ABSTRACT
Latin America's own version of international culture tends toward a hyperrealism of uniquely parodic attributes. The several kinds of elements absorbed by US mainstream culture differ in their degree of permeation. Latinization is a process whereby the United States' culture and daily practices become increasingly permeated by elements of Latin American culture imported by Spanish-speaking immigrants from Central and South America, as well as the Caribbean. American singer-composer David Byrne has adopted Caribbean and Brazilian melodies, and his recycled versions are barely distinguishable from the originals, adding to the prevailing pastiche of genres and nationalities. Perhaps one of the most extreme representations of Latino nostalgia may be found in the casitas, the small houses built on vacant lots by Puerto Ricans in the Bronx and Manhattan. The contrast between Latinization and Latin American postindustrial pop shows the versatility of a practice like appropriation.
