July 2010.

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On occasion, contract cleaning afforded a sense of deeper solidarity. Sonia, for example, had meaningful support from staff at the small city office she had cleaned by herself for many years, when they learnt of her immigration difficulties. She twice referred to this office as like her ‘home’. Elsewhere, Adriana described how she had fostered a ‘family’ relationship with the ten other cleaners on an all-night shift in city offices. Indeed, the length and intensity of the interview with her testified to the traumatic effects of this relationship breaking down (see below). Social networks and relations formed through the workplace were generally positive but could also become a source of conflict and suspicion, as we discuss in the next section. 5.3.2

Conflict and Lack of Trust

Conflict amongst co-workers came to the surface when workplace relationships, formed on the basis of shared nationality, gender and generation, failed. Legal status also had an impact upon the type of relationships developed at work and often reproduced the prevailing unequal and exploitative power relations in the workplace. Lack of trust would lead to superficial relationships and alienation at work. The workplace became a place where you arrived, did your job, and left, with very little interaction and sense of solidarity amongst co-workers. For example, the ‘deep solidarity’ Adriana experienced with other Latin Americans in her workplace, ended when she chose to no longer take part in an unequal system of favours administrated by the female supervisor, also Ecuadorian. This involved lending and paying money to the supervisor to cover for their absence at work—a transaction that inevitably favoured the supervisor. Adriana explained how she would pay £50 (£10 more than she would usually earn) to the supervisor to cover her shift and keep her absence secret from the manager. She would bring up the favours she had done for me and start to reproach me; until one day I told her, you have to respect me; first, because I am an older person and second, we need to start our work without being shouted at. Then she told me that she would stop doing covers for me and not ask for favours. I told her you don’t do any favours for me; I pay for your favours; it is not for free. So, that is how it started… I come in, pick up

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my tools, start working, and when it is time to go, I leave. That is how it is now.16

When Adriana ended up rebelling against this system of favours, her position and relationship with other co-workers deteriorated. She explained how she was not allowed to have a coffee break whilst others did, and when she had a break the supervisor would harass and intimidate her. Ever since I had problems with the supervisor, no [no breaks]. I did before; we would start work at 12 midnight. We would come in at 11 pm, had a coffee, talked about our needs… But now as we do not have that, there is no coffee, there is nothing, I start at 9 o’clock [in the evening] and finish at 5:30am. But then I am not bothered, I feel calm. But when it really bothers me is when she pressures me… just to humiliate me. And so, I told her, you are not going to succeed in humiliating me or in getting me fired because I do a good job.

When asked if the breaks were eliminated altogether, she responded: No, just to me; the others stay resting until one in the morning or 12 midnight… they stay talking with her; [it’s] just me. I start at 9 pm on my own. I wanted to bring this up with the manager, tell her to come at 10 pm and she would see that there is no one else here, just me and another lady of a similar age to me. But the manager does not believe anything; it is my word against hers. So, I prefer to work and keep quiet…. The situation is a bit difficult, but well, I have to retain my job.

In order not to lose her job (given the current economic climate), she preferred to ‘keep quiet’. The breakdown of the relationship damaged her relationship with other Latin Americans in the workplace. She contrasted their dependent relationship with the supervisor with the independent spirit of her African colleagues, with whom she felt an affinity despite the language barrier. The role of the (non-Latin American) manager was to leave the supervisor to deal with ‘her people’, in other words, the Latin

16 Personal interview with Adriana, 13 August 2010.

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Americans or Spanish speakers. As we discussed earlier, supervisors are also recruiters and the relationships they engender suit the company. Abuse in the workplace also took on the guises of gender and legal status. For Maria, sexual harassment went with being part of a small group of Latin American evening contract cleaners at an outer London primary school. This harassment came from her supervisor and from fellow workers, including on the bus journey to and from work. As a result, she tried to avoid her workmates, preferring to walk to the bus stop after work than get a lift with the others in the supervisor’s car to the bus stop. At the same time, in this same workplace, having papers created an alternative hierarchy whereby a cleaner with papers felt able to order around others who were undocumented, including the interviewee and even the supervisor. Legal status and gender played an important part in hierarchical relationships at work. When conflated, these would act as a barrier to develop meaningful and deeper relationships at work and would explain why for some, relationships in the workplace would be dominated by fear and lack of trust. Breakdown of relationships and abuse in the workplace was clearly traumatising. Relationships at work do not always extend outside of work. If anything, work can be an obstacle to integration and can have an impact upon the level of participation in the places where workers live (Hickman et al. 2008). Our research suggests that regional, national, gender and generational identification in the workplace could be a source of solidarity and trust as much as a source of conflict and fear, and that legal status overrides these experiences.

5.4

Workplace, Home and Family

The transactional nature of social networks amongst Latin American in low-paid employment in London was the most significant issue arising from our research. Getting work, key in the initial stages of settling, was potentially a transactional relationship. Particularly so for newcomers who found it difficult to get work due to their legal status, lack of other networks such as family and friends, or due to poor language skills. This involved individuals effectively performing the role of intermediary labour procurers. Getting work for others also had an effect inside the workplace, as existing workers felt the strain of a supervisor or manager trying

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to bring in ‘their people’. This commodification was evident again in the relationships at work by paying for favours and covers. At work, the exchange became even more unequal as relationships of power formalised. It was also evident outside of work, especially when in need of special services or advice. Information was seen as key for taking part in transactions: information became an economic resource. Social networks were important in securing and performing jobs but these were based on transactional and commodified relationships. Relationships at work could confirm or challenge preconceived ideas of superiority/inferiority vis-à-vis others (whether the marker of that ‘other’ be a different ethnic or national group, or social position). Advantages such as legal status play an important part in preconceived ideas of power relations amongst co-workers. However, further research would be needed to explore whether power relations in the workplace are related to class—in terms of both socio-economic background and current positions at work. The workplace was as a metaphor for home and family and, additionally, a source of different kinds of solidarity, both of a limited ‘light’ nature and a deeper kind. The hidden, informal nature of domestic work in particular offered relative security in terms of safety compared to work in the formal sector, notwithstanding the much-documented potential for abuse that exists in this sphere. Positive relationships could arise where language and shared experience provided the implicit basis of good relationships in a group dominated by other Latin Americans. Also, a positive identification could potentially encompass other factors such as national background, class, region, gender and generation. The interviews reminded us of the extent to which the workplace was a place where relationships with persons other than direct workmates were reproduced, such as with direct clients, employees of the contracting company and other subcontractors, and individual employers themselves. For the most part, these would not be Latin Americans. Further research might explore the prevalence and limits of these relationships, including the extent to which power and privilege continue to condition them. Furthermore, the absence of contact with these others is also indicative of a barrier to solidarity and support. Not only could any sense of solidarity be overridden by national ties such as the separation between Ecuadorians and Colombians cited earlier, but more dramatically all ethnic ties could be superseded by relationships

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of power and authority in the workplace, whether formalised or not. A common sense of solidarity shared by workers with particular limitations such as language skills could become a kind of ‘ethnic prison’ whereby those disadvantages kept them locked in a web of relationships of power within their own language group, thus making it harder to cement bonds with other groups within the workforce. The unequal distribution of power and privilege amongst Latin Americans and the relationships that ensue is conditioned by multiple factors. Thus, any attempt to claim a sense of solidarity based on a shared identity which is, in turn, based on nationality, gender and legal status, would fail. Relationships at work are usually subservient to, or overridden by, other ties and claims to identity. Acknowledgements A special recognition goes to Jacob Lagnado, Research Assistant for this project.

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McIlwaine, C. (2008d). The Postcolonial Practices of International Migration: Latin American Migration to London. London: Queen Mary, University of London. McIlwaine, C. (2009). Legal Latins? Webs of (ir)Regularity Among Latin American Migrants in London. In Indentity, Citizenship and Migration Centre (ICMiC) (WP No. 04). https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/icemic/documents/ mcilwaine-icmic-wp-09-04.pdf. Accessed 12 Jan 2020. McIlwaine, C., & Bunge, D. (2016). Towards Visibility: The Latin American Community in London. London: Queen Mary, University of London, Trust for London and Latin American Women’s Rights Services. https://www.trustforlondon.org.uk/publications/towards-visibilitylatin-american-community-london/. Accessed 20 Dec 2016. McIlwaine, C., Cock, J. C., & Linneker, B. (2011). No Longer Invisible: The Latin American Community in London. London: Trust for London, Queen Mary U and Latin American Women’s Rights Services. https://www.trustf orlondon.org.uk/publications/no-longer-invisible-latin-american-communitylondon/. Accessed 5 Jan 2012. Migrants Rights Network. (2008). ‘Papers Please’: The Impact of the Civil Penalty Regime on the Employment Rights of Migrants in the UK. London: MRN. https://migrantsrights.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/ 04/Papers-Please-Nov-2008.pdf. Accessed 12 Jan 2020. Moya, J. C. (2007). Domestic Service in a Global Perspective: Gender, Migration, and Ethnic Niches. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 33(4), 559–579. Però, D. (2007). Anthropological Perspectives on Migrants’ Political Engagements (WP50). Oxford: COMPAS. Però, D. (2008). Integration from Below. Migrants’ Practices of Citizenship and the Debate on Diversity in Britain (WP-08-02). Nottingham: University of Nottingham. https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/icemic/docume nts/pero-icmic-wp-08-02.pdf. Accessed 12 Jan 2020. Rienzo, C., & Vargas-Silva, C. (2011). Briefing: Migrants in the UK: An Overview. Migration Observatory. Oxford: COMPAS, University of Oxford. https://migrationobservatory.ox.ac.uk/resources/briefings/mig rants-in-the-uk-labour-market-an-overview/. Accessed 22 June 2012. Román-Velázquez, P. (1999). The Making of Latin London: Salsa Music, Place and Identity. Aldershot: Ashgate. E-book edition: Román-Velázquez, P. (2017). London: Taylor and Francis. https://doi.org/10.4324/978131523 8487. Román-Velázquez, P. (2009). Latin Americans in London and the Dynamics of Diasporic Identities. In J. Procter, et al. (Eds.), Comparing Postcolonial Diasporas. (pp. 104–124). London, UK: Palgrave Macmillan.

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Ruhs, M., & Anderson, B. (2010). Migrant Workers: Who Needs Them? Framework for the Analysis of Staff Shortages, Immigration and Public Policy. In M. Ruhs & B. Anderson (Eds.), Who Needs Migrant Workers? Labour Shortages, Immigration and Public Policy (pp. 15–52). London: Sage. Ryan, B. (2005). Labour Migration and Employment Rights. London: Institute for Migration Rights. https://www.ier.org.uk/node/132. Accessed 12 Jan 2020. Ryan, L., Sales, R., Tilki, M., & Siara, B. (2008). Social Networks, Social Support and Social Capital: The Experiences of Recent Polish Migrants in London. Sociology, 42(4), 672–690. Schrover, M., van der Leun, J., & Quispel, C. (2007). Niches, Labour Market Segregation, Ethnicity and Gender. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 33(4), 529–540. Sveinsson, K. P. (2007). Bolivians in London: Challenges and Achievements of a London Community. London: Runnymede Trust. https://www.runnymede trust.org/uploads/publications/pdfs/BoliviansInLondon-2007.pdf. Accessed 12 Jan 2020. Thiel, D. (2010). Contacts and Contracts: Economic Embeddedness and Ethnic Stratification in London’s Construction Market. Ethnography, 11(3), 443– 471. Waldinger, R. (1994). The Making of an Immigrant Niche. International Migration Review, 28(1), 3–30. Wills, J., Datta, K., Evans, Y., Herbert, J., May, J., & Mcilwaine, C. (2010a). Global Cities at Work: Migrant Labour in an Uneven World. London: Pluto Press. Wills, J., May, J., Datta, K., Evans, Y., Herbert, J., & McIlwaine, C. (2009). London’s Migrant Division of Labour. European Urban and Regional Studies, 16(3), 257–271. Wills, A., McIlwaine, C., Datta, K., May, J., Herbert, J., & Evans, Y. (2010b). New Migrant Divisions of Labour. In N. Coe & A. Jones (Eds.), The Economic Geography of the UK (pp. 225–238). London: Sage. Wright, K. (2007). “You Are Not Going There to Amuse Yourself,” Barriers to Achieving Wellbeing Through International Migration: The Case of Peruvian Migrants in London and Madrid (WP33). Bath: University of Bath. Wright, K. (2010). “It’s a Limited Kind of Happiness”: Barriers to Achieving Human Well-Being Among Peruvian Migrants in London and Madrid. Bulletin of Latin American Research, 29(3), 367–383. Wright, K. (2011). Constructing Migrant Wellbeing: An Exploration of Life Satisfaction Amongst Peruvian Migrants in London. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 37 (9), 1459–1475.

CHAPTER 6

Latino Media Spaces in London: The Interstices of the Invisible

It is 6 June 2018. Colombia is playing against Japan in the football World Cup. We entered the Colombian restaurant, Leños & Carbón, in the heart of Elephant and Castle in London, and mingled with dozens of people of all ages wearing the Colombian national team t-shirt. Amidst red, blue and yellow colours, the enthusiasm was evident amongst all. We witnessed what it felt like to be a Colombian in London supporting the Colombian national football team. The place was packed and dominated by a lively mixed crowd and the multiple screens transmitting the game. Next to a bandeja paisa with Colombian drinks, diners of all ages enjoyed Colombian music during the intermission. Emotions of excitement turned to collective sadness when one of Japan’s players scored a second goal in the 73rd minute that led to their victory. Colombian music then became a perfect antidote for dealing with the blues. It was at that moment we observed this symbolic synergy surrounding diasporic lives. It was the food, the music, the ambience, but also the opportunity to share this collective emotion of belonging in a transnational scenario that combined the local, the national, but also the transnational and binational sense of belonging. They go back and forth between Spanish and English, and even in Spanglish. In this context, Colombians were redefining their collective identity, one that has no geographical boundaries but rather,

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a translucid space where being from here and there makes sense—an experience created, in part, by translocal media. At the end of the game, we picked up some free newspapers from a small stand near the restaurant entrance. There were a few, but on that occasion we saw Extra International and Latino Times —two outlets that are part of Extramedia1, a small-scale consortium of publications located a few streets away from the restaurant. As in other cities with growing Latino populations, London has witnessed the consolidation of this ethnic enclave in the core of the city. It is not exclusively Latin American, but it has a flavour of mixed communities where you can easily identify the Latin routes. Again, as in other ethnic enclaves where Latinos tend to concentrate, this area has a range of ethnic media options. After so many years visiting the area and enjoying Latin food, we know exactly where to head. Thus, we walked towards the office of Extramedia1, passing the largest grouping of business of the Latin Quarter in the railway arches, from Elephant Road to Maldonado Walk (previously known as Eagle’s Yard). As we walked by, we could hear the sounds beaming from Latin American radio stations and we glimpsed the screens broadcasting an array of programmes produced across the Atlantic. After a short walk we arrived at ExtraMedia1 headquarters, a small unpretentious yet ambitious setting underneath the railway arches where ExtraRadio1 is transmitted. This is a small studio where producers and anchors debate on issues relevant for the community, whilst the occasional break is filled with Latin music. For several years now we have been walking around the streets of the Latin Quarter, meeting with people to talk about why and how they decided to start their own media. Most of our interviews have taken place in many of the coffee shops and nearby restaurants, or even in people’s homes when not in their own newsrooms or studios. Throughout these past two decades we have seen several attempts to produce a variety of hyperlocal and translocal media projects seeking to provide relevant information about Latin Americans in London and, more recently, in Europe, but also about current affairs news from various Latin American countries. Just as Latin American immigrant groups have remained almost invisible in the context of non-European immigration in the UK, Latino media have gone unnoticed in most ethnic media mappings. Representing a minority within minorities has been challenging—not only for Latin American communities in London, but also for their own media. Looking to the other side of the Atlantic, and as argued elsewhere, Latino media have grown and changed alongside the growing

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communities they serve in the United States. Originally an advocate for immigrants marginalised by discriminatory political, linguistic and cultural policies, Spanish-language media today serve growing communities of Latinx people born in the United States and abroad, educated in English but speaking Spanish at home. To meet the specific information and communication needs of a diverse set of communities, the Spanishlanguage media landscape is broad and heterogeneous in its patterns of production, distribution and consumption (Retis 2019b). Whilst in the United States we talk about more than two hundred years of Latino media history—in Spanish, English or Spanglish—a comparative approach helps us understand the reality of Latino media in the UK. If we talk exclusively about the consolidation of diasporic British Latino media in transitional contexts, then we are only referring to approximately 30 years of history. We focus our discussion on examining synergies of ethnic media produced by and for immigrants and linguistic minorities in an English-language global city. In trying to understand how Latino ethnic media can contribute to the integration of Latino migrants in London, we embarked on a project of mapping their circuits, their processes of production, their paths of distribution, their impact within translocal audiences, their role in the debates of what it means to belong, their narratives on inclusion and exclusion and their engaging in Latin American migrants’ everyday life. With these objectives in mind, the following research questions guided our study: Why are Latino media established in London? Why have some projects been able to remain active whilst others had a short life? Why are these communication spaces important for the Latino communities in London? Why have these media remained largely invisible to mainstream media producers, policymakers and even academic researchers? How we can better explore and understand their recent history, current struggles and future challenges? The visibility and recognition of ethnic media as actors in the media system is contingent upon the status of the audiences they serve (Matsaganis et al. 2010). Whilst Latin Americans are still considered a minority within the minority in the non-European immigrant population in the UK, their ethnic media is more likely to remain invisible. Over the last two decades, we have observed that Latino media have fluctuated between rapid growth whilst at the same time experiencing a significant decrease. In recent years there has been a preference for the diversification of media platforms amongst established news outlets rather than

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the emergence of new ones. There has been a growing trend in the emergence of specialist magazines, but not in news media outlets which remain very much concentrated in the hands of a few media producers. In some cases, these have succeeded in capturing the attention of their audiences as a reliable source of information, and some others have provided spaces for self-representation. We have also found publications dedicated to one national group, whilst others have intended to embrace the pan-ethnic label of Latinidad. As it is the case in the United States, there is no one Latino media history in London, but many (Retis 2019a). We must relate instead to a polymorphic ensemble of small-scale Spanish-and-Brazilian-language media founded in diverse circumstances which reveal various aspects of their hybrid nature and their varied participation in media cultures in London. In this chapter, we seek to provide a comprehensive understanding of the multifaceted history of Latino media in the British capital. In doing so, we try to examine parallel discursive spheres where members of minority groups create and circulate counter discourses to formulate interpretations of their identities, interests and needs, and recreate a sense of belonging in an array of platforms that can constitute counter-publics (Fraser 1990, 2007).

6.1

Diasporic Media Across Europe

In the early years of the 2000s, Georgiou (2003) claimed that despite the recognition in European academic and policy forums of the increasing marginalisation of diasporas and migrant minorities, the issue of cultural exclusion received little attention. Whilst leading these first attempts to map diasporic media across the European Union, she claimed that media cultures are essential in everyday life and that more was needed to understand their relevance for understanding diasporic minorities’ experience of inclusion and exclusion. This pioneering mapping highlighted a framework to research diasporic media cultures’ role in processes of exclusion/inclusion. This involved a multilevel analysis that included: (a) the triangular positioning of diasporic cultural experience at local, national and transnational levels; (b) how diasporic media challenge exclusion, stereotyping and homogenised representation in mainstream media cultures; and (c) the struggles amongst different diasporic groups, to gain a space in media cultures and to make their voices heard.

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Drawing on Georgiou’s proposal, we deem it essential to address three crucial spatial and cultural contexts where the experience of diasporic groups evolves: The local is where the everyday is lived; the national is where citizens’ (or residents’) rights and obligations are formed and formal rules for political and cultural exclusion/inclusion are set; the transnational is the space where global diasporic networks expand and where diasporic communities are sustained. (Georgiou 2003, p. 6)

This cross-national comparison of diasporic media across Belgium, Greece, Germany, Spain, Sweden and the UK draws attention to the fact that there is a very limited survey of minority media production in the UK. This is in part due to the restrictive and highly controlled broadcasting environment and the lack of support for community and minority media projects. As we will see later, during those years, there were already several Latin American media organisations operating in London, but, as was the case for Latin American migrant groups, their media also remained invisible for many years, and we would argue that despite its proliferation and diversification, it remains the case. We argue that Latino media in the UK is concentrated in London, with few exceptions such as a radio station or other programmes being produced in Newcastle and Manchester—whose media productions do not transcend linguistic and geographical boundaries. Two concomitant processes have influenced each other since the second half of the twentieth century. On the one hand, international immigration from Latin America increased in the 1980s and 1990s due to the structural changes brought about by the economic, financial and social crises that characterised these ‘lost decades’.1 On the other hand, the field of communication experienced an increase in the concentration of media ownership, combined with accelerated technological innovation and lower costs of transportation and information and communication services. Consequently, diasporic contexts were transformed by new spaces of production, distribution and consumption of mass media and, in the last decade, by new communication technologies. Territorial migrants were transformed into digital migrants in complex and changing processes affecting both Latin Americans living abroad, and their family and friends 1 As explained in Chapter 3.

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who remained in their place of origin (Retis 2014a). Hence, we argue that since its origins, Latino media in the UK is inextricably linked to the forces of globalisation, as outlined by Matsaganis et al. (2010): technological innovation; international migration; the integration of world economies; and policymaking intended to abolish many of the barriers that hinder activities of individuals and organisations across nation-state borders. Analysing and understanding the communicative practices of Latin American diasporas requires interdisciplinary approaches in order to develop a perspective that is both comprehensive and critical (Retis 2012). Processes of economic globalisation require a rethinking of traditional ways of examining national societies in relationship to network systems (Castells 2006) that have led to the deterritorialisation of social life, transformed its cultural dimensions (Appadurai 1996; Thompson 1995) and reconfigured nodes in the form of global cities (Sassen 2001). In this context, links established between and for immigration networks outline new diasporic spaces relying on transborder circuits of communication and information (Retis 2008). As argued elsewhere, in the study of diasporas and the media it is essential to: (1) understand sociodemographic conditions before analysing media spaces; (2) understand the economic and political structure of the media before analysing their discourses on immigration; (3) examine professional routines before analysing practices in covering diversity issues; and (4) understand cultural and media consumption in countries of origin before analysing practices in diasporic contexts. In sum, it is indispensable to build interdisciplinary approaches to understand transnational communication practices (Retis 2014b). International studies on contemporary diasporic media point to selective participation and communication practices (Yúdice 2009). Comparative analysis helped to clarify the sometimes-conflicting strategies being established by diasporic communities in host countries, where interactions aimed at preserving heritage and traditions coexist with those that generate negotiated spaces, and others that strengthen resistance. Scholars have demonstrated that these positions are dynamic and exchangeable (Georgiou 2006). In what constituted the first mapping of ethnic media in Madrid, Retis used the term ‘space’ as both a physical and an imaginary space that generates inter- and intra-ethnic relations (Retis 2011). Most respondents in focus groups and interviews emphasised the importance of environments that foster these modes of coexistence. Cultural and media consumption took place in: (1) the intimacy of a room equipped with

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a stereo, a TV, a video recorder and/or a computer; (2) a negotiated common space of consumption, especially in multifamily and/or multigenerational houses; (3) indoor public environments such as libraries, schools and particularly call centres and/or barber shops and restaurants; or (4) outdoor public environments such as parks and plazas. All of these spaces confirm the diversity of spaces where individual and collective cultural and media consumption coexist and are experienced. Transnational approaches (Smith and Guarnizo 1998; Levitt and Glick Schiller 2004) allow us to analyse and understand how these practices remain similar or are being transformed in diasporic contexts (Retis 2011). Scholars of Latin America agree that there have been some attempts to correct the lack of information and studies on cultural/media consumption in the region (Sunkel 2006; Bisbal 2001; Checa 2010). Research has been generated in academic and institutional contexts as well as by cultural industries. Countries such as Colombia, but also Mexico, Argentina, Chile, Uruguay and Brazil, have sponsored quantitative research initiatives to study audiences at the national level. In contrast, countries such as Ecuador are yet to develop such a research agenda (Martín Barbero 2009; Sunkel 2006; Trejo 2006; Wortman 2006; Rincón et al. 2010; Rosas 2002; Reguillo 2009). There remains a need today for a regional perspective and comparative analysis in the region (Retis 2011). We argue that studies on cultural consumption should also include Latin American diasporas as they are part of a larger media landscape. This diasporic transnationalism is not only inherent to the almost 30 million Latin Americans living abroad, but also to their transnational communicative practices. Previous studies pointed to the centrality of electronic media consumption, the allocation of media and cultural consumption to the private space, the strong segmentation of high culture consumption and the generation of interpretive communities of consumers (Martin Barbero 2009). Latin American researchers acknowledge that civil societies appear less as national, territorial, linguistic and political communities, and more as groups of people who share reading tastes and reading agreements on certain cultural assets (García Canclini 2001). Studies on Spanishlanguage journalism in the United States have examined the dichotomy that has emerged as commercial news outlets attempt to capitalise on Hispanic audiences by targeting these communities whilst at the same time grappling with the challenges faced by all media as technology and market forces have transformed the industry. The fragmentation of ethnic

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media, which historically played an important role in the development of immigrant communities, presents a challenge for journalists working within this sphere (Shumow and Retis 2020). The formation of Latin American transnational audiences has been recognised by cultural industries rather than by local, regional and international governments (Rosas 2002; Sunkel 2006; Almanza 2005). This suggests that the preliminary findings of surveys and private research have been considered in establishing public policies (Retis 2012). Ethnocentric approaches tend to analyse media and cultural consumption exclusively as they relate to the condition of immigrant. As Retis (2011, 2012) argues, we should consider positions of class and structural stratification when examining sociocultural dynamics. Latin American immigrant groups are heterogeneous, and they settle in host societies that draw from a rich hybrid cultural baggage. It is the dialogue with the host society that promotes understanding between cultures, not the creation of social hierarchies of interaction. Little can be done to make progress in this area if paternalistic or frightened perspectives remain unchanged in immigration studies (Retis 2011, 2012). Analysing and understanding Latin American diasporic practices pose several challenges. Latin Americans have joined the context of international migration as a result of geopolitical positions and the realignment of labour relations beyond their borders. The role of public discourse in understanding the structural and cyclical nature of diversity is central to this process. Latin America has been growing outside of Latin America. In the United States it is expected that by 2050 almost 30% of the population will be Hispanic (Passel et al. 2011); thus, transnational relations between the United States and Spain via ‘Latin American circuits’ will become more evident—especially for those who can get residence permits and citizenship. Part of these transnational circuits will geolocate as will those bilingual communities residing in the UK. Even though, proportionally, British Latinx diasporic media do not make up the largest niche, it still participates in these diasporic transnational media circuits through the circulation and consumption of Latin American cultural and media products. Latin Americans built diasporic communities in imaginary and physical spaces, and cultural and media consumption is a central element in their construction. The evidence of transnational audiences has already been recognised by the market and by private industries, but it remains a challenge for governments, institutions and political administrations both in countries of origin and destination.

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Latinos and Their Media in London

In reviewing the scarcely available secondary sources on the history of Latino media in the UK, we found that it goes back as far as more than two centuries ago. What can be considered the oldest newspaper written in Spanish in London was founded in 1810. Three years after his landing in England, Francisco de Miranda, precursor to the independence of Latin American countries, forged efforts to produce documents in favour of independence from Spain. In a circular addressed to people and institutions of Europe and the New World, he declared that his London house: ‘is and will always be the fixed point for the Independence and Freedoms of the Colombian Continent’ (Francisco de Miranda, n.d. in Navarro 2018). On 15 March 1810 de Miranda founded El Colombiano, produced in the press of R. Juingé. The publication circulated until May of the same year and was launched with the objective of gaining English support for the independence movement. Its five editions were published in the Americas, from Caracas to Buenos Aires, Trinidad, Rio de Janeiro, Havana and Veracruz (Navarro 2018). The Londoner El Colombiano coexisted with other Spanish-language publications launched in North America around that decade, to provide information on commercial transactions or issues related to Latin American independence movements, such as what is considered to be the first US Spanish-language publication, El Mississipí, founded in New Orleans. This biweekly, bilingual publication of four pages is considered the first Hispanic newspaper in regular circulation in the United States, and lasted until 1810. Across the Atlantic, and by 1900, more than 100 Spanish-language newspapers were published in the United States, serving mainly as: (a) institutions of social control through the English-language papers that owned them; (b) institutions of activism that exposed and denounced the oppression that their readers faced; or (c) reflections of Chicano life not only recording events, interests and thoughts of Hispanic communities, but also asserting the importance of a strong cultural identity and warning against assimilation (Retis 2019a; Gutiérrez 1977). Whilst Hispanic media grew exponentially in the United States, it diminished in the UK, mainly due to the migratory patterns of the communities they served. Paradoxically, these trends re-emerged during the decades of the economic crisis in Latin America. Emigration flows from Latin America increased during the 1980s and 1990s, both considered ‘Lost Decades’ due to economic, social and political struggles in

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the region that led to new groups flying out to the Global North. Even though the dimensions of these migration flows were comparatively different in the volume of migrants and countries of origins, we can trace parallel performance in both shores of the Atlantic. In the United States, the now called multiple ‘Latino booms’ in the 1980s and 1990s led to the consequent booming of Spanish-language media. During those years print, radio and TV stations grew to cater to and address the growth of Spanish-language audiences (Retis 2019a). In the UK, and particularly in London, we discovered that founding ethnic media were mainly distributed within ethnic media enclaves in the city. These new growing Latin cultural circuits remained overlooked except for a few research projects examining the new arrivals and, consequently, the eruption of public spaces for socialising such as salsa music clubs (Román-Velázquez 1996, 1999). Unlike their counterparts in the United States, Latino media in the UK didn’t grow until little more than a century and a half after the first Spanish-language publication was founded. There is a vacuum— either because of the lack of archival material, or because of a genuine lack of publications. It was only by the mid-twentieth century that new historical information about Spanish-language publications in London began to appear, as our research shows. This time, they emerged in very different social, political and economic conditions. As Bermudez (2003, 2010) addresses, information about Latin Americans in the UK is scarce, partly because of the lack of strong historical links, but also because this migration flow is relatively new and limited. Moreover, the study of migration in Britain has been mostly approached from an ethnic relations point of view, focusing on Asian and black communities, and particularly those related to ex-colonial or commonwealth territories. This mirrors the studies on ethnic media in the UK: research on Latino media is scarce and few dissertations and academic publications have documented their origins (Román-Velázquez 1996, 1999; Moral 2009; Ferrández Ferrer 2014). The visibility and recognition of Latino media as equal actors in the British ethnic media landscape is contingent upon the status of the audiences they serve. For years they have remained underrecognised and understudied, and policymakers have avoided engaging Latino media producers to the same degree as mainstream media or majority minority media producers. On the other hand, Latino media producers have remained on the periphery and may not have had the resources to increase

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their visibility. This situation is not strange to other ethnic media in other countries and has been addressed by researchers (Matsaganis et al. 2010). It also explains, at least in part, why it is difficult to find secondary sources examining British Latino media history or current trends. The few sources available to us came mainly from graduate dissertations, reports and news coverage. Within them, most of the data collected came from personal interviews with producers and reporters, as it has been the case in our research project, and this of course opens up issues of memory and reliability. We confirmed these to the best of our ability by cross-referencing with online sources and newspaper archives, and we provide here a partial account of this oral history. What follows is our attempt to join up the dots where possible and thus begin the process of building a collective history of Latino ethnic media in the UK, with a focus on London.

6.3 The Origins: Ethnic Media ˜ for the Newcomers en espanol During the last quarter of the last century, and mirroring patterns on the emergence and development of Latino media in US global cities such as New York, Miami or Los Angeles, new Spanish-language publications in London started emerging in the areas of geographical concentrations of the communities they serve. They developed at the same time and pace as Latin Americans arrived in the British capital. Furthermore, they became part of a larger landscape of cultural circuits in this hyper-diverse global capital. Historical and sociopolitical perspectives help us to understand how migration waves from Latin America to London mirrored the presence of Latinos in Europe. This contemporary history dates back to the independence era and has been growing since the mid-1960s. As we have addressed before, Latin Americans in London are not a homogeneous group, they rather constitute heterogeneous communities mostly differentiated in terms of socio-economic standing, migratory status, countries of origin, condition of the area of labour market they incorporate in, local geographical features of the settlement communities and language skills, amongst others. We argue that these contexts are important to understanding the increasingly mediated diasporic spaces in which migrants engage for collective identity and community reconfigurations. Contrary to the trend to homogenise the hyper-heterogeneous nature of Latino communities, critical studies should address these complex formations to better examine Latinx communities and their media (Retis 2019a).

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During the second half of the nineteenth century, the changing demographics across European global cities started integrating influxes of immigrants from Latin America without much notice. In the non-European migrant scenario, Latinx became the biggest unnoticed minority within majority minorities. In the wake of the arrival of political refugees from Chile and Argentina in the mid-1970s, a larger number of Latin American migrants began to arrive in London. Many came through the work permit system, usually to work in domestic service and the catering industry. It has been estimated that the number of Latin Americans in London at the beginning of the 1990s was around 80,000, mostly Colombians, and a growing number of Brazilians who, in the following decade, became the largest group, followed by increasing numbers of Peruvians and Ecuadoreans (Román-Velázquez 1996; Bermudez 2011). Given that Colombians and Brazilians remained the largest groups of Latin Americans in London, it is not surprising that they launched and lead most of the projects of translocal media outlets in London’s Latinx ethnic enclaves. The Colombian community in the UK can trace its origins back to the second wave of emigration from Colombia (the first started in the 1960s during the US immigration quotas). Colombians were the first to arrive in the UK during the 1970s, under the work-permit system. During this period, between 4000 and 10,000 Colombians arrived as temporary workers (Bermudez 2011). During the 1980s and the 1990s, as the economic and political situation in Colombia deteriorated, a third wave of Colombians started to arrive in London. By the end of the twentieth century, it was estimated that between 150,000 and 180,000 Brazilians were residing in the UK, with the majority concentrated in London (Evans et al. 2007, 2011; Dias and Martins Júnior 2013). According to latest reports, most Brazilians entered as tourists or students and stayed in the country either after their visas had expired, or as European descendants due to their proven Portuguese, Spanish or Italian citizenship. This condition makes it difficult to gain an accurate estimation of their numbers (Evans et al. 2007, 2011; Dias and Martins Júnior 2018) even though they are considered to be a part of the new migration waves that caused London to be known as one of the super-diverse cities by the end of the 1990s (Vertovec 1996, 2007). A survey of Brazilians carried out in 2010 in London found that most were young (between 25 and 39 years), with the largest group coming from the state of Sao Paulo. They mainly moved to London to study

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(one-third of those surveyed), or work (one-third), whilst one in four said they came to both work and study, and one in five intended to settle permanently (Evans et al. 2011). The survey found they were working in various sectors with hospitality (22%) and business administration (21%) employing the majority whilst others were working in cleaning (17%), consumer services (14%), retail (8%) and education (8%). Most were residing in Inner London, specifically in the areas of Westminster, Camden, Islington, Hackney, Tower Hamlets, Southwark, Lewisham, Lambeth, Wandsworth, Hammersmith and Fulham, and Kensington and Chelsea. In their interviews with Brazilians in London, Dias and Martins Júnior (2018) found that the majority tended to socialise in spaces near to where they live and work. They tended to practice football with friends and colleagues, visit bars, discotheques, museums or theatres. With the idea of return still in their mind, Brazilians remain connected to their home country when connecting with migratory networks in London. In this interconnection within the local, global and translocal, Brazilian cultural circuits in the British capital become more complex. Drawing on Hall’s (1991) analytical concept of new ethnicities —i.e. those that are not defined at birth, that are less dependent on blood relations and more on cultural belongings, and that are hybrid and the outcome of diverse cultures—and Georgiou’s perspective on diaspora in terms of mediation, heterogeneity and diversity, transformation and difference—we found that Brazilian diasporic transnationalism evolves within pendular synergies that can move from one border to another in a larger geographical spectrum. They can relate to other Latin American migrant groups in the city as they share geographical roots and more reliable cultural networks. They also engage with non-Latino migrants coming from Portugal, Mozambique, Macau and South Africa, due to their colonial and language historical connections. As Georgiou argues (2006), the continuity and sense of commonality across transnational communities reflected in the concept of diaspora are essential for the discussion on transnational participation. In this respect, continuity and sense of imagined belonging do not imply homogeneity, rather they imply commonality and identity, shaped in the tense heterogeneous space of imagined communities. In the beginning, Latin Americans in London were a highly invisible community (Román-Velázquez 1996, 1999) and mainly unorganised due to their dispersion, the large numbers of irregular migrants and the types of jobs they performed. With the passing of years, they became the

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fastest-growing migrant groups but despite gaining some visibility they remained largely marginal (Hirst 1988; Buchuck 2006; Carlisle 2006; McIlwaine 2007; Peró 2007; Bermudez 2011). As explained previously in this book, pioneering work by McIlwaine et al. (2011) offered one of the first attempts to provide a closer estimate of the size of the Latin American population in London and the UK, demonstrating that they were overwhelmingly concentrated in the British capital and that despite being a well-educated population, many were unable to fulfil their expectations of seeking job security, housing and other socio-economic opportunities. Some years later, McIlwaine and Bunge (2016) elaborated in an updated report based on the data available from the 2011 census and argued that this data still failed to capture the full range of experiences of Latin Americans in London and the UK. Latin Americans are the second fastestgrowing non-European population in London with just under 250,000 in the UK, of which 145,000 are based in London. Following the same situation as the groups they serve, Latinx media remains an unexplored area of study. In this chapter we seek to provide an updated overview of the dynamics between Latin American migration and media flows within the UK communications infrastructure. As examined in pioneer studies on comparative analysis of history and current trends of Hispanic media in non-Spanish-speaking countries such as the United States or Japan, ethnic media evolves in parallel with the various phases of displacement, arrival and settlement of the Latinx communities they serve (Retis 2013, 2019c). Latinxs’ need for information, communication and self-representation varies or transforms with the arrival of newcomers (particularly those who remain dependent on content en español ), the settlement or longer adaptation of earlier migrants and the circular or return migration that occurs across the Atlantic. Drawing on Bhabha (1994), Georgiou (2006) and Smith and Guarnizo (1998), we argue that ethnic media can represent opportunities for challenging hegemony and power relations within minority communities, and in the relationship between minority communities and the mainstream, but these counter-hegemonic practices do not necessarily challenge relations of power. Inequality and conflict within diasporic communities remain, whilst the voices of minorities within minorities can be silenced (Georgiou 2006). Therefore, the role and function of Latinx publications change in different ways to adapt to the transformations of their readership. But, apart from language and literacy barriers, specific information needs amongst diasporic communities, particularly given

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their transnational nature, become essential components for launching and developing ethnic media outlets even in Spanish-speaking cities such as Madrid. In the case of Madrid, for example, Latinx media boomed at the turn of the century and in the years immediately preceding the economic recession of 2008 (Retis 2006, 2011). When addressing transatlantic studies on migrants and their media it becomes essential to understand the challenges diasporic groups face during the processes of settlement in the new city. Comparative studies have addressed how geography and ethnicity shape each other and how this might shape differently for communities given that it is dependent upon the resources available in their local area. Scholars have also addressed how neither diasporic identity nor the media should be taken as stable and unquestionable reference for people who have the same origin (Matsaganis et al. 2010; Georgiou 2006). In the United States, for example, despite the tremendous growth of Spanish-language and bilingual media, there is limited archiving of these outlets in almost any format, and very few resources, with the exception of company registration data sets, for finding out how many Hispanic media outlets exist and what the true reach of Spanish-language media is (Retis 2019a). In the UK this situation is even worse. There are no consistent archives or specialist collections of Latinx media in the UK, with the exception of the British Newspaper Library—but one would first need to know the name—which makes it very difficult to produce an accurate picture of their emergence and continuity. Thus, most of what we discovered might be considered mainly to be indicative of what informal accountability can provide. Aware of these limitations, we set out to provide a brief account of Latinx ethnic media in the UK. For the last decade, we have implemented an ethnographic approach consisting of participant observation and in-depth interviews. We have also consulted the secondary sources available to gain knowledge of what has been published, produced and circulated within Latinx diasporas in London. Some of this information derives from formal research but comes also through our knowledge of living and researching the communities we are a part of. We produced two comprehensive, but by no means exhaustive, data sets to register different media outlets (one in 2012 and another in 2018—see Appendices 1 and 2). This has allowed us to register changes and proliferation of different types of media outlets, and a trend towards a more segmented and specialist audience. In the next section, we attempt to outline an indicative history of Latinx media in the UK, and particularly in London.

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In addressing the development of Latinx media in the UK, we argue that Latin media became a significant publicity vehicle for promoting the ever-increasing Latin American events, shops, activities and services. As we discuss in Chapter 7 there is a correlation between the areas where Latin Americans settled and the proliferation of charitable organisations, businesses and services. For example, most of the economic activity is concentrated in the areas of Southwark, Lambeth, Tottenham and Brent, mirroring the growth of the Latin American population in these boroughs. The need to publicise these businesses and services became essential for the launch and the subsequent survival of Latinx ethnic media in the city. In this context, ethnic media became part of a complex and hyper-diverse ecosystem of products and services for profit and non-profit projects directed towards Latinx migrants in the British capital.

6.4 Print Outlets: Looking for noticias de aqui´ y de alla´ Historiographic studies on the emergence of Latino media during the first stages of international migration flows from Latin America have demonstrated how pioneer publications seek to provide news from countries of origin and areas of settlement (Retis 2019a). Along with the establishment of migrant organisations, services and entrepreneur projects, initial publications are also founded to provide information to new immigrants as well as advertising spaces for small or medium-sized companies. Compared to mainstream media news outlets, Latino print media in global cities are not always published daily. Its frequency can be daily, weekly, monthly or even bimonthly. The continuity and survival of Latino print media is also unpredictable—some are established, having continued to publish over several years, but more often, some only last a few months. They have been published in various formats from tabloids and broadsheets, to magazines and, recently, zines. Recently, most publications have launched online versions and, with the advent of social media, some remain almost a one-person presence with several followers. During the early days of Hispanic print publications in London, most of the projects were launched by entrepreneurs from the Latinx communities, ranging from small to medium-sized businesses, and mainly interconnected with other Latino cultural and social activities. Launching a newsprint outlet during that early period was not necessarily a source of reliable income, so the trend was to diversify formats. To keep production

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costs low, most of the content relied on news feed organisations and relied heavily on advertising revenue from local Latin American businesses and on classified advertising. Early newspapers depended on one media editor and one or two journalists who would produce and commission Spanishlanguage content. This model of commissioning did not always involve an economic transaction, but guaranteed content that remained relevant for the local population. This model stimulated a dependency relationship that did not always work for the editor in charge, who would at times be the only paid employee, and this goes some way to explaining why some Latinx media outlets were short-lived. Most media content was produced by media professionals or experts in different areas of advice, but ownership of some of the largest media outlets remained in the hands of Latinx entrepreneurs. It is these which appear to have survived the longest. In London, we can trace the origins of Latinx media production, distribution and consumption as far back as the 1980s—a decade of particular importance because the economic and social crisis in South America led to wave of migration that defined the characteristics of the Latin American diaspora in London. Around those years there were two Spanish-language publications circulating within Latinx circuits in the British capital. They were mainly led by Colombian entrepreneurs and journalists, produced in Spanish and distributed around Latino stores and offices in ethnic enclaves. The first registered outlet we found was Notas de Colombia, founded in 1984 by Colombian journalist Juan Salgado. After two years circulating in the city, it changed its name to Crónica Latina in 1986. It was a monthly publication with information pertaining to Latin America and Latino communities’ activities in London. It also included a broad coverage of artistic and cultural activities of interest to Latinos, and columns or opinion pieces related to migration issues (Román-Velázquez 1996, 1999). Similar to other Latinx media in other cities in the Global North, issues related to health and health services were also of importance within its content. It had several pages dedicated to advertising commercial establishments, products and services offered to Latin American immigrants in London. Notable were those ads related to ethnic food restaurants and markets where one could find Latin American products. In 1993, one of its reporters, Colombian journalist Leo Pareja, received the Hispanic Achievement Award for his journalistic work in London. In an interview with Gema Moral for the newspaper Express News on 6th of July 2009, Pareja explained how difficult it was back then to publish a 40-page publication. News was sent from Colombia via

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fax or mail: ‘it was very rewarding because people were waiting anxiously to see what was happening back there’ and he adds ‘I ended up, together with another person, with the rights of the newspaper. I was an editor for more than four years. It was a very pleasant job because it was like the window for the Latin American community’. When asked about the function of Latinx media in the community Pareja claimed that ‘it had a very decisive role because it has been a permanent witness of everything that has been done and without it, I think it would have been very difficult to achieve a visible role’ (Moral 2009, p. 13). Crónica Latina lasted five years in circulation after which the owners sold the newspaper. Soon after, it fell into financial difficulty and finally disappeared in the late 1990s (Ferrández Ferrer 2014). Another printed publication circulating during the 1980s was Noticias Latin América. This outlet included, not only news from Latin America and about Latin Americans in London, but also information about other European countries with a growing presence of Latin migrants, such as Sweden, Germany, France, Italy and Switzerland (Román-Velázquez 1996, 1999). This publication was led by another Colombian journalist from 1992 to 2008, and one of its main objectives was to ‘support the integration of Latin American people in the Kingdom United; provide easy access to information in order to improve the quality of life of Latin Americans living in the United Kingdom, and promote Latin American companies and organizations through editorial content and advertising’ (Ferrández Ferrer 2014). By the end of the 2000s, Noticias Latin América shut down and its editor became the director of the Carnaval del Pueblo, the biggest Latin American event in London at that time. Several former reporters of Crónica Latina went to work for a new publication, the magazine Pulso, a new outlet seeking to provide information on cultural and social activities within the community. Years later Pulso faced financial struggles and was acquired by a well-known leader in the community, a Colombian who later became the director of the Aculco consortium. Another publication, Noticiero Latinoamericano, was launched during the 1990s. It was defined as a monthly publication at the service of the Hispanic community resident in the United States and England (Ferrández Ferrer 2014). Between the 1980s and 1990s, there were several attempts at creating, launching and developing news media projects. They were mostly initiated by Colombian entrepreneurs and journalists seeking to offer information to newly arrived immigrants as well as members of more established groups. They were mostly for

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profit and commercial businesses relying on small to medium investments, hoping to generate revenue from local and translocal business. However, the effects of informal practices as well as lack of resources or longterm business planning prompted the closure of most ventures. Due to the lack of documentation of those publications, there is scarce content in archives. Thus, their history remains in the memories of the Latin American reporters who once worked in these outlets. With the change of the century another phase began. The moderate growth of Latin Americans in Europe, mainly in Spain, but also in Italy, Portugal and other Northern European countries, led to a consolidation of new Latino media projects. The first mapping of ethnic media in Madrid, for example, demonstrated a new vitality within these new media spaces (Retis 2006). Several of these publications were interconnected with their counterparts in London. New outlets began to be distributed along Latino enclaves in the British capital. Amongst others, we identified Express News, El Periódico Latino and Extra International, or, Latino Times. During the beginning of the 2000s and as it happened to Latino media in Madrid, we could observe a boom of new publications that were launched to cater for the growing Latin American population in the British capital. Up until the economic recession of 2008, there were a growing number of initiatives, some enjoying success and others creating less impact, in the community. Since it also happened in the United States and in Spain, this volatile existence makes it very difficult for researchers to arrive at an accurate picture of the media landscape. Most of these attempts were short-lived due to struggles for economic viability or editorial strategies. Express News was launched on 4 February 2000 by a Colombian entrepreneur. It is one of the few print outlets still in circulation in London. During its first years in the British capital, it gained the attention of diverse groups. On its current website, it declares itself to be the only news outlet printed and distributed on a biweekly basis in the UK. Its content includes mainly news (local, national and international), but also various sections such as culture, sports, economy, fashion and events. It also offers a section for classified ads on jobs, business, services, housing, car dealers and adult contacts. In 2005 it launched its edition in Madrid, and in 2008, a new edition in Florida. In February 2019, Express News launched its new edition in Stockholm. The London edition now has a Facebook live TV programme and a digital radio programme that goes

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live once a week from its Brixton office. As we discuss in the next section, we are beginning to witness a diversification of formats and online digital resources due to the proliferation of social media platforms. By the end of the 2000s, there were other outlets launched to provide information to the Latino community in London. The magazine Perfiles Londres was launched by the former founder of Crónica Latina and is described as ‘a non-hard news media outlet that recognizes Hispanics who are or have been residing in London’ (Ferrández Ferrer 2014, p. 229). In late 2009, a new concept was conceived by Colombian journalist Monica Uribe, and crystalised on 29th December as The Prisma, an online newspaper run entirely by volunteers. It became: …the only bilingual (Spanish/English) publication in the UK focused on multiculturalism, the life of Latin-American immigrants, Spanish speakers, and on informing British and Latin American readers about their two societies. The Prisma works to create links between immigrants, Spanish speaking or otherwise, and natives of the UK. The Prisma aims to demonstrate the vivacity of these cultures, their own identities and their own political, social and economic realities, both abroad and in the United Kingdom. Because of that The Prisma is a unique journalistic space in the United Kingdom. The Prisma Works for the elimination of racial and cultural prejudices and is committed to social justice and equality of opportunity. Our philosophy and our content promote and defend these values of the multicultural society of the UK, especially in the case of Latin Americans.2

Alborada, another specialist magazine, was launched in 2015 in print format only, though costs were too high to maintain it in print and so an online version was later launched in 2019. Alborada describes itself as ‘an independent voice on Latin American politics, media and culture. We provide a progressive take on the region, offering perspectives rarely found in the mainstream’.3 This is another self-organised venture that relies heavily on contributions from collaborators and fund-raising activities. The fund-raising activities have the dual purpose of raising awareness about Latin American issues as well as raising funds to maintain running costs of the now online publication.

2 The Prisma website: http://theprisma.co.uk/about-us/. Accessed 21 January 2020. 3 Alborada website: https://alborada.net/about/. Accessed 21 January 2020.

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A survey conducted by Ferrández Ferrer (2019) in 2009 registered nearly 30 minority media outlets in London alone. Latinx minority media in London is in constant flux and rapidly evolving. Between the late 1990s and now, we have seen some media remain whilst others cease to stay in circulation. Some were acquired by other ethnic companies to form new small-scale media conglomerates. Such is the case of Latino Times UK, owner of Latino Times (bilingual in Spanish and English), the magazine Variedades Siglo 21, and Directorio Iberoamericano, a directory of companies and services run by Latin American entrepreneurs. All of these outlets were produced in their offices in the Latin Quarter where they also have their printer services, Allprint. On the opposite side of the spectrum, we found Hola Norte magazine, an outlet that depended entirely on grants and volunteers to write, edit and design stories. Within this group of publications, we can also find Portuguese-language publications such as Brazil etc, Leros, Jungle Drumes, Brazilian News (part of the Express News group), As Noticias or PALOP (an acronym that denotes African countries whose official language is Portuguese). Amongst these publications, during the 2000s, we also found online newsletters dedicated to disseminating content related to Latin America and Latin Americans in London. Minka News, an online newsletter, started in 2004 with the initial name of Diario Andino de Londres and was launched by a group of Peruvian entrepreneurs. Similar online newsletters were launched around those years, such as El Heraldo de Londres, a ‘free, fortnightly newsletter – in English and Spanish – with news and events from the London Anglo/Latin community with a view to make easily accessible information usually dispersed or not available to the general public’.4 Other sources of information include online music, culture and entertainment magazines mostly run as private enterprises. These include Latino Life, whose venture also includes Latin American Music Awards (LUKAS). Latino Life started in 2007 as a media platform to promote Latin American culture to UK audiences. The LUKAS award was launched in 2013 with the aim of celebrating the creative Latinx community in the UK. Another music promoter heavily influencing the Latinx music scenes in London is Movimientos, launched in the early 2000s by a local DJ and music promoter. Movimientos has political overturns:

4 El Heraldo de Londres website: https://www.heraldolondres.com. Accessed 21 January 2020.

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The initial concept of our events was always to combine political activism with music, focusing on Latin America. We started a DJ-based Latin American club night and joined forces with solidarity groups, NGOs and charities to raise awareness of social and political justice issues affecting the continent.5

Movimientos, though privately funded, is known for organising fundraising events on behalf of charities and other non-profit organisations. This makes it stand out from other similar music promoters (see Appendix 3 for an extended survey of Latin American cultural and media productions in the UK). Another tendency we have witnessed is the proliferation of poetry books, novels and zines. Poetry and novels tend to be individual projects (some of which have a collective element to it—e.g. Newham Poetry Group), mostly with enough sponsorship to cover basic costs or through sales of their own publications. Zines are mostly emerging from local groups and organisations as an outlet to express and raise awareness of issues relevant to their communities. The proliferation of this type of print media highlights the proliferation of a local and highly professional creative sector that uses the means at its disposal to promote their literary ventures. It also points to the diversification and fragmentation of a public eager to support and consume local cultural production. Diversification, either of existing media outlets or of individual cultural projects, is also evident in the range of proposals emerging from a range of digital platforms, as we discuss in the next section.

6.5 Diasporic Latinx Airwaves and Digital Platforms in London An essential part of Latin American media landscape lives on the airwaves. Since its origins in the 1920s, the radio has accompanied Latin Americans throughout the different local, regional and national scenarios. It became customary for them to look for similar media practices in the diaspora. In the United States, Spanish-language radio has served as an advocate on behalf of immigrant listeners, an aural stage for discussing immigration and immigrant-based issues. As immigrants are often excluded from 5 Movimientos website: Accessed 21 January 2020.

http://www.movimientos.org.uk/movimientos-history.html.

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the larger political discussion, media and popular culture offer feelings of belonging, of inclusion (Casillas 2014). From hyperlocal to translocal and transnational media consumption, Latino radio in London has emerged as one of the referents for diverse communities. Spanish-language radio first appeared on London’s airwaves in 1990 with Spectrum Radio, a broadcast service for minorities. Originally the station gave space to six communities and was only listened to in Greater London. In the early 1990s, Spectrum Radio included daily shows on news from Spain and Latin America. Other shows then became part of the programming, such as Viernes para recordar, Viva la Radio and Latinísimo, one of the most successful shows for raising audience levels. Unfortunately, the programming of these type of stations changes frequently and is affected by the high costs of the space. The lack of funding ended many Latino programmes. Sound Radio 1503 AM/MW also incorporated several shows such as Impacto Latino, Deporte de Aquí y de Allá, Amanecer, Despertar Latino or En Contacto. Over the years there have been attempts to launch Latino radio stations but the high cost of licenses, equipment, studio rentals and other items have prevented the development of these types of projects. Moreover, the strict control of radio waves problematises the development of pirate radio stations, which was not the case in other cities such as, for example, Madrid. Between 2004 and 2007 around a dozen Latino radio stations were launched in the Spanish capital, due mainly to the lack of regulation of airwaves in Madrid (Retis 2006). In London, only Rumba FM tried to broadcast as a pirate station which is why it became very unstable with a constant change of location on the dial. With the advent of Digital Audio Broadcasting in the late 1990s, new opportunities for radio shows appeared. More Internet-based radio projects were launched, taking advantage of new technologies and the possibility of reaching greater audiences. Since its inception, Latino radio shows online were launched by former journalists of other print media outlets in the city. These new websites adapted to new media consumption practices by Latin American immigrants in the city and started combining live radio shows with a series of podcasts. For example, the radio station Extra Radio, part of the Extra media consortium, sublets its airwaves to producers eager to gain a space on London’s airwaves. The model here is one of commissioning content from local producers without any payment. This station is subsidised by other outlets within the consortium and with advertising revenue during

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airtime. Whilst the producer gains free air space it also acts as a promoter for the station and its advertisers. Most of these producers drive audiences to their programmes, thus creating a win-win situation for the media owners as it expands its reach and advertising revenue. This is the case for the programme Hecho en Mexico, for example, which transmits once a week from the airwave space of Extra Radio but does not have an associated podcast. Another programme that multiplies its outreach via additional transmission in a podcast series is Identidades Londres, a weekly radio programme that started both online via ZTR Radio and was also produced live at Extra Media radio station. This programme was devised by Enrique Zatarra and Santiago Peluffo. The programme relied on the skills and time of Argentinean journalist, Santiago Peluffo, who acted as host and producer. It was aired every Monday at 6 p.m. and it lasted for a couple of years. It invited a series of hosts whose work was relevant for Latin Americans in London, and each programme covered a specific theme—whether it was a new exhibition, or updates on contemporary issues affecting Latin Americans in the London community. Another recent programme is Literary South, produced by journalist Silvia Rothlisberger, and launched as a podcast on 22 April 2016. The programme aims to promote Latin American writers and literature. In a matter of little over a year (28 September 2017) it began to produce a live programme with a regular slot at local station, Resonance 104.4 FM. There are other regular music programmes such as Movimientos’ regular music programme hosted at SOAS radio station. Another long-standing radio station is Aculco Radio, which launched in 1997 as an attempt to promote Colombian culture abroad and counter the negative image of the country both in Spain and the UK (Bermudez 2011). Gradually, most Latino radio projects migrated to online platforms. Ferrández Ferrer’s mapping of Latino radio in 2014 found several projects such as Radio Latinísimo, Radio Latina Londres or En Contacto Radio—none of which are currently available (refer to Appendix 2 for a survey of available media outlets in the UK as of end of 2019). Digital TV shows also became part of the diverse array of Latino media projects in London. Ferrández Ferrer (2014) founded Latin TV, launched in 2008 as a series of videos published on YouTube that are no longer in existence. Aculco Radio launched Aculco TV in 2009, whilst Juntos TV launched in 2015. Express News Group launched its TV and Radio slot in 2017.

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Another trend has been the publication of directories. By the end of the 1990s, two commercial guides catering for Latin Americans in London, Páginas Latinas and Directorio Iberoamericano, provide an indication of the growth of Latin American businesses and services in the British capital. Brazilian News Consortium also runs an online business directory. Currently, Mundo Latino operates as a directory even though its format follows that of a tabloid newspaper. All are distributed freely and are available from Latinx shops, markets and organisations across London. These directories become sources of information about business, services and organisations as well as being a business venture in itself. Social media has enabled the diversification of media outlets that were originally in print form. What we are witnessing is the diversification of platforms from which to promote media content. Social media is also used by different shops and business ventures as an advertising and promotional tool. However, social media has also allowed for the proliferation of groups for promoting events and work opportunities. These can be as specialist and diversified as one can imagine (e.g. selling products, selfhelp, photography). Most are established by individuals though some groups are also set up by businesses to create and target a fanbase online community. The increased use of media content platforms such as YouTube, SoundCloud and other providers of online audio-visual content platforms have contributed to further the fragmentation and diversification of media projects. Their continuity is dependent not so much on advertising revenues, though for some outlets this is important, but on the commitment of its contributors and producers. We observe that media content platforms contribute to the proliferation as well as to ephemerality of minority media projects that cater to a diverse and fragmented public and audience eager to consume locally produced cultural products. What we witness is the plurality of a rich, diverse and fragmented cultural industry with varying degrees of formality.

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6.6 Challenges of Mapping Latinx Media in the UK In a recent report on Hispanic media in the United States, Retis (2019a) argued how, despite the tremendous growth of Spanish-language and bilingual media in the United States, Hispanic media face several key challenges. First, there is limited archiving of Spanish-language media in almost any format, and there are few resources for even knowing how many Hispanic media outlets exist and for determining the true reach of Spanish-language media. This puts Hispanic media at a disadvantage in terms of not only research, but also in the ability of journalists and audiences to return to stories for follow-up or for sharing. In sum, there is a crucial need for a data bank that could collect and archive Spanishlanguage content being produced and distributed locally, regionally and nationally. Second, as in other media sectors, Hispanic media is facing significant financial challenges. In interviews with several Hispanic journalists, frustration about having to do more with fewer resources was a recurring theme. Year by year, they have witnessed the shrinking of their newsrooms, if, indeed, they have not been laid off. Most expressed their frustration that quality has been replaced by quantity. There is a specific and crucial need for funding and supporting investigative journalism projects undertaken by Hispanic journalists for Hispanic communities. Third, the complex diversity of the Hispanic population in the United States presents a peculiar challenge for Hispanic journalists. The histories and cultures of Hispanic Americans can differ significantly from region to region. Although Hispanic journalists know the culture of their families’ countries of origin as well as their local communities in the United States, the growing mobility of job opportunities also demands a rapid adaptation to local audiences different from their own history and culture. Organisations and resources that can help Hispanic journalists learn and engage with new communities is a vital need for supporting Spanish-language news in the United States. When turning to report the current state of Latino media in London, we face similar challenges. There is a lack of documentation of the history and trends of Spanish-language or Portuguese-language media outlets in the British capital which makes it very difficult to elaborate an accurate historiography of its origins and development. Second, translocal British Latino media are facing financial challenges and their efforts to

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survive in a very competitive and profit-driven environment are sometimes not fruitful. Third, Latino media producers can vary from time to time due to the informal basis upon which some media operate. This leads to an ephemeral media environment that makes it even harder to keep a systematic record of Latinx media projects. Fourth, even though content is usually reproduced on audio-visual content platforms—acting as a source of archival resource—they are scant and inconsistent, making it an unreliable source of any type of systematic record. This is mainly because content upload is dependent upon the time given by volunteers or producers who also have jobs elsewhere. During the last decade, we have made several attempts to map Latino media in London, with some success. The most accurate panorama was elaborated in July 2012 by Román-Velázquez and Simelio (see Appendix 1). By then, there were approximately thirty Latino media in the UK, mostly located in London. As we conducted this mapping at the beginning of the 2010s, it was usual to find, not only legacy media, but also new media outlets with presence on the Internet that included websites, blogs or social media spaces. In December 2019, we conducted a new cartography of Latino media in London, with varying results. As we will see, some of the media we found in 2012 are no longer active, and instead, we found new media projects. In this new mapping, we not only included media, but also cultural organisations or projects, since we find that they also participate in the transnational social spaces where Latin American diasporas intertwined (see Appendix 2 for UK media outlets 2019 and Appendix 3 for British Latinx cultural industries in London 2019).

6.7

Latinx Media Dynamics

New technological platforms, social networks and the immediacy of virtual communications point to transnational communication processes in which individual and collective identities reproduce complex historical, social and cultural dynamics (Retis 2017). In this regard, we need to understand the impacts that the social dynamics of transnational groups have on their own members and on others, as they are a key element of globalisation processes. Whilst diasporas are viewed as alternative forms within the structure of global capitalism, in many cases they participate in

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international economic activities (Karim 2003). Therein lies the importance of observing the dynamics of Latin American populations in their transnational contexts. The comparative analysis of recent migrants to European and North American cities ascertain more regarding the shape of diasporic transnationalism and the role of media spaces. From a multidisciplinary perspective, our research confirms how immigrants gain access to—in complex, distinct and, at times, contradictory ways—the use and consumption of communications and information media. In-depth interviews focus groups and participant observation practices open the door to qualitative findings that enable us to identify significant strategies within the context of contemporary transnational media spaces—even if this data cannot be extrapolated. The comparative study of the multidimensional processes of production, distribution and consumption allowed us to gain a greater understanding of the media practices of Latin American diasporic transnationalism. This should all be seen, in the words of García Canclini (2001), as the product of internal dynamics in simultaneous relationship with the new modalities of subordination of peripheral economies, and the transnational restructuring of material goods and communications markets (Retis 2017). So far we have discussed various forms in which transnational practices and processes materialise in a diversity of spaces: we began by narrating the journeys that Latin Americans make to get to the UK, ideas of belongingess and detachment, as well as the idea of return and the forging of networks related to issues of solidarity and conflict in workspaces. We moved on to consider mediatic spaces in the hope of capturing its development in London and how Latin Americans are carving out spaces of representation and voice in London’s multifaceted and ever-changing minority media landscape. The chapter that follows will capture another era in the long trajectory of Latin Americans in London, one in which Latinxs assert their spaces, and in the process, claim their right to belong in the city.

Appendix 1: Latino Media Outlets and Social Media (July 2012)

Latin American Network

Express News

Digital media platform. Radio associated to the platform Digital news http:// outlet www.exp ressnews. uk.com/ web 2011/ Networking http:// platform www.lat inamerica nnetwork. co.uk/

Londres Así

http:// www.lat inolife. co.uk/ http:// www.lon dresasi. com/

Digital platform

Latino Life

Link

Type of outlet

Name

Audience/content

Network to facilitate the interaction of Latin American people in London

News and general information

Latin America

Latin America

Culture, current Latin America affairs, art, music and shows. Focused on the Latin world Culture and Latin America entertainment Part of services and advertising

Topics

Spanish

Spanish

Spanish

Spanish

Language

(continued)

Newsrooms in Bogotá and London. Team of collaborators in London. Same team as Brazilian News 2 men and a woman with jobs related to finance, commerce and advertising. Residents in London and of Latin American origin

Team of 6 British journalists with studies or relations with Latin culture Newsroom in London. Latin American collaborators

Newsroom/personnel

6 LATINO MEDIA SPACES IN LONDON: THE INTERSTICES …

133

Digital media platform Digital media platform

Cuba50

Latin Americans

Digital media platform

Online weekly

Brazilian News

Jungledrums

Type of outlet

Name

(continued)

http://lat inamer icans. co.uk/

http:// www.cub a50.org/ http:// jungledru msonline. com/

http:// www.bra zilian news.uk. com

Link

Network to facilitate the interaction of Latin American people in the UK and promotion of commercial activities

Promotion of cultural activities of Cubans in UK Promotion of cultural activities of Brazilians in UK

News and general information

Topics

Latin America and Europe

Brazil

Cuba

Portugal and Brazil

Audience/content

English

English

English

Portuguese

Language

(continued)

Newsrooms in Bogotá and London. Team of collaborators in London. Same team as Express News Organisation of Cubans and English established in the UK Small media corporation established in the UK and created by two Brazilians Advertising directory with free ads to promote businesses created by Latin Americans in the UK

Newsroom/personnel

134 P. ROMÁN-VELÁZQUEZ AND J. RETIS

Audience/content

Páginas Latinas

200latinoamericalondon

Digital media platform

http:// www.mov imientos. org.uk/

Latin America Non-profit organisation. Promoters of festivals and events, artistic agency and music producer. Established in the UK and dedicated to underground Latin music Latin America Digital http:// Platform aimed at platform www.200 promoting festivals latinamer dedicated to the ica-lon bicentenary of Latin don.com/ American independence Directory of http:// Platform that works Latin America businesses www.pag as a business guide inaslatinas. and yellow pages for co.uk/ Latin American businesses in the UK

Topics

Movimientos

Link

Type of outlet

Name

(continued)

Cultural leaders, organisations and Latin American artists residing in London

Spanish

(continued)

English, From the same Portuguese, producers as Express Spanish News, Brazilian News and Brazilian Pages

Organisation of various associations and political movements of Latinos based in the UK

Newsroom/personnel

Bilingual English and Spanish

Language

6 LATINO MEDIA SPACES IN LONDON: THE INTERSTICES …

135

Type of outlet

Digital media

Digital media

Networking blog

Digital platform

Name

Latinos en Londres

Comuna Latina

Hola Londres

Como no

(continued)

http:// www.com ono. co.uk/

http:// www.com unalatina. com/ http:// www.hol alondres. com/

http:// www.lat inosenlon dres.com/

Link

Audience/content

Network to provide Spanish-language information to speakers Spanish-speaking people residing in London. Information on work, transportation, services and studies Promoter of Latin Latin America cultural events

Latin America Platform that works as a business guide and yellow pages for Latin American businesses in the UK It also offers services, information, news and entertainment News and general Latin America information

Topics

English

Spanish

Spanish

Spanish

Language

(continued)

Latin event producer established in London

n/a

n/a

n/a

Newsroom/personnel

136 P. ROMÁN-VELÁZQUEZ AND J. RETIS

Website

Online TV

Casa Latina

Ventana Latina

http:// ventanalatina. com/

http:// casalatina. org.uk/

Directory of http:// businesses www.lat inoutlook. com/

Latinooutlook

Link

Type of outlet

Name

(continued)

Platform that works as a business guide and yellow pages for Colombian businesses in the UK. Contains sections of information and news Non-governmental Organisation (Charity) for cultural exchange between Spanish-speaking people residing in Kilburn Page that gives access to registered users who must pay a fee to access the programming of the chain

Topics

Spanish and English

Spanish

Latin America

Spanish

Colombia

Spanish-language speakers

Language

Audience/content

(continued)

The page only allows entry to registered users who have paid the television fee

Committee of the Charity

NA

Newsroom/personnel

6 LATINO MEDIA SPACES IN LONDON: THE INTERSTICES …

137

Type of outlet

Facebook

Facebook

Name

Movimientos

Latin American Network

(continued) Topics

Audience/content

http:// www.fac ebook. com/Mov imient osUK

Latin America Facebook page of Movements Non-profit organisation. Promoters of festivals and events, artistic agency and music producer. Established in the UK and dedicated to underground Latin music Latin America Facebook page of https:// Latin American www.fac Network ebook. Network to facilitate com/ the interaction of pages/ Latin American LatinAmerican- people in London NetworkLondon/ 209201 135762 442?sk= wall

Link

107 users

Spanish

(continued)

Organisation of various associations and political movements of Latinos based in the UK

Newsroom/personnel

Bilingual English and Spanish

Language

138 P. ROMÁN-VELÁZQUEZ AND J. RETIS

Type of outlet

Facebook

Facebook

Facebook

Name

Latinos in London Ltd

Londres Así

Express News

(continued)

https:// www.fac ebook. com/Exp ressNe wsUk

https:// www.fac ebook. com/ pages/ LatinAmericanNetworkLondon/ 209201 135762 442?sk= wall#!/ LatinosIn Lon donLtd https:// www.fac ebook. com/lon dresasi

Link

Audience/content

Facebook page of Londres Así Culture and entertainment. Part of services and advertising Facebook page of Express News News and general information

Spanish

Spanish

Latin America

English

Language

Latin America

Latin America Facebook page for Latinos in London Platform that works as a business guide and yellow pages for Latin American businesses in the UK. It also offers services, information, news and entertainment

Topics

LATINO MEDIA SPACES IN LONDON: THE INTERSTICES …

(continued)

Promotes information from the news outlet

203 users

Latinos in London Ltd. UK/Latin American culture, promotion, marketing, imports, PR, event management, radio, TV and social research

Newsroom/personnel

6

139

Type of outlet

Facebook

Facebook

Facebook

Name

Como No!

Hola Londres

Despertemos

(continued)

https:// www.fac ebook. com/ Noti7#!/ 2012De spertemos

https:// www.fac ebook. com/Hol alondres

https:// www.fac ebook. com/com onopro motions? sk=info

Link

Spanish English

Spanish-language speakers

Spanish

Spanish

Colombia

Facebook page of Como No! Platform that works as a business guide and yellow pages for Colombian businesses in the UK Contains sections of information and news Facebook page of Hola Londres. Network to provide information to Spanish-speaking people residing in London. Information on work, transportation, services and studies Non-governmental organisation for chronic child malnutrition Guatemala

Language

Audience/content

Topics

(continued)

13,819 users

388 users

3082 friends. Active page. Users can share events

Newsroom/personnel

140 P. ROMÁN-VELÁZQUEZ AND J. RETIS

Type of outlet

Twitter

Twitter

Twitter

Twitter

Twitter

Name

Latin American Network

Londres Así

Comuna Latina

Express News

Noti7

(continued)

http:// twitter. com/#!/ comuna latina http:// twitter. com/#!/ ExpressNe wsUK http:// twitter. com/#!/ Noti7G uatemala

http:// twitter. com/#!/ LA_Net workUK http:// twitter. com/#!/ londresasi

Link Latin America

Audience/content

Twitter page, Guatemalan news General news

Twitter of Express News News and general information

Guatemala

Latin America

Twitter of Londres Latin America Así Culture and entertainment part of services and advertising Twitter of Comuna Latin America Latina News and general information

Twitter of Latin American Network

Topics

Spanish

Spanish

Spanish English

English

English

Language

(continued)

122,321 followers 2846 tweets

32 tweets 38 followers

178 tweets 26 followers

614 tweets 84 followers

19 tweets 89 followers

Newsroom/personnel

6 LATINO MEDIA SPACES IN LONDON: THE INTERSTICES …

141

Twitter

Twitter

Twitter

Movimientos

2012 Despertemos

Latino Life

http:// twitter. com/201 2Despe rtemos http:// twitter. com/lat inolifeuk

http:// twitter. com/mov imientos

Link

Audience/content

Twitter of Latino Life

Latin America

Latin America Twitter page of Movements Non-profit organisation. Promoters of festivals and events, artistic agency and music producer. Established in the UK and dedicated to underground Latin music Non-governmental Guatemala organisation for chronic child malnutrition

Topics

Compiled by Patria Román-Velázquez and Nuria Simelio (2012)

Type of outlet

Name

(continued)

English

Spanish

English

Language

2581 tweets 5206 followers

2262 followers 1110 tweets

855 tweets 545 followers

Newsroom/personnel

142 P. ROMÁN-VELÁZQUEZ AND J. RETIS

6

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143

Appendix 2: Latino Media Outlets in the UK (Dec 2019) Name

Year of publication

1

Express News

2

The Prisma

2009

3

ACULCO Media Alborada

1997 (first as radio) 2015 as print media Online only since 2019

4

5

Mundo Latino Media UK

6

Ventana Latina

2010

Links to Website/Facebook/Twitter

Description

http://www.expressnews.uk. Printed, online com and other multimedia platforms newspaper http://theprisma.co.uk/ Bilingual digital newspaper https://aculco.co.uk/ Radio station https://alborada.net

https://www.facebook. com/MundoLatinoN ewsUK/ https://twitter.com/ukm undolatino?lang=en Print Media https://www.ventanalatina. co.uk/

Alborada is an independent magazine on Latin American politics, media and culture. Its sister organisation Alborada Films produces and distributes documentaries on Latin America covering similar issues to Alborada An online newspaper

Ventana Latina (VL) is an online cultural magazine produced by Latin American House (Charity)

(continued)

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P. ROMÁN-VELÁZQUEZ AND J. RETIS

(continued) Name

Year of publication

August 2018 https://literalmagazine.uk

8

Literal Magazine ZTR Radio/El ojo de la cultura

9

Cusme UK

October 2015

10

Juntos TV

May 2015

11

Como No Productions

1986

7

Links to Website/Facebook/Twitter

Description

An online variety magazine https://www.ztradio.onl A cultural online ine/el-ojo-de-la-cultura radio station, specialising on arts and culture. Its director (Enrique Zatarra) also offers creative writing workshops http://cusme.co.uk/cat An online digital egory/latinos-en-uk/ newspaper—UK and worldwide coverage https://juntostv.com/ Juntos TV is an online media channel to promote Latin American talent, products, services and events. Juntos TV also offers volunteering opportunities for young people who would like further training to increase in the media industry https://www.comono.co.uk Como No is a producer of live events based in London. Their primary focus is on performers rooted in Latin America but they also work with artists elsewhere (continued)

6

LATINO MEDIA SPACES IN LONDON: THE INTERSTICES …

145

(continued) Name

Year of publication

Links to Website/Facebook/Twitter

12

Sound and Colours

2010

https://soundsandcolours. com

13

Latino Life Magazine

2007

14

Latinos in London

Description

Sounds and Colours is a website, print publication and record label dedicated to Latin American music and culture, with a particular focus on the South American countries http://www.latinolife.co.uk Latino Life is a Latin lifestyle and listing magazine—online and in print https://www.facebook. Used to be an com/LatinosInLondonLtd/ online entertainment news source. But as of 21 January 2020 the website domain is no longer available. Its Facebook page is still active

(continued)

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P. ROMÁN-VELÁZQUEZ AND J. RETIS

(continued) Name

Year of publication

Links to Website/Facebook/Twitter

15

Movimientos

2000s

16

El Ibérico

2010

17

Emisoras fuera de Colombia

18

Parrandisimo Londres Aculco Radio Londres

http://www.movimientos. Promoter and org.uk/movimientos-history. events coordinator. html It combines political activism with music, focusing on Latin America. Started as a DJ-based Latin American club night and joined forces with solidarity groups, NGOs and charities to raise awareness of social and political justice issues affecting the continent https://www.eliberico.com Spanish Online Newspaper https://www.colombia. Offers a list of all com/radio/emisoras-fuera- Colombian radio de-colombia-r7 stations outside Colombia https://internetradiouk. Online radio com/parrandisimo/ station https://www.colombia. Online radio com/radio/aculco-radio-lon programme dres-388 Radio https://www.colombia. station—hosts a com/radio/extra-radio-1number of radio londres-1836 programmes listed in Appendix 3

19

20

Extra Radio 1 Londres

Description

(continued)

6

LATINO MEDIA SPACES IN LONDON: THE INTERSTICES …

147

(continued) Name

Year of publication

Links to Website/Facebook/Twitter

Description Radio station—started 25 years ago in Spectrum Radio 558 AM and later in Sound Radio 1503 AM/MW @RadioLatinalon Online radio station

21

Radio Latina Londres

https://twitter.com/radiol atinalon?lang=en

22

La Mega Latina UK

23

Viva la radio

24

BBC Radio 2 Viva Latino!

25

Sound Latino Radio

https://onlineradiobox. com/uk/lamegalatinauk/ https://tunein.com/radio/ La-Mega-Latina-UK-s19 2387/?fbclid=IwAR07Ctu udN3LjQhrtRZ4jc61yYgw_ 6730D318oRXaiI1vK3B0m 8s6-RZtIg https://www.facebook. com/MasterDigitalMixEv enPro/ https://www.facebook. com/vivalaradioco/posts/ 2339255859717728 https://www.bbc.co.uk/pro grammes/b00gkksd/epi sodes/guide https://tunein.com/radio/ Sound-Latino-Radio-s18 9564/

Online radio station Online radio programme Online radio station

Appendix 3: British Latinx Cultural Projects and Events in London 2019

Fredy Alexander

Silvia Rothlisberger

Maria Lourdes Hernandez Martin

Maria Victoria Cristancho and Ulises Maldonado

Isaac Biggio

Social Enterprise

Sonia Quintero

Teresa Couceiro

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

Coordinator Dance Group

Description

Social Enterprise

Email Newsletter

Radio Programme

Newham Poetry Group Poetry Group (Stratford Library, Poetry House Stratford) El heraldo de Londres Online newsletter

British Latino Network

MINKA NEWS

La tertulia del martes

Podcast y Resonance Radio En un lugar de Londres Student Blog for LSE module

Literary South

Talentos Group

Project name

https://www.heraldolo ndres.com

https://www.newham poetrygroup.com

https://theliterarys outh.com/ https://enunlugardel ondres.wordpress.com/ que-es/

https://www.talentosg roup.com

Website

(continued)

https://www.facebook. com/pg/Tertuliadelm artes-201016580664 423/posts/ https://www.facebook. com/Minka-News-Dia rio-Ibero-Americanode-Londres-145650822 194561/ https://www.facebook. com/blnetworkuk https://www.facebook. com/groups/576583 095831719/

https://www.facebook. com/pages/category/ Dance-School/Tal entos-Group-288697 475409178/

Facebook

148 P. ROMÁN-VELÁZQUEZ AND J. RETIS

Hortencia Celis

Pepa Duarte

Santiago Peluffo y Enrique Zatarra

Teresa Guanique

Collective

Collective

9

10

11

12

13

14

Coordinator

(continued)

Jaguar Despierto (ambiental)

FLAWA (Festival of Latin American Women in the Arts) London Latinx

Identidades Londres

Pepa Duarte Theatre

Hecho en Mexico (desde Extra Radio)

Project name

https://www.facebook. com/pg/hechoenmexic ouk/about/?ref=page_i nternal

http://www.extram edia1.com/hechoenme xico/

LATINO MEDIA SPACES IN LONDON: THE INTERSTICES …

(continued)

https://www.facebook. com/thelondonlatinxs/ https://en-gb.fac ebook.com/JagDespie rto/

http://www.extram edia1.com/en/identi dades-resalta-la-labor-alt ruista-los-hispanos-lon dres/ http://flawafestival. https://www.facebook. co.uk com/FLAWAfestival/

https://www.facebook. com/pages/category/ Artist/Pepa-Duarte773076486199738/

Facebook

Website

One week music, film, art and literature festival Feminist activist organisation Activist group against http://www.movjag political, economic, and uar.org social injustices in Latin America and the UK

Radio Programme (2017–2019)

Since Dec 2012—An online Mexican radio programme transmitted from London. With Hortensia Celis, Enrique Gelista and Roger Alarcón Mondays 8 p.m.… Music, Competitions, Prizes! Theatre

Description

6

149

Maria Lourdes Hernández

Colectivo

Nuala Ridell-Morales

Alicia Bastos

Amaranta Wright and Jose Luis Seijas

Sin Fronteras/LAWRS

Mariana Aristizabal Pardo, Malena Arcucci

Como No

Emma Alonso

Lina Maria Usma

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

Coordinator

(continued) Description

Mujeres al Dia

Abriendo Puertas con Emma Alonso

La Linea Festival

MarianaMalena Theatre Company

Zines por organizaciones/ONGs

LUKAS AWARDS

Comida Fest

Carnaval del Pueblo

Radio Programme

Radio Programme

Music Festival

Theatre Collective

Awards Latin American creative talent in the UK Youth group of Latin American Women’s Right Services

En un lugar de Londres Student Blog for LSE Spanish language module Literal Magazine Digital magazine

Project name

https://www.comono. co.uk/la-linea/ http://www.extram edia1.com/abriendop uertas/ http://www.extram edia1.com/mujeresal dia-2/

https://crosslanguag edynamics.blogs.sas.ac. uk/2019/03/07/zinesin-fronteras-creative-lea dership-programme/

https://literalmagazine. uk/index.php/samplepage/ http://www.carnavald elpueblo.co.uk/ https://www.comida fest.com https://thelukas.co.uk

https://enunlugardel ondres.wordpress.com/

Website

(continued)

https://www.facebook. com/marianamalenath eatre/

Facebook

150 P. ROMÁN-VELÁZQUEZ AND J. RETIS

25

Zharinck Lopez, Cecilia Alfonso-Eaton, and Krishmary Ramdhun

Coordinator

(continued)

LatinXcluded

Project name Campaign group to include “Latin American” within UCAS’ ethnic categories

Description https://thetab.com/ uk/kings/2019/03/ 14/ucas-ignores-latinamericans-in-applic ation-forms-meet-latinx cluded-24788

Website

Facebook

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Karim, K. (2003). Mapping Diasporic Media Scapes. In K. Karim (Ed.), The Media of Diaspora (pp. 1–17). New York: Routledge. Levitt, P., & Glick Schiller, N. (2004). Conceptualizing Simultaneity: A Transnational Social Field Perspective on Society. International Migration Review, 38(145), 595–629. Martín Barbero, J. (2009, April 23). La investigación del consumo cultural en Colombia. El Tiempo. http://www.eltiempo.com/archivo/documento/ CMS-5050511. Accessed 14 Mar 2020. Matsaganis, M., Katz, V., & Ball-Rokeach, S. (2010). Understanding Ethnic Media: Producers, Consumers and Societies. Thousand Oaks: Sage. Mcilwaine, C. (2007). Living in Latin London: How Latin American Migrants Survive in the City. London: Queen Mary University. McIlwaine, C., & Bunge, D. (2016). Towards Visibility: The Latin American Community in London. Retrieved from https://www.trustforlondon.org.uk/ publications/towards-visibility-latin-american-community-london/. McIlwaine, C., Cock, J. C., & Linneker, B. (2011). No Longer Invisible: The Latin American Community in London. Retrieved from https://www.trustf orlondon.org.uk/publications/no-longer-invisible-latin-american-communitylondon/. Moral, G. (2009). El papel de la prensa latina en Londres ha sido decisivo para el desarrollo de la comunidad: Leo Pareja, periodista y fotógrafo colombiano. Express News, 489, 13. Navarro, K. (2018, March 15). Francisco de Miranda publica el periódico “El Colombiano”, 18010, YVKE Radio Mundial. http://www.cervantesvirtual. com/portales/francisco_de_miranda/autor_apunte/. Accessed 14 Mar 2020. Passel, J., D’Vera, C., & López, M. (2011). Census 2010: 50 Million Latinos. Hispanic Account for More Than Half of Nation’s Growth in Past Decade. Washington: Pew Research Center. Però, D. (2007). Anthropological Perspectives on Migrants’ Political Engagements (Centre on Migration, Policy and Society, COMPAS, Working Paper No 50, 1–35). https://www.compas.ox.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/ WP-2007-050-Per%C3%B2_Migrant_Political_Engagements.pdf. Accessed 14 Mar 2020. Reguillo, R. (2009). Contra el ábaco de lo básico: Agendas de país y desafíos para la comunicación. In J. Martin Barbero (Ed.), Entre saberes desechables y sabers indispensables: Agendas de país desde la comunicación (pp. 37–52). Bogotá: Centro de Competencias en Comunicación para América Latina, C3, FES. Retis, J. (2006). El discurso público sobre la inmigración extracomunitaria en España. Análisis de la construcción de las imágenes de los inmigrantes latinoamericanos en la prensa de referencia. Doctoral Dissertation. Universidad Complutense de Madrid. Madrid, Spain.

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Retis, J. (2008). Espacios mediáticos de la inmigración en Madrid: Génesis y evolución. Madrid, Spain: OMCI. Retis, J. (2011). Estudio exploratorio sobre el consumo cultural de los inmigrantes latinoamericanos en España: El contexto transnacional de las prácticas culturales. Madrid, Spain: Fundación Alternativas. Retis, J. (2012, October 15–18). Immigrantes territoriales, inmigrantes digitales: Latinoamericanos en contextos diaspóricos. Paper presented at the XIV Conference of Latin American Schools of Communication, Universidad de Lima, Peru. Retis, J. (2013). Spanish Language Newspapers in the United States. In C. M. Tatum (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Latino Culture: From Calaveras to Quinceañeras (pp. 815–823). Santa Barbara: Greenwood. Retis, J. (2014a). Latinos Online: Acceso e inclusión digital de los inmigrantes internacionales en contextos diaspóricos. In G. Carbone & O. Quezada (Eds.), Comunicación e industria digital (pp. 199–209). Lima: Universidad de Lima. Retis, J. (2014b). Latino Diasporas and the Media: Interdisciplinary Approaches to Understanding Transnationalism and Communication. In F. Darling-Wolf (Ed.), The International Encyclopedia of Media Studies: Research Methods in Media Studies (Vol. 7, pp. 570–594). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley-Blackwell. Retis, J. (2017). The Transnational Restructuring of Communication and Consumption Practices: Latinos in the Urban Settings of Global Cities. In M. E. Cepeda & D. Casillas (Eds.), The Routledge Companion to Latina/o Media (pp. 22–36). New York: Routledge. Retis, J. (2019a). Homogenizing Heterogeneity in Transnational Contexts: Contemporary Latin American Diasporas and the Media in the Global North. In J. Retis & R. Tsagarousianou (Eds.), The Handbook of Diaspora, Media, and Culture (pp. 115–136). New York: Willey-Blackwell. Retis, J. (2019b). Hispanic Media Today: Serving Bilingual and Bicultural Audiences in the Digital Age. Washington: Democracy Fund. https://www. democracyfund.org/media/uploaded/2019_DemocracyFund_HispanicMedi aToday.pdf. Accessed 14 Mar 2020. Retis, J. (2019c). International Migrations and Mobility Across the Transpacific Area: Japanese Brazilians Between Tokyo and Sao Paulo. In K. Smets, K. Leurs, M. Georgiou, S. Witteborn, & R. Gajjala (Eds.), The Sage Handbook of Media & Migration (pp. 297–308). London: Sage. Rincón, O., Zuluaga, Z., Bonilla, J. I., & Cataño, M. (2010, July 14–16). Los estudios de recepción en Colombia: De las mediaciones – otra vez – a los medios. Paper presented at Seminario Internacional de Investigadores: Estudios de la recepción y audiencias. Quito, Ecuador.

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Román-Velázquez, P. (1996). The Construction of Latin Identities and Salsa Music Clubs in London: An Ethnographic Study. Doctor of Philosophy: University of Leicester, Leicester, UK. Román-Velázquez, P. (1999). The Making of Latin London: Salsa music, place and identity. E-book Román-Velázquez (2017). London: Taylor and Francis. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315238487. Román-Velázquez, P., & Simelio, N. (2012). Latino Media Outlets and Social Media. Unpublished. Rosas, A. (2002). Los estudios sobre consumo cultural en México [Studies on Cultural Consumption in Mexico]. In D. Mato (Ed.), Estudios y otras prácticas intelectuales latinoamericanas en cultura y poder (pp. 255–264). Caracas: CLACSO. Thompson, J. (1995). The Media and Modernity. Stanford: Stanford University Press. Trejo, R. (2006). El consumo cultural latinoamericano en la Internet [Cultural Consumption on the Internet]. In G. Sunkel (Ed.), El consumo cultural en America Latina (pp. 479–503). Bogotá, Colombia: Coleccion Agenda Iberoamericana, Convenio Andres Bello. Sassen, S. (2001). The Global City. New York, London, Tokyo (2nd ed.). Princeton: Princeton University Press. Shumow, M., & Retis, J. (forthcoming). Finding Common Ground in an era of Fragmentation: The paradox of Spanish-Language Journalism in the Digital Age. Smith, M., & Guarnizo, L. (1998). Transnationalism from Below. New Brunswick: Transaction Publishers. Sunkel, G. (2006). Introducción: El consumo cultural en la investigación en comunicacióncultura en América Latina. In G. Sunkel (Ed.), El consumo cultural en América Latina (pp. 15–46). Bogotá: Colección Agenda Iberoamericana, Convenio Andrés Bello. Vertovec, S. (1996). Multiculturalism, Culturalism and Public Incorporation. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 10(1), 49–69. Vertovec, S. (2007). Super-Diversity and Its Implications. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 30(6), 1024–1054. Wortman, A. (2006). Viejas y nuevas significaciones del consumo del cine en Argentina. In G. Sunkel (Ed.), El consumo cultural en América Latina, Balances y perspectivas (pp. 342–362). Bogota: Convenio Andrés Bello. Yúdice, G. (2009). Culturas emergentes en el mundo “hispano” de Estados Unidos. Madrid: Fundación Alternativas.

CHAPTER 7

Latin Urbanisms: Resisting Gentrification, Reclaiming Urban Spaces

Using the experience of working with Latin American retailers in London and many years of researching London’s Latin American spaces in the capital, the current chapter seeks to explore whether claims to the global city become stronger, or diluted, within the context of intense urban regeneration and greater political and economic uncertainty. We are interested in exploring how asserting a form of migrant urbanism, in this instance, Latin urbanism (Rojas 1991), acts as a strategic tool for reshaping, claiming and resisting gentrification in London’s inner-city neighbourhoods, and we reflect upon the identity politics embedded in such strategic positioning. We argue that the visible presence of Latin Americans in London is under threat due to global corporate real estate developments. Regeneration is taking place in some of London’s most deprived and ethnically diverse boroughs. Thus, economically disadvantaged and migrant and ethnic groups are disproportionately affected by it. It is against this backdrop that Latin Americans are feeling the brunt of regeneration more than ever and are developing strategies to resist gentrification. Latin urbanisms in London are marked by claims to identity as much as by transnational practices and the right to the city. Whilst early manifestations of Latin urbanism in London could be seen as material practices for reshaping London’s urban landscape, current manifestations act as a form of resistance and a tool for opposing gentrification. In previous work, © The Author(s) 2021 P. Román-Velázquez and J. Retis, Narratives of Migration, Relocation and Belonging, Studies of the Americas, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-53444-8_7

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Román-Velázquez (1999, 2009, 2014a, b) identifies two key moments in the trajectory of Latin urbanism in London. The first instance, which can be traced back to the early 1990s and registered as the making of Latin London (Román-Velázquez 1999), captures the early stages of a particular form of Latin urbanism that relied on practices, visual representations and narratives based on national symbols, colours, sounds and food. By the late 1990s, a second wave of Latin urbanisms became evident, one that asserted a British Latin identity (Román-Velázquez 2009, 2014b). This second moment captures a transition and a conscious attempt at asserting fluid, yet rooted, identity practices and narratives—ones that fluctuated between the desire to connect with country of origin, and addressing the needs of a growing local population. The third and current moment, and the focus of this chapter, emerges as a response to intense regeneration processes that are affecting distinctive Latin neighbourhoods in the capital, and whereby assertions of identity markers such as music, food and colours are used as a form of resistance. The current moment sees a community that has made London its home and asserts its right to the city. Expressions of Latin urbanisms are explored here through narratives and urban practices in two of London’s largest Latin American business clusters at Elephant and Castle (EC) and Seven Sisters, two deprived areas of London that are undergoing ambitious programmes of urban redevelopment.1 Both sites are under threat due to regeneration projects that unravel a process of gentrification that deem Latin American and other migrant and ethnic groups, at risk of displacement and fragmentation. Discourses and practices of Latin urbanism are embedded in a narrative that not only considers the context under which such discourses and practices take place, but the identity politics of such trajectories. Processes of regeneration and gentrification are not unique to London, and here we draw from theoretical reflections and urban design practices on Latin urbanism emerging from the United States. In London, trajectories of Latin urbanism are rooted in markers of identity in commercial 1 This chapter draws on long-term ethnographic research in both sites. It covers several periods of intense participation, interviews, surveys and mapping by RománVelázquez during 2006, 2009, and between September 2011 and August 2012. Subsequently this work has been nurtured and sustained through direct engagement with Latin Elephant (Charity No. 1158554), a charity set up by Román-Velázquez in 2014 to increase participation, engagement and inclusion of migrant and ethnic groups in processes of urban change in London.

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spaces, and even though design practices are beginning to emerge, theoretical reflections around the concept are non-existent. This chapter attempts to draw from these debates and to open a dialogue across diasporic urban practices by taking Latin urbanism as a starting point.

7.1

Latin Urbanisms Under Review

Revitalisation plans for an area can recreate a place in ways in which local communities feel alienated. It is in this context that communityled initiatives address the aspirations and needs of local populations who are otherwise excluded by such processes, most of whom are of lower income and of a migrant and ethnic background. This is in sharp contrast to private-public sector-led consultations that seek to address the aspirations of a professional and highly skilled population. This subsequently leads to a process of gentrification whereby distinctive forms of cultural and migrant urbanisms are erased, celebrated or neutralised—in as long as it can be marketable (Londoño 2010). This tension leads to different manifestations of urban culture, whereby the urban environment of the barrios results in visual narratives and practices of spatial resistance, or as an affirmative and gentrified visual representation of urban culture (Londoño 2010). The shift in urban infrastructure development, including the transfer of public land and assets from local government authorities to private investment, has provoked further marginalisation of the urban poor and migrant urbanism in core inner-city areas. This has been the case in the United States, where lower income Latin urban areas undergoing revitalisation are met with fierce and creative forms of local opposition (González et al. 2012; González 2017). Resistance to the gentrification of these neighbourhoods has manifested itself in different expressions of Latin urbanism. In the United States, Latin urbanism refers to the process whereby Latinas/os appropriate and revitalise urban spaces to suit their needs and cultural preferences and thus, become rooted in the history of migration and the changing character of places. Subsequently, Latin urbanism developed as both a practical planning design tool for community-led development that responded to Latina/o lifestyles, and a theoretical approach that seeks to understand transformations in the nature and function of cities with large Latina/o populations (Diaz and Torres 2012; Lara 2015; Rojas 1991). Thus, the concept of Latin urbanism captures community practice, urban design techniques and theoretical approaches.

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The organic development of urban areas into distinct Latin neighbourhoods, and the enactment of particular identities in public and private spaces as described by Rojas (1991) in the residential and commercial streets of downtown Los Angeles, later became a tool to contest plans devised by municipal authorities. The city vision developed by municipal authorities in conjunction with private developers excluded the aspirations and expressions of distinct cultural urban environments deployed by the existing Latin community. Local residents and grassroots organisations in Los Angeles have for years contested local authorities and private developers in their quest to save distinct Latin neighbourhoods (e.g. Save Boyle Heights campaign and Downtown Santa Ana Development). It is in this context that Latin urbanisms emerged as both a tool to contest plans devised by local authorities and developers, and as a form of resistance to gentrification of poor Latin neighbourhoods in Los Angeles, United States (Rojas 1991; González 2017). Latin urbanism emerged as a design tool to resist revitalisation and the subsequent gentrification of distinct Latin neighbourhoods in Los Angeles. As González’s (2017) research demonstrates, urban planning (as in the case of Santa Ana, California) shifted from a perspective that completely erased and minimised the distinctive cultural workingclass character of Mexican neighbourhoods in the 1960s, to one which embraced Mexican culture as an urban design concept, but which erased the local Mexican community from its vision in the 1980s, to one that recognised an economically differentiated Latina/o population with diverse consumer needs and redevelopment aspirations to those of the poor working-class immigrant Latinas/os. The shift to a differentiated approach to Latina/o population in urban planning is triggered by a process whereby reduction in public funding has resulted in the partnering of local governments and private developers, subsequently leading to a private sector-led community consultation that neglects the needs and aspirations of the urban poor and working-class migrant communities. As a theoretical approach, Latin urbanism seeks to address the existing economic and ethnic gap in urban planning studies in the United States. It developed as a way of bringing to the forefront those excluded from urban planning policy and development—the urban working class and the immigrant (Irazábal and Farhat 2008), and more recently as a means of understanding current economic and demographic changes in Latin neighbourhoods.

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The trajectories of Latin urbanism as a theoretical approach seek to understand the underlying racial, ethnic, generational and economic dimensions to urban redevelopment in inner-city areas that have long been home to Latina/o populations. In this respect, it aligns with calls for a diverse approach to architecture and urban design (Day 2003). It draws on the principles of new urbanism in that it supports diversity by providing compact urban form through a range of house prices and types, and a lifestyle based on access to public transport, pedestrianised areas, and sustainability and recycling, in the belief that it will bring together diverse groups of people—whether it be defined by age, race or income. In practice, however, it involves attracting middle-income professionals to stigmatised, marginalised poor communities (Day 2003; Lara 2015). Invoking a form of Latin urbanism is fraught with tension and conflict—not only due to the underlying differences emerging from changing demographics and aspirations of the Latina/o population, but because of the dangers of promoting a particular type of urbanism when such a definition is difficult to pose. Understanding the connection between Latin culture and urban form, as proposed by Latin urbanism, bares the question as to what constitutes Latina/o preferences when there is no pan-ethnic Latin identity (Talen 2012). Whilst asserting a form of Latin urbanism helps Latin communities to gain legitimacy and political voice, Talen (2012) argues that designing for a particular group might also weaken wider collective goals. By tracing the trajectories of Latin urbanism in London, our aim is to bring to the fore not just issues of representation which are discussed at length elsewhere (Román-Velázquez 1999, 2014b), but the politics of resisting gentrification and displacement. In doing this our aim is to reflect upon the risks associated with invoking a racialised and cultural urban form and practice in struggles against gentrification. How can a claim to migrant and ethnic urbanisms, in this instance Latin urbanism, act as a form of resistance without resorting to stereotypes? Can Latin urbanism, that is, the connection between Latin culture and urban form, act as a form of resisting gentrification in London?

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7.2

Latin London: The Making of London’s Latin Barrios

‘Latin London’ is used and appropriated rather freely these days in particular with reference to urban manifestations. For example, London’s Latin Quarter, Latin Elephant, Latin Village and Latin Brixton. This is also evident in festival names like Plaza Latina, Carnaval Latino and in the name of international chains such as Barrio Latino. This is a clear acknowledgement of the recognition gained by Latin Americans in London over the last three decades, and of the prominent link between Latin culture and urban form—in particular how specific forms of Latin culture are invoked to promote Latin urbanisms in London. The term ‘Latin London’ was first coined in the title of the book The Making of Latin London: Salsa Music, Place & Identity (RománVelázquez 1999). The book captured Latin American cultural and commercial practices at a time when Latin Americans were largely an invisible community.2 The research for The Making of Latin London was carried out at the beginning of the 1990s and Román-Velázquez (1996, 1999) argued that the legal status of Latin Americans had an impact on their mobility and visible presence in London and, subsequently, on the identity of places or what was called Latin London. Manifestations of Latin urbanisms relied on national identity markers based on sounds, smells and colours. The book offered a partial account, but nevertheless the first to narrate and register those early stages of a community that was starting to become visible in London’s urban fabric. Twelve years later, the title of the report No longer invisible (McIlwaine et al. 2011) which, for the first time, produced a statistical estimate and profile of the Latin American community is yet another testament to the recognition and visibility gained by Latin Americans in the subsequent decade. The research was updated to include the onward migration of Latin Americans from Europe, and the title of the report acknowledges the path Towards Visibility (McIlwaine and Bunge 2016). The report concludes that Latin Americans are the eighth largest non-UK born population in the capital and is the second fastest-growing migrant population from outside of the EU (McIlwaine and Bunge 2016).

2 ‘Invisible’ is charged with power, it is only so for those who don’t, can’t, or who do not wish to recognise our presence (whether institutionally or socially).

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These migration patterns led to the development of particular manifestations of Latin urbanisms in London, particularly in the form of clustered commercial spaces in shopping centres, markets and shopping parades. The largest Latin American business clusters in London are currently under threat due to a process of retail gentrification that sees traditional markets such as that of Seven Sisters’ Pueblito Paisa and the Elephant and Castle shopping centre traders in Southwark, fighting for their right to remain in place and become sustainable in the longer term (González and Dawson 2015, 2018; Román-Velázquez and Hill 2016; King et al. 2018). Elephant and Castle in the London Borough of Southwark is home to the largest Latin American business cluster in London, followed by Seven Sisters and Brent (Román-Velázquez and Hill 2016). These predominantly Latin American business clusters share the space with other migrant and ethnic businesses. London’s Latin locations contribute to the diversity of multicultural neighbourhoods in the capital and are very much engrained in the urban fabric of the capital. Southwark is the borough with the second highest number of Latin Americans in London, representing 8.9% of the total population, and surpassed by the London Borough of Lambeth (McIlwaine and Bunge 2016). Latin American retailers started setting up businesses in the Elephant and Castle at the beginning of the 1990s and over the years have transformed the area and, in the process, contributed to a distinctive ‘Latin Quarter’ (Román-Velázquez 1999). The Latin American presence in the Elephant and Castle core area comprises of four clearly identified zones: Elephant and Castle shopping centre, the arches in Elephant Road, the arches in Maldonado Walk (inaugurated on 10 Feb 2018, previously known as Eagle’s Yard) and Tiendas del Sur in Newington Butts. A manual survey by Román-Velázquez in 20163 and 2017 revealed a total of 96 and 94 shops (respectively) in the immediate area around the underground station and shopping centre, and if taking into account the shops in Old Kent Road (extending from the southern roundabout), the number increased to 110 shops (see Maps 7.1, 7.2, and 7.3). This represents a sharp increase from the number of shops registered at the

3 Available at: https://latinelephant.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Latin-QuarterLondon-Map-2016-WEB.pdf.

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Elephant and Castle Migrant and Ethnic and Independent Business Directory Shopping Centre, First Floor October 2017 Research: Patria Roman-Velazquez Maps: Ilinca Diaconescu Cafe/Restaurant/Takeaway

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Clothing Shop/Alterations

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29 28 27

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Beauty and Wellbeing

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Travel Agency Supermarket Mobile phones/computers

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Charity Publisher

1. Unit 200/201 Castle Tandoori (Indian) 2. Unit 203 Castle Brasserie (Latin American) 4. Unit 205 Castle cleaning 5. Unit 206 Jenny’s burgers 7. Unit 209 Lucy’s hairdressing salon (Latin American) 8. Unit 210 Speedy courses (Latin American) 9. Unit 211 Ria Bureau de Change 12. Unit 215 Polish mini-market (Polish) 13. Unit 216 Volunteer Centre 14. Unit 217 Tekkrom Centre; Mobile & Computer 15. Unit 218 Lonnie’s Hair Salon (Latin American) 16. Unit 219 Bureau de change. Money remittance 18. Unit 222/223 La Bodeguita (Latin American) 20. Unit 241 Inara Transfers (Latin American)

22. Unit 239 Southwark Works 23. Unit 238 Little Oriental (Asian) 24. Unit 237 Little Oriental (Asian) 26. Unit 237a Viajemos (Latin American) 27. Unit 236 GV Media Group 30. Unit 233 Mamuska (Polish) 34. Unit 259 Agencia Los Colorados (Latin American) 35. Unit 250 Anna Castro (Latin American) 36. Cafè Nova 38. Unit 254 Medellin Y Su Moda (Latin American) 39. Unit 256/257 La Bodeguita (Latin American) 40. Unit 253 Nicoles (Latin American)

Map 7.1 Migrant, ethnic and independent business directory Elephant and Castle Shopping Centre, October 2017

beginning of the 1990s (approximately 22 shops), and 61 and 70, respectively, in 2012. Latin American retailers in Elephant and Castle are mainly from Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia. The redevelopment plans for Elephant and Castle, which can be traced back to 1999, were received with scepticism by Latin American local retailers who, despite welcoming some of the changes, feared for their sustainability and future presence in the area. It is within this context that Latin Elephant,4 a charity working with migrant and ethnic groups and in particular Latin Americans in processes of urban change in London, carried out a series of workshops with traders in Elephant and Castle to support, register and amplify their vision for the area. The Case for London’s Latin Quarter: Retention, Growth, Sustainability (RománVelázquez and Hill 2016) proposed a series of public realm initiatives for Elephant and Castle under a project named ‘London’s Latin Quarter’, in 4 This was part of the work with Latin Elephant, the Charity founded by RománVelázquez after leaving her academic post in 2013. Latin Elephant, CIO (Charity No. 1158554) was officially registered with the Charities Commission in September 2014.

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Latin American Businesses in Elephant and Castle Updated October 2017

Research: Patria Roman Velazquez Map: Ilinca Diaconescu

Key Cafe/Restaurant Clothes/accessories Travel agency Food shop Games/entertainment Dentist Film/Music Money transfer/Courier Hair and beauty Auto repairs Estate agency Computer/Print shop Retail Translations/Legal

Cluster A - Shopping Centre 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11.

Inara Money Transfers (Unit 241) Lucy’s Hairdressing Salon (Unit 209) Medellin y su moda (Unit 254-255) La Bodeguita Cafe (Unit 256-257) La Bodeguita Restaurant (Unit 222-223) La Tienda (Unit 259) Alteraciones Nicole’s (Unit 253) Ana Castro (Unit 250) Lonnie’s Hairdressers (Unit 218) Castle Brasserie (Unit 203) Viajemos (Unit 237a)

Cluster B - Eagle’s Yard 12. Los Arrieros (Arch 141) 13. Punto Latino (Arch 143) 14. La Calenita 15. Salud y Vida 16. Videomania 17. Tienda Lucky Shop 18. Sterling Jewellers 19. Nativo Services 20. Peluqueria 21. Corporacion Ponce (Arch 144) 22. Arko 146 (Arch 146) 23. El Costenito 24. Heladeria Oasis 25. Servicell Travel 26. Peluqueria 27. Amanda’s Hair and Beauty 28. San Andrecito (Arch 147) 29. Geomil Express UK Ltd 30. Antojitos Coffee Shop 31. Lara Express International Services 32. Alteraciones Erika Alexandra 33. Peluqueria 34. Diego CDs 35. Cocorna 36. Delicias Lucy

Map 7.2

Cluster C - Draper House Sherston Court 37. Sabor Peruano 38. Colombian Fashions (16A Draper House) 39. Cafe do Babado (16A Draper House) 40. Andre & Adam (16A Draper House) 41. Servisell (16A Draper House) 42. Tiendas del Sur (91-95 Newington Butts) 43. Unit 1, Latin Touch Hairdressers 44. Unit 2, Soliman Travel (since 1979) 45. Unit 3, H&S Legal LLP 46. Unit 4, Casa en Casa 47. Unit 5, LEA 48. Unit 6, A Silva Dental Studio 49. Unit 7, CJ Multicentre Boutique 50. Unit 8, Ku-Yoruba - Santeria 51. Unit 9, Oro Facil Shop 52. Unit 10-11, Aroma de Café 53. Unit 12, Money To 54. Unit 13, La Chatica (Surtihogar)

Cluster D - Elephant Road 55. La vida loca (Unit 1 Farrell Ct) 56. Costa Dorada Ltd 57. Luz Dary’s Nails 58. Video 59. Money Transfers 60. Hairdressers 61. Beauty 62. La Chatica Cafe (Unit 2 Farrell Ct) 63. Arco del Centro (Unit 3 Farrell Ct) 65. Ashley’s a Creaciones 66. Topless 67. Chiros Gustavo 68. Diego Computers 69. Elephant Fooring 70. Distriandina (Unit 6 Farrell Ct) 71. Tienda de Dulces 72. Planet Services

73. Elephant Mall (Unit 7 Farrell Ct) 74. Waistrainer UK 75. Medejeans 76. 24hr logistics 77. Beset International Ltd 78. Giros Seguros Elephant 79. The Castle Café 80. C&R Flavours 81. J Cutz stylist and Herbal life 82. Liliana Beauty 83. La Fama (109 Elephant Rd) 84. Elephant Coffee (109 Elephant Rd) 85. Bola8 (113 Elephant Rd) 86. GE Services (113 Elephant Rd) 87. Lenos y Carbon (113 Elephant Rd) 88. Alteraciones Patricia (113 Elephant Rd) 89. Estilista (113 Elephant Rd) 90. Informatico (113 Elephant Rd) 91. Christian Barbers (The Artworks) 92. Carnaval del Pueblo (The Artworks) 93. Colraices UK (The Artworks) 94. La Chatica Cafe (The Artworks)

Latin American businesses in Elephant and Castle, October 2017

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Latin American Businesses in Southwark Updated October 2017

Research: Patria Roman-Velazquez Map: Ilinca Diaconescu

Map 7.3 Latin American businesses in Southwark, October 2017

7 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114

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Unit 241, Elephant and Castle Shopping Centre, SE1 6TE Unit 209, Elephant and Castle Shopping Centre, SE1 6TE Unit 254-55, Elephant and Castle Shopping Centre, SE1 6TE Unit 222-23, Elephant and Castle Shopping Centre, SE1 6TE Unit 256-57, Elephant and Castle Shopping Centre, SE1 6TE Unit 259, Elephant and Castle Shopping Centre, SE1 6TE Unit 253, Elephant and Castle Shopping Centre, SE1 6TE Unit 232, Elephant and Castle Shopping Centre, SE1 6TE Unit 218, Elephant and Castle Shopping Centre, SE1 6TE 237b, Elephant and Castle Shopping Centre, SE1 6TE Unit 203, Elephant and Castle Shopping Centre, SE1 6TE Arch 141 Eagle’s Yard, Hampton Street, Elephant and Castle, SE1 6SP Arko 143,Eagle’s Yard, Hampton Street, Elephant and Castle, SE1 6SP Arko 143, Eagle’s Yard, Hampton Street, Elephant and Castle, SE1 6SP Arko 143, Eagle’s Yard, Hampton Street, Elephant and Castle, SE1 6SP Arko 143,Eagle’s Yard, Hampton Street, Elephant and Castle, SE1 6SP Arko 143, Eagle’s Yard, Hampton Street, Elephant and Castle, SE1 6SP Arko 143, Eagle’s Yard, Hampton Street, Elephant and Castle, SE1 6SP Unit 1, Arko 143, Eagle’s Yard, Hampton Street, SE1 6SP Arko 143, Eagle’s Yard, Hampton Street, SE1 6SP Arko 144, Eagle’s Yard, Hampton Street, SE1 6SP Arko 146, Eagle’s Yard, Hampton Street, SE1 6SP Arko 146, Eagle’s Yard, Hampton Street, SE1 6SP Arko 146, Eagle’s Yard, Hampton Street, SE1 6SP Arko 146, Eagle’s Yard, Hampton St. Elephant and Castle, SE1 6SP Arko 146, Eagle’s Yard, Hampton Street, Elephant and Castle, SE1 6SP Arko 146, Eagle’s Yard, Hampton Street, Elephant and Castle, SE1 6SP Arch 147, Eagle’s Yard, Hampton Street, Elephant and Castle, SE1 6SP Arch 147, Unit 5, Eagle’s Yard, Hampton Street, Elephant and Castle, SE1 6SP Arch 147, Eagle’s Yard, Hampton Street, Elephant and Castle, SE1 6SP Arch 147, Eagle’s Yard, Hampton Street, Elephant and Castle, SE1 6SP Arch 147, Eagle’s Yard, Hampton Street, Elephant and Castle, SE1 6SP Arch 147 - Eagle’s Yard, Hampton Street, Elephant and Castle, SE1 6SP Arch 147 - Top Floor, Eagle’s Yard, Hampton Street, Elephant and Castle, SE1 6SP Arch 147 - Top Floor- Eagle’s Yard, Hampton Street, Elephant and Castle, SE1 6SP Arch 147 - Eagle’s Yard, Hampton Street, Elephant and Castle, SE1 6SP 16A Newington Butts, SE1 6SX 16A Newington Butts, SE1 6SX 16A Newington Butts, SE1 6SX 16A Newington Butts, SE1 6SX Unit 1, Farrell Court, Elephant Road, SE17 1LB Unit 1, Farrell Court, Elephant Road, SE17 1LB Unit 1, Farrell Court, Elephant Rd, London SE17 1LB Unit 1, Farrell Court, Elephant Road, SE17 1LB Unit 1, Farrell Court, Elephant Road, SE17 1LB Unit 1, Farrell Court, Elephant Road, SE17 1LB Unit 1, Farrell Court, Elephant Road, SE17 1LB Unit 2 Farrell Court, Elephant Road, London SE17 1LB Unit 3, Farrell Court Elephant Rd, SE17 1LB Unit 3, Farrell Court, Elephant Road, SE17 1LB Unit 3, Farrell Court Elephant Rd, London SE17 1LB Unit 3, Farrell Court Elephant Rd, SE17 1LB Unit 3 Farrell Court Elephant Rd, London SE17 1LB Unit 3 Farrell Court Elephant Rd, London SE17 1LB Unit 6 Farrell Court, Elephant Rd, London SE17 1LB Unit 6 Farrell Court, Elephant Rd, London SE17 1LB Unit 6 Farrell Court, Elephant Rd, London SE17 1LB Unit 7 Farrell Court, Elephant Rd, London SE17 1LB 103 Elephant Rd, London, SE17 1LB 109 Elephant Road, London, SE17 1LB 113 Elephant Road, SE17 1LB 113 Elephant Road, SE17 1LB 113c Elephant Road, SE17 1LB The Artworks, Elephant Road,SE17 1AY The Artworks, Elephant Road, SE17 1AY Unit 23, The Artworks, Elephant Road, SE17 1AY The Artworks, Elephant Road, SE17 1AY 91-95 Newington Butts, SE1 6SF Unit 1, 91-95 Newington Butts, SE1 6SF Unit 2, 91-95 Newington Butts, SE1 6SF Unit3, 91-95 Newington Butts, SE1 6SF Unit 4, 91-95 Newington Butts, SE1 6SF Unit 5, 91-95 Newington Butts, SE1 6SF LEA Unit 6, 91-95 Newington Butts, SE1 6SF Unit 7, 91-95 Newington Butts, SE1 6SF Unit 8, 91-95 Newington Butts, SE1 6SF Unit 9, Tiendas Del Sur, 91-95 Newington Butts, SE1 6SF Unit 10-11, 91-95 Newington Butts, SE1 6SF Unit 12, 91-95 Newington Butts, SE1 6SF Unit 13, 91-95 Newington Butts, SE1 6SF 103 Newington Butts, SE1 6SF 2 Crown Street, SE5 0UR 18 Amelia Street, London, SE17 3PY 183 Manor Place, SE17 3BB Unit G10, 9 Steedman Street, SE17 3AF Railway Arch 163, Robert Dashwood Way, London, SE17 3AF 92 Walworth Road, SE1 6SW 92 Walworth Road ,SE1 6SW 304 Walworth Road, Camberwell, SE17 2AL 374 Walworth Rd, SE17 2NF 171 Coldharbour Lane, Camberwell Green, SE5 9PA 5-7 Rockingham St, Elephant and Castle, SE1 6PD Railway Arch 102a Arch Street, SE1 5TY Railway Arch 26 Arch Street, SE1 5YT Joseph Lancaster Primary School, SE1 6AF Unit 5, 42 Barganza Street, SE17 3RJ Unit 7, 42 Berganza Street, SE17 3RJ 42 Berganza Street, SE17 3RJ 163 New Kent Road 189-191 New Kent Road, SE1 4AG 65A Old Kent Road, SE1 4RF Unit 2, 65 Old Kent Road, SE1 4RF 65A Old Kent Road, SE1 4RF 65 Old Kent Road, SE1 4RF 157 Old Kent Road, SE1 5UT 179 Old Kent Rd, SE1 5NA 187 Old Kent Road, SE1 5NA 204 Old Kent Road, SE1 5TY 206 Old Kent Road, SE1 5TY 224 Old Kent Road, SE1 5UB 264 Old Kent Rd, SE1 5UB 66 Druid Street, SE1 2HQ 4-6 London Bridge Street, SE1 9SG 95 Hicks House Frean Street

Map 7.3 (continued)

Inara Money Transfers Lucy’s Hairdressing Salon Medellin y su moda La Bodeguita Cafe La Bodeguita Restaurant La Tienda Alteraciones Nicole’s Ana Castro Lonnie’s Hairdressers Viajemos Castle Brasserie Los Arrieros Punto Latino La Calenita Salud y Vida Videomania Tienda Lucky Shop Sterling Jewellers Nativo Services Peluqueria Corporacion Ponce Arko 146 El Costenito Heladeria Oasis Servicell Travel Peluqueria Peluqueria San Andrecito Lara Express International Services Geomil Express Antojitos Coffee Shop Alteraciones Erika’s Hairdressers - various Cocorna Delicias Lucy Diego’s CD’s Telenovelas Colombian Fashions Cafe do Babado Andre & Adam Servisell La vida loca Costa Dorada Ltd Luz Dary’s Nails Video Money Transfers Hairdressers Beauty La Chatica Cafe Arco del Centro Elephant Flooring Ashley’s a Creaciones Topless Chiros Gustavo Diego Computers Distriandina Tienda de Dulces Planet Services Elepant Mall La Fama Elephant Coffee Lenos Y Carbon Bola8 GE Services Chatica Café Christian Hairdressers Carnaval del Pueblo Colraices UK Tiendas del Sur Latin Touch Hairdressers Soliman Travel (since 1979) H&S Legal LLP Casa en Casa Labour, Tax Advice A Silva Dental Studio CJ Multicentre Ko-Yoruba Oro Facil Shop Aroma de Café Money To Money La Chatica (Surtihogar) Sabor Peruano Mercar Mancora Peruvian Restaurant Extra Media International Inara Travels Latin Express International (Gb) Ltd Telegiros Hairdressers Brazil Tropical Butchery Bananas Bar La Bolivianita Lenos y Carbon Costa Azul Gloria’s Unisex Salon Escuela Gabriel Garcia Marquez WCW Courier Latin American Disabled People’s Project Condor Services Dominican Barber Cabanas del Sur Stephanie’s Multicentre Miscelanea Franco Sterling Passion Hair Unisex Mensayá El Rinconcito SudamerO Worldwide Money Transfer Sol Andino Amandas Hair & Beauty Amazonas Boulevard Shop Medellin y Su Moda La Chatica, Distributor Tito’s Restaurant Green Origins Coffee

Money Transfers Hairdressing Clothes Café Restaurant Retail Clothes Clothes Hairdressing Travel Agency Café Restaurant Multi-Centre Bakery Retail Video Retail Jewellers Transfers Hairdressing Restaurant Multi-Centre Restaurant Café Travel Hairdressing Hairdressing Multi-Centre Courier Transfers Restaurant Clothes Hairdressing Restaurant Café Video Clothes Café Hairdressing Money Transfers Multi-Centre Café Beauty Video Money Transfers Hairdressing Beauty Café Multi-Centre Carpet Shop Clothes Clothes Alterations Computers Restaurant/Bar Retail Courier Multi-centre Butchers Café Restaurant Billiards Money Transfers Café Hairdressing Entertainment Estate Agent Multi-Centre Hairdressers Travel Agency Legal Advice Estate Agent Multiservices Dentist Music Santeria Jewellers Café Transfers Retail Restaurant Distributors Restaurant Media (Radio, Newspaper, Print) Travel Agency Courier Cargo & Handling Money Transfers Hairdressing Butchers Bar Restaurant Restaurant Restaurant Hairdressing Latin American Saturday School Courier Charity Retail Hairdressing Restaurant Multi-Centre Translation Hairdressing Courier Restaurant Money Transfers Distributors Hairdressing Multi-Centre Multi-Centre Clothing Distributors Restaurant Distributor

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recognition of London’s largest Latin American business cluster. In addition, the report highlighted a number of recommendations for working with migrant and ethnic economies in the context of urban regeneration in London. Recently, the report Socio-economic Value at the Elephant and Castle (King et al. 2018) calls for the protection of the 130 independent, largely BAME traders who are currently within the red line designation for development. The report highlights the need for a wider recognition of the importance of protecting affordable workspace in the context of current regeneration and displacement processes in London. The presence of Latin American shops in Seven Sisters Market, also known as Pueblito Paisa, dates back to the beginning of the 2000s and has also contributed to the development of a distinctive Latin place in London. The battle to save Pueblito Paisa against private developers and the council has been ongoing since 2003 and despite lengthy legal challenges, their future is also at risk. Seven Sisters, with Pueblito Paisa and Tiendas del Norte, holds the second largest concentration of Latin American businesses, and as its name suggests, the retailers are mostly Colombian, though there are also traders from Peru, Dominican Republic and Cuba. Wards Corner—the building that houses Pueblito Paisa—is also home to retailers of African, Afro-Caribbean and Indian descent. The Wards Corner building in Seven Sisters accounts for 31 shops of which approximately 23 are owned or leased by traders of Latin American background.5 The majority of the floor space is occupied by Latin American shops. Additional shops and small commercial centres spill out from the building into the high street. The report Traditional Markets Under Threat: Why It’s Happening and What Traders and Customers Can Do (González and Dawson 2015) takes Pueblito Paisa as a case study and proposes a series of resilience strategies for market traders operating in markets under threat of regeneration. The majority of Brazilian-owned businesses are to be found in North West London, Central London and recently, more are setting up in South London. It is also in these areas where the largest population of Brazilians can be found (Evans et al. 2007; Sheringham 2010). Despite the difficulty in establishing the precise numbers of Brazilians in London, the latest estimates reveal that in 2008 there were around 56,000 Brazilian-born people in the UK (Kubal et al. 2011). A survey conducted by the Brazilian 5 Refer to map: https://savelatinvillage.org.uk/map-of-businesses/, and list of businesses: https://savelatinvillage.org.uk/our-shops/.

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Migration to the UK Research Group (GEB) suggests that the population is dispersed across London, though the largest concentration can be found in the Boroughs of Brent; Bayswater, Central London and Stockwell, South London (Evans et al. 2007, 2011). As part of Latin Elephant’s research, Román-Velázquez conducted a survey in 2015 of Brazilianowned shops in London, using a variety of online business directories and local Brazilian magazines. The business survey displayed similar trends to the population survey, confirming that Brazilian shops are dispersed across London, though the largest concentration of Brazilian-owned shops and businesses appear to be in and around Willesden and Harlesden in the Borough of Brent, also in Bayswater and Stockwell. The door-to-door survey of Willesden and Harlesden conducted by Román-Velázquez in 2015 (see Map 7.4) revealed a total of 34 Brazilian-owned shops in an area densely shared with other migrant and ethnic businesses. This area is undergoing an intense regeneration drive under the Old Oak and Park Royal development, which compares to that of the Olympic Park in East London. This is yet another area of London where migrant and ethnic economies are under threat of displacement. Brazilian London: Brent

Research: Patria Roman-Velazquez Map: Ilinca Diaconescu

October 2015

2

1

9

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

Asociacion Portuguesa O’Bombeiro Rest Acougue Cuibano Rosetta (Kaah Express) O’Sabata Rest & Tapas Café Joga 10 Neto Hair Gostosa Pizzeria Pousada Christian Life Ki Carne Acouge de Gaucho O’Estadio Abras School of English & Online Courses Abras Associacion Brasilera Sabor Mineiro Cage Adega Brasil Delicatessen

17

Minas Transfers

8 11

10

39 Park Parade, NW10 4JE 25 Park Parade, NW10 4JG 202 High Street, NW10 4SY 212 High Street, NW10 4SY 214 High Street, NW10 4SY 216 High Street, NW10 4SY 189 Hight Street, NW10 4TE 159 High Street, NW10 4TR 109 High Street, NW10 4TS 9 Station Road, NW10 4UE 24 Station Road, NW10 4UE 31 Station Road, NW10 4UE

18

Brazilian Salon

19

Planeta Brazil

20 21 22 23

Sunrise Brazilian Hair Beleza Opcional Casa Blanca Café Asamblea de Jesus Ministro Fama 1050 Harrow Rd, NW10 5NL Casas de Carnes Brasil 1096 Harrow Rd, NW10 5NL Galpao 1024 Harrow Rd, NW10 5NN Manos Grilll 1026 Harrow Rd, NW10 5NN Delicias de Portugal 1008 Harrow Rd, NW10 5NS Sabor Brasileiro 639 Harrow Rd, NW10 5NU Mercaeria Brasil 773 Harrow Rd, NW10 5PA Master Transfers 775 Harrow Rd, NW10 5PA Fast Intervalue 795 Harrow Rd, NW10 5PA Delicias do Brazil 799 Harrow Rd, NW10 5PA Butcher House 801 Harrow Rd, NW10 5PA

24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33

57 Station Road, NW10 4UP 59 Station Road, NW10 4UP 63 Station Road, NW10 4UX Unit 2-3 Station Offices Station Road, NW10 4XA Unit 4, Station Offices Station Road, NW10 4XA

Unit 5, Station Offices Station Road, NW10 4XA Unit 5, Station Offices Station Road, NW10 4XA 986 Harrow Rd, NW10 5JS 841 Harrow Rd, NW10 5NH 825 Harrrow Rd, NW10 5NJ

12 13-15

3-7

16-19 21

22 24 31-33

23 29-30

25-26 27 20 28

Cafe

Hairdresser

Money transfers

Church

Restaurant/Tapas Bar

Butcher

Community

Clothing

Map 7.4 Brazilian London: Brent, October 2015

Convenience store

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The growth of Latin American retailers in these locations has led to the development of distinctive Latin areas in London with distinctive Latin identities—an organic place-making initiative at play. However, regeneration and ways of re-positioning against the imperatives of global capitalism and regeneration could lead to what we call a new form of Latin urbanism that does not quite erase all traces of difference and culture, but that exploits it to fulfil market demands. And as a result, we could end up with a Latin Quarter or Latin Village without any Latin Americans in sight. By approaching this visibility through the concept of Latin urbanism we would like to add another layer to Latin London, one which is rooted in activism and resistance. The current instance of Latin urbanism is very much present, visible and audible in London’s urban fabric through imaginative protests in which cultural symbols (such as music, food and dance) are celebrated and invoked as a form of resistance. The link between urban form and cultural practice is activated in urban protest in some of London’s poorer inner-city streets. The combination of elements contributes to particular practices and manifestations of migrant urbanisms, and in particular, of Latin urbanism: an urban proposal that is very different to the normative ‘developer-led’ urban regeneration. Urban development and the imperatives of the global city are putting small migrant and ethnic retail, as well as public housing communities, at risk. It is against this backdrop that Latin Americans are feeling the brunt of gentrification more than ever. 7.2.1

Reshaping, Claiming and Resisting Urban Spaces

Latin London has revealed a resilient community fighting for its place in the global city alongside other economically disadvantaged and minority ethnic groups in London. With over 30 years in the making, and despite threats over its sustainability due to regeneration projects and processes of gentrification, Latin Americans have left their mark on London’s urban fabric. A resilient community has organised and demonstrated its capacity to renew, renovate and re-invent itself under conditions of duress and risk of eviction from the very places it helped to revitalise. Throughout this process of settlement and struggles over their right to the city, Latin Americans in London have created and developed particular manifestations of Latin urbanisms. This section explores the forms that take place

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in asserting claims to the global city within the context of intense urban regeneration and the threat of displacement and uprootedness. Trajectories of Latin urbanisms and how these are embedded in struggles against gentrification are best exemplified at London’s Latin Quarter in EC and Seven Sisters’ Pueblito Paisa (indoor market). These sites are a clear example of what some might call organic manifestations of ‘placemaking initiatives’, or of ‘how to turn a place around’. However, these manifestations of Latin urbanism were not framed under the umbrella of ‘place-making’, nor are they part of government or developer-led placemaking initiatives. If anything, developer-led regeneration is putting at risk the livelihoods of many residents, traders, families and workers in these sites and in many areas of London. Expressions of Latin urbanisms have been framed by small traders who slowly moved into poorer innercity neighbourhoods and took advantage of conditions of urban neglect and economic circumstances (and one might say, opportunistic) of the late 1980s and early 1990s in the case of Elephant and Castle, and early 2000s in the case of Seven Sisters. Latin American retailers in Elephant and Castle and Pueblito Paisa in Seven Sisters are no longer dependent upon Latin American clientele for their existence and claims to identity. These Latin business clusters are supported by wider community networks that place a value on the multicultural character of these neighbourhoods. Elephant and Castle and Seven Sisters, used here as case studies, are the two largest Latin business clusters in London and both are at the centre of urban regeneration initiatives that will have an impact upon the character of the areas and the continuity of these two distinctive Latin barrios in London. Manifestations of Latin urbanism are explored in this chapter through narratives of regeneration and displacement which have defined Latin American business clusters for over a decade. By focusing on resistance strategies, we are documenting how Latin Americans have made claims over the identity of these places and how they resist gentrification and claim their place in London. We focus on how local traders and the communities they are supported by draw upon common goals and shared strengths to make a point about retail gentrification.

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7.2.2

Elephant and Castle

On a cold winter’s evening on 18 January 2018, the Up the Elephant 6 campaign took to the streets of Elephant and Castle and marched towards Southwark Council offices, where members of the Planning Committee (all elected council officers) were to decide on Elephant and Castle’s Town Centre Application. Traders, community activists, housing campaigners from across London, and students and staff from the London College of Communication7 (partners in the development), joined efforts to demand a policy-compliant development and to secure a halt to the planning application.8 This was a significant step after years of uncertainty and antigentrification struggles at Elephant and Castle. The redevelopment plans for the Elephant and Castle shopping centre can be traced back to 1999 with Southwark Council’s call to developers for proposals to regenerate the area. This led to the establishment of Southwark Land Regeneration (SLR), a public–private partnership which, even though it collapsed in 2002, contributed to the development of the core strategic vision for the area. In addition, the year 2002 marked a new context for urban development in London with the publication of the London Plan.9 The designation of Elephant and Castle as an ‘opportunity area’10 in the London Plan (2002) and, as such listed as a preferred location for commercial growth in Southwark’s core economic strategy (LBS 2010), drew the attention of developers with investment opportunities to the area, whilst the publication in 2004 of Framework for the development 6 Members of the campaign: Southwark Notes; 35% Campaign; Latin Elephant; Elephant and Castle Traders Association; Southwark Defend Council Housing; staff and students at London College of Communication, UAL. 7 Staff and students who opposed the London College of Communication’s (UAL) partnership with Delancey, the developers of EC Town Centre Development. 8 Elephant and Castle Town Centre Planning Application—Southwark Council reference number 16/AP/4458. 9 The London Plan is the document that sets out the vision for urban development in London. It is the guiding document that all London Boroughs should adhere to when developing their local planning documents. 10 The London Plan (2011) defines an opportunity area as: ‘…the capital’s major reservoir of brownfield land with significant capacity to accommodate new housing, commercial and other development linked to existing or potential improvements to public transport accessibility. Typically, they can accommodate at least 5000 jobs or 2500 new homes or a combination of the two, along with other supporting facilities and infrastructure’ (60–61).

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of EC marked the beginnings of the regeneration of the shopping centre site.11 The documents and processes leading to the strategic development and gentrification of the area have been discussed at length by RománVelázquez (2014a) elsewhere. Here, we would like to concentrate on the planning decisions and protests leading to the approval of the EC Town Centre Application, and how assertions of Latin urbanism act as a strategic tool to resist gentrification. The plan for the demolition of the shopping centre was officially published in the Development Framework for EC in 2004 and this was a significant announcement and an issue of concern for Latin American and other Black and Minority Ethnic (BAME) business owners who saw their future in the area at risk. The demolition of the shopping centre was first due in 2010, with shops leaving the centre (either voluntarily, by not renewing the lease, or by compulsory purchase order) between June 2008 and December 2009.12 There have been various forecasts for the demolition of the shopping centre—first for 2010, then 2014—and in 201113 the announcement of its redevelopment, rather than its demolition, was announced by Southwark Council as part of the agreement with St. Modwen and Salhia Real Estate Company (owners of the shopping centre between 2002 and 2013). As with previous predictions, nothing seemed to happen until the 29 November 2013 with the announcement of the sale of the shopping centre to Delancey and APG for £80 million. In a first meeting with Delancey’s asset manager it was envisaged that demolition of the shopping centre would begin in 2016.14 However, as of April 2020 the demolition of the centre is still pending due to the lengthy

11 The vision for EC is captured in the following documents: London Plan (2002, 2004, 2011), Development Framework for EC (2004a), Supplementary Planning Guidance (2004b), Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) (March 2012). The Supplementary Planning Guidance adopted in Southwark Council’s executive meeting held on 19 February 2004 was superseded by the Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) adopted in March 2012. 12 E&C Regeneration Indicative Program, 27 September 2005, published by Southwark Council and produced by Hornagold & Hills Management Consultants. SE1 website: http://www.london-se1.co.uk/news/view/5090. Accessed 18 May 2011. London. 13 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-13427253. Accessed 18 May 2011. Also, in Elephant & Castle Shopping Centre Could Be Here To Stay: https:// www.london-se1.co.uk/news/view/5090. Accessed 8 February 2011. 14 Personal meeting between Delancey representatives and P. Román-Velázquez on 14 February 2014.

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planning process and subsequent appeals, but closure has been announced for July 2020. Immediately after the sale, a consultation process ensued, culminating in the submission of the Elephant and Castle Town Centre and LCC Campus Planning Application (ref: 16/AP/4458) in December 2016. Throughout this period of consultation, Latin Elephant, a charity working to increase inclusion and participation of BAME groups in processes of urban change in London, played a key role in gaining trust and increasing the participation of Latin American and other BAME traders in the consultation process.15 During this period and up to February 2016, Latin Elephant engaged in a series of participatory workshops and initiatives to register traders’ vision for the area and to raise awareness of the social value of Elephant and Castle for Latin Americans and other BAME groups in London. The organisation was set up and run by Román-Velázquez and, as such, it had a strong research and policy component with participatory workshops using video and photography, urban design and mapping techniques. The organisation worked with partners from across London, including academics with planning and geography expertise, as well as architects, photographers and media practitioners, to present a vision for the area. The product of these was registered in a series of interim publications. These participatory approaches were complemented with surveys and interviews with traders, and by February 2016, the organisation produced the report London’s Latin Quarter: Retention, Growth, Sustainability (Román-Velázquez and Hill 2016). All of the consultation documents were later presented as evidence to support our arguments against the planning application. The concept and denomination of the area as a Latin Quarter by traders in a workshop held in November 2014 can be seen as a first attempt to bring urban design practices, which already identified the area, into a designated space that will create markers of distinction and identity. It was a way of asserting the identity of the area—Elephant and Castle is home to London’s largest Latin American business cluster and, 15 Latin Elephant was formed in September 2013 as a continuation of the group of traders created by Román-Velázquez in 2012. The group was first set up as a way of sharing research information with traders. Latin Elephant emerged as a conversation to increase media visibility and share information across social media platforms. The name soon gained popularity and it was later used to develop a programme of activities with traders and local groups. Latin Elephant, CIO became a registered Charity on 15 September 2014.

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as such, it should be recognised as a Latin Quarter. The idea was that the development would be in keeping with the identity of Elephant and Castle as a distinctive (though not exclusively) Latin place in London. The vision for the Latin Quarter included a Latin Boulevard, thematic festivals, art installations and community spaces. Other events and activities throughout that period included a photographic exercise called London’s Latin Quarter and its people; a 10 session participatory video and photography workshop under the title My Latin Elephant, resulting in a public exhibition titled ‘Being Latin in Elephant’; an urban design workshop with UCL students to explore relocation alternatives with traders; a series of design workshops with the title ‘Recorriendo Elephant ’/‘Walking the Elephant’.16 The emphasis of these consultation exercises was to draw attention to what was until then a largely hidden cluster of Latin American businesses, and to highlight the positive contribution that Latin Americans brought to the area. It was not only about claiming the place as London’s Latin Quarter, but was also asserting a sense of belongingness to the area. Latin Elephant’s consultation initiatives were significant because it was the first time it asked traders and other community groups what their aspirations for the area were. This consultation exercise was carried out to draw the attention of local needs and the value of the area for local groups, in the hope that it would somehow be considered by the developer. To their dismay, the planning application was submitted by Delancey in December 2016 and not only were the visions emerging from the consultation with traders ignored, but the application was not policy-compliant. Opposition to the plans were soon made. Leading the opposition were 35% campaign17 on housing matters, and Latin Elephant on migrant and ethnic businesses and equality issues.18 The objection was led by the Charity Latin Elephant and the 35% campaign group, as early as

16 My Latin Elephant: participatory film and photography workshops in partnership with Insight Share and Fotosynthesis; Urban design practices for relocation strategies at EC by UCL Bartlett M.A. students; Recorriendo Elephant, participatory urban design practices by Louise Vormitag. All available at Latin Elephant’s website: www.latinelephant.org. 17 Neighbour Consultation Replies 35% campaign: http://planbuild.southwark.gov.uk/ documents/?casereference=16%2fAP%2f4458&system=DC. 18 First objection submitted by Latin Elephant in February 2017: https://latinelep hant.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/LE-Objection-to-Planning-Application-16_AP_ 4458.pdf.

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January 2017. From the very beginning, the demands were for the application to be policy-compliant since it did not fulfil the basic 35% social housing policy and the 10% affordable retail space requirements for new developments. Local group, 35% campaign, claimed that the application did not comply with Southwark’s affordable housing policy which states that half of the 35% affordable housing should be social rented. The development will include 979 new homes, but when first published the application only allowed for 33 of these units to be the social rent equivalent. Throughout 2017 and up to its final approval on 3 July 2018, the social housing component went up from 33 units to 74 and was finally approved with 116 units. This still falls below the social housing policy threshold. As stated by 35% campaign: Delancey has been granted permission to build 979 new homes totalling 106,471sqm of residential floorspace and while 35% will be ‘affordable’ only 9,141sqm (8.6% - 116 homes) will be social rent. None of this is in line with the Elephant’s current affordable housing policy,19 which requires half of the minimum 35% affordable housing to be social rented. Delancey should be providing 1,863sqm - nearly twice as much social rented housing. Half of the social rented element has been substituted for London Living Rent equivalent’, £205 - £308pw, and affordable rent at up to 80% market rent, depending on income. 60% of the overall affordable housing will be for households with incomes over £60,000 pa and up to £90,000pa.20

Latin Elephant concurrently advocated for 10% affordable retail space as per policy; a relocation strategy and fund for existing traders; a traders panel; enough relocation sites to accommodate existing traders wishing to relocate; increasing the affordable qualifying period of 5 years; a robust Equalities Impact Assessment for Latin Americans and other BAME groups who are the main users and customers of the shopping centre; certainty over the fate of arches six and seven in Elephant Road; awareness of the clustering of specialist goods and services; and, considerations to the diverse character of the area as a migrant and ethnic business

19 Refer to: www.southwark.gov.uk/assets/attach/1817/1.0.5Elephant%26CastleSPDO APF.pdf. Accessed 12 February 2019. 20 Refer to: http://35percent.org/shopping-centre/. Accessed 12 February 2019.

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centre. The following concessions were made throughout the consultation period21 up to final approval of the application on 3 July 2018: 10% affordable retail space; a relocation package raised to £634,000; business support; first refusal option to existing traders; an Equalities Impact Assessment for the bingo hall users, most of whom are of protected characteristics; an accessible database of commercial sites in the area; a traders panel; additional temporary retail space to relocate existing traders; design concessions to accommodate windows and lift on temporary sites; and rent cap for temporary retail space. The Mayor’s final approval made an additional concession of a 15-year affordable rent period for the new development units. These demands were adopted by a concerted campaign, under the name Up the Elephant, led by a diversity of local groups, organisations, councillors and individuals whose main objectives are to strive for a development that brings benefits to local residents, consumers and users of the Elephant and Castle. This marked a shift in Latin Elephant’s work which, since mid-2017, has been working to incorporate all migrant and ethnic traders within the development site. The emphasis on the development of a Latin Quarter subsided in favour of a more inclusive practice through which local traders and groups were the protagonists of the struggles and demands for a development that brought benefits to the local people. The shift here is from that of a vision that intended to be participants of a consultation process, to asserting a series of demands and requests from traders, BAME and economically disadvantaged groups who felt alienated by the consultation process and the proposal of a development that did not take into account their needs and aspirations to remain in Elephant and Castle. There was strong recognition of the contribution of Latin Americans to Elephant and Castle, and an acknowledgement of the role of traders for the campaign. Identity markers were used strategically as part of a wider campaign that recognised the diversity of interests embraced within a multicultural context. Local opposition gathered momentum, and by the end of 2017, the Up the Elephant coalition was formally set up. Up the Elephant is a coalition of grassroots groups and organisations working towards a better deal for the communities of Elephant and Castle. The campaign brought together the demands of local residents and traders in a concerted effort 21 Throughout this period, a series of meetings took place between Latin Elephant, traders, 35% Campaign, Southwark Council and Delancey.

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to resist gentrification. The group members of the coalition played to each other’s strengths to build a social movement. This included formal opposition at Planning Committee Meetings; meetings with local councillors; meetings with planning and regeneration teams at Southwark Council and the Mayor’s office; a strong social media campaign; meetings with local groups and traders; petitions; stalls set up in front of the Elephant and Castle shopping centre; the occupation of a London College of Communication building by students opposed to the University’s partnership in the development; and, street protests on days when the application was heard at Planning Committee Meetings. The social media presence of the campaign was organised around three key demands, each with a set of requests. These were amplified by all the member organisations and sympathisers of the campaign. It also gained the attention of international, regional, local and ethnic media, with live tweets of the planning sessions being aired by the local SE1 media platform. The media campaign was complemented by research and opposition to the planning application from local councillors, residents and organisations such as 35% Campaign, Southwark Notes, Walworth Society and Latin Elephant, amongst others. This was a concerted effort with a unified and consistent message—to ensure that this development was policy compliant and brought benefits to the local population. This was a multifaceted campaign that gained support from a diversity of groups and campaigns across London. The planning application was heard on 18 January 2018 at the Planning Committee Meeting of Southwark Council. On that evening protesters took to the streets with banners displaying messages of support: ‘We love the Elephant’, ‘homes for people not for profit’, ‘protect our barrios’, ‘stop the displacement of migrant and ethnic traders’. Whilst the proceedings unfolded within the council offices, protesters joined the symbolic salsa dance lesson and anti-gentrification bingo game. The protestors used markers of Elephant and Castle’s identity as a tool to resist gentrification. On that evening and after seven hours of deliberation that lasted long into the early hours, the planning application was rejected. The rejection and deferral of the planning application at this meeting was claimed as a great achievement for local groups—in particular, for Latin Elephant and 35% campaign who were leading the planning proceedings and opposition to the development. This allowed for further negotiations and concessions to housing and traders: an increase in housing units to 116 and a temporary relocation site to compensate for the lack of available spaces

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to relocate those traders who were located within close proximity to the shopping centre. The first Planning Committee Meeting that voted against the development was held on 18 January 2018, and after seven hours of deliberation, the committee voted against the planning official’s recommendation to approve the development. Motions to present reasons for rejection were presented at a 30th January meeting, but failed to gain support from other Planning Committee members. A motion to defer application was then presented and approved by members of the Committee. This was a great win for the community and local groups, and in particular for Latin Elephant who consistently claimed traders were not opposed to development, but to this development because it did not benefit the local community and because of its negative impact on older people and BAME groups. After years of campaigning and through collective action, the organisations that were part of the Up the Elephant campaign managed to defer the Elephant and Castle Town Centre Application. Additional consultation and negotiations took place up to 3 July 2018 when the application was approved by the Planning Committee on the condition that amendments were incorporated to the S106 agreement22 and full planning consent was given by the Mayor of London. The application was finally approved by the Mayor of London on 10th of December 2018, with subsequent conditions for a relocation site approved on 7 January 2019. The decision, however, was appealed by Jerry Flynn a local resident and member of 35% Campaign.23 A crowd justice fund-raising campaign was set up to cover the legal costs of the Judicial Review (JR). The hearing took place over two days in September 2019. News of the rejection of the JR was received on 20 December 2019.24 As we write in April 2020, the campaign group was in favour of appealing this decision and is seeking further advice as to how to proceed, but the Coronavirus pandemic has

22 S106 agreements set planning obligations for a given development. ‘Planning obligations assist in mitigating the impact of unacceptable development to make it acceptable in planning terms’: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/planning-obligations. Planning obligations are used to prescribe the nature of a development, compensate for the loss or damage that is created by the development, or mitigate the negative impact of a development. 23 https://www.crowdjustice.com/case/stop-the-elephant-shopping-centre-destru ction/. 24 Details and judgement available at: https://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/ Admin/2019/3575.html.

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put on hold this process. Nevertheless plans to evict all traders at the end of July 2020 are still in place.

Elephant and Castle Summary

The EC Town Centre Application was heard at Planning Committee on 18 January 2018 over a seven-hour deliberation (from 19:00 to 02:00 hrs) which culminated in the application being rejected and discussions over the reasons for rejections postponed to a later meeting on 30 January 2018. The application was deferred, and the developer embarked on a new round of consultation exercises. The application was finally approved by Southwark Council on 3 July 2018 and sent for approval to the Mayor of London’s office in late November 2018. Approval from the Mayor’s office came through on 10 December 2018. All conditions were met by the end of January 2019 and so the relocation process and countdown for the demolition of the centre began. The eviction of traders was announced for end of July 2020.

The cultural markers of Elephant and Castle—home to London’s largest Latin American business cluster and a bingo hall and bowling alley that catered for disadvantaged, older and young BAME groups in the area—were taken out onto the streets of Southwark to claim for a development that brings benefits to the diverse population of Elephant and Castle. This is a clear example of how cultural practices not only shape a neighbourhood’s identity, but how they are used as a tool to resist gentrification. However, it is important to highlight here that this was a multifaceted campaign strategy in which all local groups shared knowledge, skills and strengths. Campaigners, supported by the planning officer’s report, argued that the development will have a disproportionately negative impact for BAME groups and for Latin Americans in particular. This campaign is a clear example of how equalities matters were taken onto the streets in a symbolic performance that translated into a statement for equality, fairness and anti-gentrification.

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Elephant and Castle Town Centre Application Timeline

1999—Southwark Council call to developers for regenerationproposals for EC 2004—EC Dev Framework and SPG—First announcement of demolition 2010—Due date for demolition 2014—Due date for demolition 2013—EC shopping centre sold to developers Delancey & APG (29th November) 2014—Consultation for EC Town Centre begins 2016—Planning Application submitted—December (ref: 16/AP/4458) 2018—EC application rejected (18th January) 2018—EC application deferred (30th January) 2018—EC application approved by Southwark Council (3rd July) 2018—EC application approved by Mayor of London (10th December) 2018—Temporary relocation site deferred to clarify rent levels (12th December) 2019—Temporary relocation site is approved (7th January) 2018—Set up of Traders Panel (November) 2019—S106 agreement signed and application fully approved (January) 2019—Judicial Review (JR) to overturn planning decision (22nd–23rd October) 2019—JR decision made. Campaigners lost the JR (20th December) 2020—Decision to appeal JR outcome by Up the Elephant ( 7th January) 2020—Notification of shopping centre closure for July 2020 (January) 2020—CPO powers approved by Southwark Council (7th April)

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7.2.3

Seven Sisters

On an unusually sunny, bright and warm afternoon on 8 April 2017, the streets around Seven Sisters indoor market were awash with the sounds of salsa and samba—the colourful traditional dance costumes and dancers from Colombia, Bolivia and Peru—the smells of empanadas and asados, and raffle prizes and a colourful anti-gentrification piñata for children to bash in return for some sweets. This last activity was a strong symbolic gesture that captured the sentiment around anti-gentrification struggles in London. This was no ordinary afternoon, but a salsa and samba shutdown to save the Latin Village and Wards Corner building and to ‘protect Latin American community, culture and heritage’ (poster). This was another strategy in the long struggle to save London’s Pueblito Paisa, or, Latin Village as it was reclaimed by the new campaign group in their aspiration to connect with wider audiences. The legal battle to save Pueblito Paisa can be traced back to 2003 when Haringey Council announced their plans to redevelop Wards Corner and chose private developer, Grainger, to fulfil such plans. This was part of the Labour Government’s (under Tony Blair) New Deals for Communities initiative that resolved to regenerate some of the most deprived neighbourhoods in the country. This marked the beginning of a long process for Latin American retailers (mostly Colombians) in Seven Sisters who felt at risk of displacement from Wards Corner, the building in which they had set roots since the beginning of the 2000s. Not much seemed to happen initially, until August 2007 when plans for the area were presented to the public for the first time and a development agreement was reached between Haringey Council and Grainger (the developer). The proposal included the demolition of Wards Corner to pave the way for new retail space, a leisure centre and new homes. The scheme was opposed by a number of local organisations, including Latin American traders—the main occupiers of the building. These organisations joined forces and formed Wards Corner Coalition (WCC), ‘a grassroots organisation working to stop the demolition of the homes, businesses and the indoor market above Seven Sisters tube station and fighting the attempts of Grainger PLC to force out the local community’.25 The WCC was formed at the end of 2007 and has since been involved in a long and

25 http://wardscorner.wikispaces.com/. Accessed 20 September 2012.

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costly legal battle, challenging planning applications submitted by the developers. The campaign to save Wards Corner gained momentum in 2008 when Boris Johnson, then Mayor of London, made the following public statement to Haringey Council in support of the Wards Corner building and the traders: The proposed re-development of Ward’s Corner would pull down the market and only offer space to a handful of people, which is unacceptable. I want the Council to urgently review this proposal and put the livelihood of the traders and the thousands of locals who rely on this market at the core of their decision.26

It again made headline news in July 2010 by setting precedent for planning regulations on the grounds of race relations. In what was regarded as a landmark case, WCC won the appeal against Grainger’s planning application. A High Court judgement declared the planning process by the council unlawful because it did not follow Equalities legislation. The decision was based on the failure of the council to assess the impact of the proposed development on equality of opportunity and relations between different racial groups in the area. Despite this victory, the campaign to save Wards Corner continued as the developers submitted a second application that was approved by Haringey Council in May 2012—to which WCC also appealed the Council’s decision. When all seemed lost, WCC joined forces with academic institutions, alternative architects and planning groups, to develop a community-led plan for the Wards Corner building previously known as Wards Department Store. In April 2014, Haringey Council finally granted Wards Corner planning permission to restore the building, however as they neatly expressed it: The granting of planning permission for the Wards Corner community plan is an important step forward. We now have a better position from which to approach TfL [Transport for London], and potential backers in our mission to make the plan a reality. … However, Grainger PLC still have planning permission for their plan and the threat of displacement and demolition still remains. Haringey Council have an agreement with Grainger PLC to use compulsory purchase orders to force local businesses and homes out of 26 http://www.london.gov.uk/view_press_release.jsp?releaseid=17959. June 2009.

Accessed

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Wards Corner. We need to continue to work alongside the people directly affected by the Grainger plan to campaign against the injustices they face and to encourage Grainger, the Council and TfL to work with the local community in creating a plan for Wards Corner that meets the needs of local people.27

The West Green Road/Seven Sisters Development Trust was set in 2008 by four members of Wards Corner Community Coalition, to provide a vehicle for community and business-led improvements to the West Green Road/Seven Sisters town centre. Its first project is to deliver the community plan for Wards Corner, which received planning permission in April 2014. According to Companies House, filing the Trust has been dormant since its inception, with recent activity in 2016. A small First Steps Locality grant provided initial impetus to organise the work of the trust across four key areas: (1) business plan and funding; (2) feasibility studies; (3) stakeholder engagement and communications; and (4) governance. This resulted in the production of an action plan launched on 25 February 2016. Progress seems to have been truncated by lack of funds and loss of the key people driving the process. In September 2016, traders of the indoor market were issued with compulsory purchase orders (CPO)—the last resort to remove traders from the site and give way to the development. Traders from the indoor market, local activist groups and sympathisers joined forces and soon after launched the ‘Save Latin Village’ campaign. The battle to save Pueblito Paisa, or, in English, Latin Village, poured onto the streets of Seven Sisters in a concerted campaign to raise funds to support the legal challenge against the CPO. Various local groups united for the first (8 April 2017) of many salsa/samba shutdowns which saw different generations dance to the tunes of salsa and drumbeats of samba, whilst savouring empanadas and asados and chanting ‘Gentrification, no gracias ’. Under the colourful banner ‘protect our barrios’ a group of young Latinx claimed to ‘use empanadas and music as a form of resistance to fight gentrification’.28 The campaign continued with a series of events throughout 2017 and a joined-up approach with local groups and supporters, including a public presence at the CPO hearings and a statement from the United Nations declaring the negative impact that 27 WCC, https://wardscornercommunityplan.wordpress.com/. Accessed 2 July 2014. 28 London Latinx, Facebook page post 2017.

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closure of the market will have for the Latin American community.29 This campaign is a clear example of how local Latin groups embraced cultural forms as a way of resisting gentrification, asserting identity and claiming their sense of belonging and their rightful place in the city. Another way of saying ‘we are here to stay’. The public inquiry to challenge the CPO ran from 11 to 27 July 2017, with a final decision being made in favour of the London Borough of Haringey on 23 January 2019. As we write, the future sustainability of the market and its traders remains uncertain: Haringey Council is undertaking a Public Scrutiny Review, whilst campaigners have launched another crowdfunding campaign to proceed with a legal challenge and appeal the Secretary of State’s decision to allow the CPO to take place. The manifestations of Latin urbanisms in Pueblito Paisa are very much defined by this lengthy legal battle to remain in the space, but most importantly because it joined forces with Wards Corner Coalition. The campaign to save Pueblito Paisa is significant because, despite the internal conflicts that might arise amongst retailers, it reinforced a strong sense of self-definition and heightened their determination to claim their rights to stay in place. The sense of belongingness and the right to set roots have been challenged by the threats to vacate the building at various stages throughout the planning process. This became evident straightaway when retailers received their first eviction notices. As Vicky Alvarez, one of the leaders of Latin American retailers at Pueblito Paisa narrated, ‘if they thought that they could easily get rid of us they had a great surprise in hand, we were not going to be easily disposed of’ … ‘we are here to stay’.30 These circumstances and the lengthy process are important for understanding expressions of Latin urbanism beyond its representational value. Attempts at self-definition in both cases transcend the symbolic. The identity of these places is defined through its activism, wider community networks and self-determination to remain in place. This is not just a battle to save businesses, but a statement about the function that these business clusters play amongst the wider community networks they

29 OHCHR, 27 July 2017. London market closure plan threatens “dynamic cultural centre”: https://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?LangID=E& NewsID=21911. Accessed 14 January 2020. 30 In interview with Patria Román-Velázquez, 16 July 2012.

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support and are a part of. These are highly valued cultural centres for the communities that support them.

Pueblito Paisa and Wards Corner Building Timeline

2003—Haringey Council announced plans to redevelop Wards Corner Bldg. 2003—Haringey Council chose private developer, Grainger 2007—Plans for the area presented to the public for the first time 2007—Wards Corner Coalition (WCC) formed 2008—Support from Boris Johnson 2008—West Green Rd/Seven Sisters Dev Trust 2010—WCC wins legal battle—Equalities Statement 2014—Community Plan is granted planning application 2016—Latin Corner UK—Campaign 2016—CPO issued to traders 2017—Public Inquiry (11th–17th July) 2019—CPO result against traders (23rd January) 2019—Culmination of Haringey Council’s Scrutiny Review (March)

7.2.4

Reflections on Latin Urbanism in London

We use this opportunity to reflect upon the implications of asserting Latin urbanisms through our research, and in particular with the work that Román-Velázquez has been doing with Latin Elephant.31 Asserting Latin urbanisms in the current context of intense urban regeneration, greater economic uncertainty triggered by Brexit and an increasingly hostile environment towards migrants, takes distinctive manifestations and 31 Román-Velázquez founded Latin Elephant, CIO (Charity No. 1158554) on leaving her academic post of 14 years in the UK. The information in this chapter builds on her previous research and on work undertaken between 2013 and 2016 whilst at Latin Elephant. The experiences narrated here draw on both her research and active work with the traders at EC.

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compels us to think about the implications of such assertions. This is also compounded by the complex negotiations and iterations that occur with other groups who are equally placed in the production of migrant urbanisms. This is a highly complex environment in which to be asserting such identity politics, as one has to take into account, not just the economic and political context under which such claims to the global city are occurring, but also the mechanisms by which different communities embrace, negotiate or reject such claims of belongingness to the city, their right to the city, or such forms of migrant urbanisms. The questions that guide these reflections are: Is there space for migrant and ethnic economies in a regenerated London? What forms of solidarity and alliances are formed in the process? Or, equally important, what forms of competing discourses are then formed as a result of such assertions? How are manifestations of Latin urbanisms placed and negotiated in wider discourses about migrant and ethnic business clusters and manifestations of migrant urbanisms in London? Ultimately, what can these two case studies tell us about manifestations and practices of migrant urbanisms and its subsequent significance for urban studies, urban planning and, more generally, about gentrification? But most importantly the challenge is how to best achieve the aspirations of the majority of migrant and ethnic traders without the danger of promoting a place-based identity that relies on stereotypes and the commodification of culture, and without neglecting the distinctive multi-ethnic composition of these centres of economic activity. If, at the beginning, manifestations of Latin urbanism were about transnational practices as strategies for growth and survival, regeneration and the threat of displacement have resulted in a form of political activism that asserts identity as a political right to remain in place, and a strategy for the long-term sustainability against impending gentrification of their neighbourhoods. Elephant and Castle and Seven Sisters local traders and groups felt alienated from the planning process because their needs were not addressed in the regeneration plans for the area. In this context, expressions and manifestations of Latin urbanism were used as a strategy to address feelings of alienation by local groups who felt excluded from plans to regenerate the areas that they once helped to revitalise. In London, Latin urbanisms capture community design techniques and an attempt by local groups to engage with the planning process given that visions put forward by private developers and municipal authorities excluded the

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distinctive cultural urban environment created by existing communities. However, as in the United States, it begs the question as to whether designing for a specific group might weaken wider collective goals. This could be seen in the strategic claim for a case for London’s Latin Quarter by local traders and its subsequent incorporation to wider spatial struggles across London. The attempts to save both business communities and their incorporation to wider local community groups (Elephant Amenity Network in the case of EC and Wards Corner Coalition in the case of Seven Sisters) attest to the importance placed on businesses as community assets and emotional investments. Small local retailers play a greater social role amongst different communities in London and are engrained in the everyday lives of many in the city. These small local businesses provide a sense of continuity, belongingness and emotional attachment for many Latin Americans and other ethnic groups in London. Thus it is not the economic investment, contribution to the local economy and commercial gain or losses that we aim to highlight here (though these are important issues), but rather how these shops produce and represent cultural identities that somehow invoke and assert a greater sense of ownership and belongingness to London as a place that can also be called home. The regeneration plans for both areas have made other community networks value the distinctively Latin places on their doorstep. This is also a way of forming wider alliances as a strategy to win greater power for the groups directly affected by regeneration. The claim to remain in place is embraced, not just by Latin American retailers, but by local community organisations alike. It has also made these business communities more visible to the local authorities who would otherwise remain unaware of the role of businesses in the social cement of local groups. In this context Latin urbanisms as a tool to resist gentrification become stronger and part of the wider struggles across the city, and strategically invoked by other groups with similar plights or sympathetic to the case of Latin Americans in London. In the case of Elephant and Castle, their contribution and visibility has been acknowledged in government planning documents. Despite this acknowledgement, retailers believe that the current regeneration programmes might pose a risk to their sustainability and continuity. The context of urban regeneration under which such recognition has been gained is also evidence of the looming risks that might call into question the sustainability of these two Latin American business clusters in London.

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The production of urban spaces under neoliberal times has seen the role of the state in managing public spaces diminished. The loss of public land to developers and private capital results in a form of urbanism that washes up all traces of culture. In the case of intense regeneration programmes in London, we are left with a form of private, corporate and replicable urbanism that erases difference and uniqueness to a place—a place-making initiative that can be replicated across the globe and in its path promote exclusionary practices through urban design. For example, the inclusion and description of Elephant and Castle as a ‘Latin Quarter’ has also been embraced by the municipal authorities and by developers—though little has been done about it. This discourse over the identity of the area with a distinctive Latin Quarter might transcend the plight of Latin American retailers who might initially perceive it as a threat to their continuity, but who also cling to the notion of a Latin Quarter as a strategy of survival—to claim their place in Elephant and Castle and assert an identity for the area. So, new forms of migrant urbanisms and identity politics based on place-making initiatives led by private developers could end up in the commodification of culture at the expense of the very community that somehow contributed to these distinctive places in the first instance. The questions or issues to address now or to reflect upon—at academic and practical level—are how can we best achieve aspirations of retailers without the danger of promoting a place-based identity that relies on stereotypes and the commodification of culture, without neglecting the existing inclusiveness and diversity of the area as a multi-ethnic centre, and without falling in the trap of cultural exploitation?

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CHAPTER 8

British Latinidad as Social and Spatial Justice

On 1st April 2020, a livestream Facebook video playing London Latin music artists and promoting community conversation, with the hashtags #VivaLatinoUK #Stayhomeifyoucan, caught the attention of 1.9 thousand viewers. Special guests on the phone included Latinx community leaders, organisers and artists. Right from his living room, Carlos, a Colombian anchor, plays music, interacts with Facebook messages and interviews his guests for almost two hours. In this video, we learned how many Latin Americans in London have been diagnosed with Coronavirus—particularly those from the areas of Haringey (the Latin Village), Lambeth (Little Portugal) and Brent (Little Brazil). A trustee from Su Mano Amiga organisation and the owner of El Botellón Latino restaurant were amongst those on the list. Messages from several of London’s neighbourhoods add to the discussion about how challenging this unprecedented situation is for Latin Americans in the city, particularly for undocumented workers. These types of British Latinx digital diasporic spaces can bring together communities and inform them about where to look for crucial information and support in times of pandemic. Between salsa or vallenatos and Andean inspiring songs such as the song produced by Lokandes, Carlos interviews members of the Latinx community in the British capital. Within their diasporic transnationalism, Latin Americans in London embrace digital mediation as part of the recreation and promotion of hybrid practices of belongingness to both homeland © The Author(s) 2021 P. Román-Velázquez and J. Retis, Narratives of Migration, Relocation and Belonging, Studies of the Americas, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-53444-8_8

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and host society. These synergies become more evident in crucial circumstances such as natural disasters, emergencies or, as in this case, a health crisis. Narratives of Migration, Relocation and Belonging —Latin Americans in London has provided a comprehensive perspective on the increasing Latinx presence in the British capital. By focusing on the development of distinctive Latin neighbourhoods, cultural activities and media presence in London, we traced Latin American diasporic identities and community construction. By highlighting these voices, we sought to examine and understand how Latin Americans merge hyperlocal spaces in translocal settings. The book is about social and spatial inequalities around migratory experiences, workplace relationships, ethnic local media and urban spaces. In doing this, we hoped to challenge the geographical and media-centric focus currently dominating most urban communication research, whereby the relationship between places, identities and the media is mostly approached in terms of representation rather than politically charged lived experiences. We acknowledge the complex ways in which intersectionality is played out in people’s narratives of migration, everyday working practices, the media and urban environments, particularly so in response to asserting rights to the city in search of social and spatial justice. The narratives we included in this book captured the trajectories, movement and resettlement of Latin Americans in the UK, and London in particular. We used the idea of routes, routines and roots to capture the sense of belongingness, or not, to a place. Within these narratives, we found expressions of solidarity, ambiguity and of tensions emerging in assertions about the right to belong, or not, to a place. These narratives included journeys of migration, social networks developed around work practices, the emergence of digital diasporic spaces and, finally, claims and rights to the city. The chapters mirror our geographical settings, academic perspectives and migratory experiences, to engage in a dialogue with scholars across different regions and disciplines. As such, this book is interdisciplinary in nature. Where relevant, we engaged in a dialogue with authors and debates emerging from long-standing research experiences in the United States. The multi-sited perspectives from which we draw upon were embedded with research material to develop a narrative that could be of use to others exploring similar experiences and themes elsewhere.

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We provided an overview, though inconclusive, of the different voices and experiences emerging from London’s Latin American population. In this quest we drew from the extensive literature around transnationalism, super-diversity, identities, places and digital diasporas, to inform our discussion and analysis. We argued that globalisation processes and transnationalism are better understood from below, that is, the practices, transactions and social relations that make possible transnational movements and networks. The concept of ‘super-diversity’ was used to describe the ways in which transnational practices materialised and intensified in global cities such as London, leading to new forms of ‘super-austerity’ for low-paid migrant workers. We argued that this approach led to a renewed interest in localities, places and identities. Identity is not just about representation, but about understanding the historical processes and material practices which ultimately contribute to the changing character of places. We urge a reconsideration of identity in terms of feelings of ambiguity and detachment, as invaluable for understanding the often unstable, uncertain and malleable sense of belongingness, or not, to places. As such, we argue that feelings of detachment, ambiguity and of not belonging are equally important for how we are to understand identity formation or the experience of identity. The invisibility of migrants can affect their rights, protection, treatment, entitlement and recognition. Thus, in Chapter 3 we offer the closest overview of existing data to set the scene and provide an overall profile of the Latin American population in the UK. We found out that according to official data sets, the UK is the European country with the third largest Latin American population. The latest and most accurate data registers approximately 250,000 Latin Americans residing in the UK in 2013, of which 145,000 were in London (around 58% of the total). Brazilians and Colombians make up the largest group of Latin Americans in London, with a population of over 30,000 and 20,000, respectively. Colombians are the first Spanish-language speaking Latinx community in the British capital. This is followed by a significantly lower number of Ecuadoreans, Argentinians, Venezuelans, Mexicans, Peruvians, Chileans, Cubans and Bolivians, with little over or under two thousand each. An even smaller number is registered for those migrating from Uruguay, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Paraguay, Costa Rica, Panamá, Honduras, Nicaragua and Puerto Rico. To these numbers, we must add those Latin Americans arriving from Europe, mainly Spain, Italy and Portugal, and with European citizenship. Despite their citizenship

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status many Latin Americans in London have limited access to basic services due to language barriers, and many join low-paid and low-status sectors of the labour market (McIlwaine 2019). It became evident to us that this context of second and third migration processes from Southern European cities to Northern European cities was embedded in the narratives of those we interviewed during our long-term, multi-situated fieldwork in London. Despite the relative visibility gained over the last 30 years, Latin Americans remain largely invisible in census data, thus remaining one of London’s ‘hidden communities’. We argued that the lack of data around these growing communities in the European scenario demonstrated political disinterest in considering these minorities within the European region. Community groups and campaigns such as the Latin American Recognition Campaign (LARC) and the Coalition of Latin Americans in the UK (CLAUK) have placed great efforts in gaining recognition of Latin Americans as an ethnic group in local monitoring forms. To date, the London boroughs of Southwark, Lambeth, Islington and Hackney have officially recognised Latin Americans as an ethnic group. In our attempt to examine the origins, evolution and future of contemporary Latin American diasporas in London, we argue that the transnational context of social networks is important for understanding the practices upon which struggles for greater recognition, representation and claims to the city, are experienced. In this context, we asked: What does it mean to belong to a place, to assert one’s right and claim to a place—particularly so in instances of multiple displacements embraced in first, secondary and tertiary migratory flows? Within this context of hyper-mobility, what are one’s cultural and citizenship rights? In trying to address these questions, and drawing on the research material we present in subsequent chapters, we argued that social and spatial inequalities embedded in structural systems, such as immigration legislation, work-related practices, media frameworks and planning policies, impact everyday experiences of migration. Experience of migration intersects with everyday bordering practices, an increasingly hostile environment around migration discourses and policies, and an increasingly deregulated labour market. As we discussed in Chapters 4 and 5, feelings of belongingness, everyday routines and the idea of return, are very much embedded in structural and social inequalities. The extended interviews introduced in Chapter 4 present a contradictory, and at times, ambiguous, sense of belongingness, where

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the idea of return, despite not being idealised, was longed for and was somehow a distant dream. We argued that feelings of belonging were at times contradictory and expressed in terms of solidarity, displacement, difference and detachment. We also discovered that getting work and getting to work dominated the everyday routines of most of those we interviewed, and thus we dedicated Chapter 5 to capturing the narratives of migration around work. We discussed that social networks developed through the process of finding a job and in workplace relationships are mediated by solidarity and conflict. We argued that feelings of detachment and belongingness, or not, to London are mediated by low-paid and insecure employment and precarious living conditions, and to limited, or no, English language skills. This picture is compounded by the current political climate around the UK’s relationship with Europe (Brexit). Brexit increases anxieties around working and housing conditions, and challenges their relationship and sense of belongingness to the UK and in particular, London. Just as Latin American immigrant groups have remained almost invisible in the context of non-European immigration in the UK, Latinx media have gone unnoticed in most ethnic media mappings. In trying to understand the role of Latinx ethnic media in diasporic transnational contexts, we embarked on a project of mapping Latinx media circuits and their contribution to the debates of what it means to belong. We posed some questions to further incite the conversation on the possibilities and challenges of British Latinx Media in London: Why are Latino media established in the British Capital? Why have some projects been able to remain active whilst others had a short life? Why are these communication spaces important for the Latino communities in London? Why have these media remained largely invisible to mainstream media producers, policymakers and even academic researchers? How can we better understand their recent history, current struggles and future challenges? This first mapping demonstrated that comparative analysis can help clarify the sometimes-conflicting strategies being established by diasporic communities in host countries, where interactions aimed at preserving heritage and traditions coexist with those that generate negotiated space, and others that strengthen resistance. Whilst we have not fully captured, in this book, an in-depth analysis of ethnic media practices in Spanish, Portuguese or Spanglish, we provided the closest attempt to mapping their history and current trends. We seek to advance our understanding of these dynamics in further investigations.

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The formation of Latin American transnational audiences has been recognised by cultural industries rather than by local, regional and international governments. Ethnocentric approaches tend to analyse media and cultural consumption exclusively as they relate to the migrant condition. We argued that it becomes indispensable to incorporate positions of class and structural stratification when examining these sociocultural dynamics. Latin American groups are heterogeneous, and they settle in host societies that draw from a rich hybrid cultural baggage (Retis 2019). It is the dialogue with the host society that promotes understanding between cultures, not the creation of social hierarchies of interaction. Little can be done to make progress in this area if paternalistic or frightened perspectives remain unchanged in immigration studies (Retis 2011). For British Latinx communities, complex and hybrid subjectivities and identities encompass multiple and multilevel positions of Latinidad. Racial and ethnic categories form a continuum where geographical origins intersect with migratory processes in dialogue with dominant understandings of ethnicity in Europe, and in the UK. As we have seen in multiple observations and interviews, these pan-ethnic labels, as it occurs in the United States, are both contested and embraced in the diasporic media landscape. Social and spatial inequalities embedded in the planning system are also experienced in tangible ways in London’s urban spaces, and this is discussed at length in Chapter 7. Latin American business clusters mirror those locations where the largest concentration of Latin American groups exist in London: Lambeth, Southwark, Haringey and Brent. Business clusters and an enterprising culture emerged in these areas and this trend continues to this day. Though, as we discussed in Chapter 7, these business clusters are at risk of disappearing due to intense regeneration projects that lead to processes of gentrification which threatens, not just the sustainability and future of existing communities, but all traces of place-identity and spaces of reunion, congregation and conviviality for those Latinx and other migrant and ethnic groups who feel at home. Increased visibility in urban spaces and the struggle to remain in place have also increased their capacity to negotiate and gain recognition of their plight and contribution to London’s urban spaces, economies and culture. The material used in this book can be a source for comparative work, but we are also mindful that it will become archival material and a historical source. For this reason, and aware of the transient and ephemerality

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of digital diasporic media practices, we included a comprehensive, though not exhaustive, survey of different Latinx media practices and events in London, and various maps of London’s Latin neighbourhoods.

8.1

On British Latinidad

As we explore connections between Latinx groups in London and back to the Latin American region, we try to contribute to the idea that many peoples’ transnational networks of exchange and participation are grounded upon some perception of common identity. Our research demonstrates how identities of numerous individuals and groups of people are negotiated within social worlds that span more than one place across the Atlantic. In our attempt to work in tandem, though considering the specificities of the London context, we drew on the concept of Latinidad which captures the experiences of Latinx migration in the United States, and we used this material to map out what we call British Latinidad. We also relied on the concept of Latin urbanisms to inform our reflections about urban form and practices in London’s Latin barrios to resist gentrification. In the United States, Latinidad invokes renewed forms of selfidentification and self-definition through migratory flows that are not dependent on a colonial past, but on unequal relations of power and, at times, highly controversial external policies that shape the relationship between the United States and Latin Americans states. The Latina/o Critical Communication Theory framework proposes an effort to move away from the fragmented examinations of Latinas/os as racialised subjects centring the analysis in: (1) centralising the Latino experience, (2) deploying decolonising methodological approaches, (3) acknowledging and addressing the racism faced by the Latina/o community, (4) resisting literacy-colour-blind language/rhetoric towards Latinas/os and (5) promoting a social justice dimension (Anguiano and Castañeda 2014). Whilst the progression of LatCrit communication studies seeks to speak to the material, verbal, visual and discursive experiences of Latinx in a globalised world, Latinidad is positioned as a key analytical category that can help us examine the Latinisation of cityscapes, as well as the political meanings of the global phenomena of Latinisation (Lao-Montés 2001). In the United States, it has been implemented to analyse how notions of citizenship, belonging and entitlement are directly intertwined and predicated on dominant nationalist categories. And those categories conflate

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race, culture and language with nationality, establishing the hierarchies against which cultural and linguistic differences are evaluated (Dávila 2000). In her analysis of US Latino media, Dávila (2000) identifies them as the primary promoter of Latinidad as an ‘ethnoscape’, a diasporic community transcending the United States and Latin American nation states. In the British context, we propose that Latinidad invokes new forms of belongingness beyond and against old colonial powers. Latinidad captures what Román-Velázquez (1996, 1999) referred to as Latinness, however the contemporary context is heightened with additional layers. We are witnessing a tension between a sense of British Latinidad that self-defines against European heritage, and that which invokes its European heritage via the concept or auto-proclamation of an Ibero-American identity. The tension here is political and strategic. Asserting a Latin American identity appeals to a post-colonial sense of self-definition against the backdrop and legacies of a colonial past that defined, yet oppressed, the region. Latinidad in this context becomes a political statement of a post-colonial sense of belongingness and of self-definition, and as such it invokes the diversity of Latin America as an ideological and political project. So, the campaign for a Latin American category in the national census and local monitoring forms is a political project of recognition, whilst the Ibero-American definition and campaign for recognition is a strategic positioning that invokes a colonial past and heritage to gain recognition in numbers rather than as a specific group with particular needs, circumstances and histories in a migratory context. Thus, we argue that British Latinidad includes in a rather fraught way, this tension between the Latin American and Ibero-American assertions for self-definition and forms of identification. British Latinidad is heterogeneous, invokes a complex and contested sense of shared histories and is fraught with political and strategic tensions. Britain’s current political-economical context under Brexit and its changing relationship with Europe might strengthen such political attempts at self-definition. Just as Latin Americans embarked on re-routing meeting zones through migration and mobility—British Latinidad is about amalgamating histories, memories, experiences and new forms of belonging. As we have examined throughout this book, this first attempt to map the origins and development of British Latinidad seeks to bring to light, not only to the meta-research of studies about Latin American immigrants in London,

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but to contribute to future analysis on the evolving nature of these heterogeneous communities in the super-diverse city of London. As we finish writing this manuscript, we are facing two relevant conjunctures which will have an impact on London and more so on its migrant and ethnic population. In January 2020, the UK began the process of withdrawal from the European Union. This brings uncertainty into what Britain’s new immigration system will look like as tightened restrictions on migrant workers could hurt key industries such as construction, hospitality and service sectors. Almost immediately, the global pandemic of Coronavirus spread to the UK, with London reporting the highest number of confirmed cases in England. Consequences of this unprecedented situation will affect not only Latinx communities’ health, but also family budgets as the UK is listed amongst the economies risking a record slump. But as we embrace these challenges, we are also certain that Latin Americans in London are resilient and ‘here to stay’.

References Anguiano, C., & Castañeda, C. (2014). Forging a Path: Past and Present Scope of Critical Race Theory and Latina/o Critical Race Theory in Communication Studies. The Review of Communication, 14(2), 107–124. Dávila, A. (2000). Mapping Latinidad: Language and Culture in the Spanish TV Battlefront. Television & New Media, 1(1), 75–94. Lao-Montes, A. (2001). Introduction. In A. Lao-Montes & A. Dávila (Eds.), Mambo Montage: The Latinization of New York (pp. 1–52). New York, NY: Columbia University Press. McIlwaine, C., & Bunge, D. (2019). Onward Precarity, Mobility, and Migration among Latin Americans in London. Antipode, 51(2), 601–619. https://doi. org/10.1111/anti.12453. Retis, J. (2011). Estudio exploratorio sobre el consumo cultural de los inmigrantes latinoamericanos en España: El contexto transnacional de las prácticas culturales. Madrid: Fundación Alternativas. Retis, J. (2019). Homogenizing Heterogeneity in Transnational Contexts: Contemporary Latin American Diasporas and the Media in the Global North. In J. Retis & R. Tsagarousianou (Eds.), The Handbook of Diasporas, Media, and Culture (115–136). Hoboke, NJ: Wiley-Blackwell. Román-Velázquez, P. (1996). The Construction of Latin Identities and Salsa Music Clubs in London: An Ethnographic Study. Ph.D. thesis, University of Leicester, Leicester.

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Román-Velázquez, P. (1999). The Making of Latin London: Salsa Music, Place and Identity. Aldershot: Ashgate. E-book edition: Román-Velázquez, P. (2017). London: Taylor and Francis. https://doi.org/10.4324/978131523 8487.

Index

B Belonging, 2, 5, 11, 14, 15, 19, 31, 49, 53, 56, 63–67, 69, 76, 77, 79, 90, 105, 108, 117, 127, 185, 197, 199, 200 Black and Minority Ethnic (BAME) groups, 174, 176, 179, 180 Brazilians, 43–45, 47, 51, 55, 67, 74, 75, 87, 89, 92, 93, 116, 117, 129, 133–135, 168, 169, 195 British Latinidad, 6, 9, 20, 24, 199, 200

C 35% campaign, 172, 175–179 Census, 10, 38, 43, 45, 49, 51, 53, 118, 196, 200 Colombians, 43–45, 47, 51, 55, 74–76, 89, 91, 92, 94, 98, 105, 113, 116, 121–124, 128, 137, 140, 146, 168, 182, 193, 195

Conflict, 4, 9, 33, 44, 56, 64, 70, 80, 83, 86, 87, 90, 95, 97, 118, 132, 161, 185, 197 Critical race theory (CRT), 20–22

D Diasporas, 8, 18–20, 32–35, 37, 39, 49, 51, 56, 108, 110, 111, 117, 119, 121, 126, 131, 196 Diasporic identities, 24, 55, 119, 194 Diasporic media, 25, 80, 108–110, 112, 198, 199 Digital diasporas, 9, 18–20, 195 Digital platforms, 126, 133, 135, 136

E Ecuadoreans, 45, 47, 51, 55, 87, 89, 93, 95, 98, 116, 195 Elephant and Castle (EC), 50, 54, 74, 86, 105, 158, 163, 164, 171–175, 177–181, 186–189

© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 P. Román-Velázquez and J. Retis, Narratives of Migration, Relocation and Belonging, Studies of the Americas, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-53444-8

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INDEX

Ethnic media, 106, 107, 110, 112, 114, 115, 118–120, 123, 178, 197 Europe, 4, 32–45, 51, 63, 64, 67, 69, 75, 90, 106, 113, 115, 134, 162, 195, 197, 198, 200

G Gentrification, 4, 5, 55, 157–161, 163, 170, 171, 173, 178, 180, 184, 185, 187, 188, 198, 199 Global cities, 4, 12, 25, 33, 48, 107, 110, 115, 116, 120, 157, 170, 171, 187, 195

I Identity, 2, 7, 8, 10–24, 44, 51, 55, 65, 66, 73, 77, 80, 87, 99, 105, 108, 113, 115, 117, 131, 157, 158, 160–162, 170, 171, 174, 177, 178, 180, 185, 187–189, 194, 195, 198–200 Information, 11, 32, 37, 38, 42, 45, 48–50, 53, 69, 88–90, 92, 98, 106–111, 113, 114, 118–122, 124, 125, 129, 132–134, 136, 137, 139, 141, 174, 186, 193 Invisibility, 5, 23, 32, 43, 195

L Lack of trust, 74, 95, 97 Latin, 10, 44, 54, 72, 73, 106, 114, 122, 125, 128, 133, 135, 136, 138, 142, 145, 158, 160–163, 168, 170, 171, 175, 185, 186, 193, 194, 199 Latin America, 4, 24, 32, 34–38, 42, 45, 49–52, 78, 90, 109, 111–113, 115, 116, 120–122,

125, 127, 133, 135–138, 141, 143, 144, 146, 149, 200 Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) diasporas, 33, 35, 38, 42 Latin Americans, 1–5, 8, 10, 12, 20, 24, 25, 32–35, 37–40, 42–56, 63, 65, 66, 69–73, 80, 83–99, 106, 107, 109–118, 120–129, 132–136, 138, 141, 143–146, 149, 150, 157, 158, 162–164, 168, 170, 171, 173, 174, 176, 177, 180, 182, 185, 188, 189, 193–201 Latin Americans in Europe, 39, 123 Latin barrios , 171, 199 Latin Elephant, 158, 162, 164, 169, 172, 174–179, 186 Latinidad, 6, 22–24, 108, 198–200 Latin London, 24, 55, 65, 66, 70, 73–75, 158, 162, 170 Latin media, 120 Latinos, 5, 6, 20–24, 44, 47–49, 56, 106–110, 113–115, 120, 121, 123, 124, 127, 128, 130, 131, 133, 135, 136, 138, 139, 142, 143, 145, 148, 197, 199, 200 Latin Quarter, 54, 106, 125, 162, 163, 170, 171, 174, 175, 177, 188, 189 Latin urbanism, 24, 157–163, 170, 171, 173, 185–188, 199 Latin Village, 162, 170, 182, 184, 193 Latinx, 1, 5, 6, 21, 22, 51–53, 107, 112, 115, 116, 118–122, 125, 129, 131, 132, 149, 184, 193–195, 197–199, 201 London, 1–5, 7, 8, 10, 12, 25, 31–34, 43–56, 63–76, 79, 80, 83–92, 97, 105–109, 113–125, 127–133, 135, 136, 139, 140, 144, 145, 149, 157, 158,

INDEX

161–164, 168–175, 178–185, 187–189, 193–201

M Mapping, 8, 54, 106–108, 110, 123, 128, 131, 158, 174, 197 Migrant and ethnic businesses (MEBs), 54, 163, 169, 175 Migrant urbanisms, 157, 159, 170, 187, 189 Migration, 2, 4, 5, 7–11, 13, 19, 22, 24, 25, 31–48, 51, 53, 54, 56, 63–66, 68, 69, 76–79, 83, 84, 87, 110, 112, 114–116, 118, 120, 121, 159, 162, 163, 194, 196, 199, 200 Mobility, 7, 9, 18, 19, 35, 36, 55, 65–67, 74, 130, 162, 196, 200

N Narratives of migration, 8, 56, 65–67, 194, 197 Networks of solidarity, 2

P Place, 1, 2, 4, 5, 7–14, 16–18, 36, 38, 55, 56, 63–69, 72, 74, 77, 79, 89, 90, 95, 97, 98, 105, 106, 110, 157–159, 162, 163, 168, 170, 171, 175, 177, 179, 180, 185, 187–189, 194–196, 198, 199 Pueblito Paisa, 73, 168, 171, 182, 184, 185

R Reclaiming, 157 Regeneration, 157, 158, 168–171, 173, 178, 181, 186–189, 198

205

Relocation, 5, 56, 63, 175–181 Representation, 3, 14, 16–18, 21, 23, 56, 66, 108, 132, 158, 159, 161, 194–196 Resisting, 22, 55, 157, 161, 185, 199 Retailers, 157, 163, 164, 168, 170, 171, 182, 185, 188, 189 Routes, 4, 7, 8, 20, 46, 55, 56, 63, 65–73, 75, 80, 106, 194 Routines, 4, 56, 63, 65, 66, 70, 80, 86, 110, 194, 196, 197 S Self-representation, 2, 4, 56, 108, 118 Seven Sisters, 73, 86, 158, 163, 168, 171, 182, 184, 186–188 Social media, 75, 120, 124, 129, 131, 174, 178 Social networks, 8, 44, 64, 73–75, 80, 83, 85, 86, 88, 90, 91, 95, 97, 98, 131, 194, 196, 197 Solidarity, 2–4, 14, 15, 56, 64, 66, 70, 73, 79, 80, 83, 86, 88–90, 92, 94, 95, 97–99, 132, 146, 187, 194, 197 Spatial justice, 2, 4, 5, 8, 194 Super-diversity, 10, 12, 53, 195 T Traders, 163, 164, 168, 171, 172, 174–188 Translocal, 2, 49, 106, 107, 116, 117, 123, 127, 194 Transnationalism, 4, 7–13, 20, 48, 65, 111, 117, 132, 193, 195 Transnational networks, 10, 11, 54, 80, 90, 199 U Urban spaces, 25, 56, 159, 189, 194, 198

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INDEX

V Visibility, 2, 32, 42, 107, 114, 115, 118, 162, 170, 174, 188, 196, 198

W Workplace, 4, 56, 70–73, 80, 83, 84, 86–91, 93, 95–99, 194, 197