Us and them: the challenges of Haitian immigration in Chile

Abstract

This article analyses Haitian immigration to Chile as a new factor that problematises discourses about the local population’s identity and how they perceive their own idiosyncratic characteristics with regard to aspects such as cultural differences, racism, social and cultural segregation, sexual myths, solidarity, phenotypical differences and aesthetic patterns. These perceptions appear to fluctuate between positive and negative evaluations which necessitate a re-examination of traditional categories of local identity.