https://doi.org/10.25058/20112742.n52.07
Inge Helena Valencia Peña
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1028-9891
Icesi, Colombia
ihvalencia@icesi.edu.co
Abstract:
The Archipelago of San Andrés, Providencia, and Santa Catalina is characterized by its cultural diversity and the great geostrategic importance that these small islands hold for the Colombian State. However, in recent years, the multicultural recognition that Colombia grants to that region, along with other issues such as the emergence of violence associated with drug trafficking, has brought about profound transformations for the populations living in this area. This article aims to explore the processes informing contemporary ethnicities in the Archipelago. To this end, we will analyze the identity formation processes of the island-Raizal population and what the process of national integration and incorporation has meant through their interactions with (a) the Catholic Church, (b) the population of continental origin, and (c) State agencies. This purports to highlight that the contemporary ethnicities of the Archipelago’s population are marked by a conflictual relationship with the Colombian State.
Keywords: San Andrés Archipelago, ethnicity, identity, native, multiculturalism: pluriethnicity, islander.
