Transforming Identities

This exploration of Latin American youth culture in Toronto addresses a lack of research on ethnic minority youth identity formation among postwar immigrant groups in Canada. The findings suggest that Latin American youths borrow and modify cultural practices to perform complex identities in response to racism and marginalization in mainstream society. Faced with great adversity on a daily basis, the youths in this study paradoxically occupy a privileged position from which to view their cultural background and that of their mainstream peers. The study reveals that Latin American youths are involved both in the transformation of their identities and in the more generalized struggle of their communities for representation. The analysis sheds light on the timely issue of incorporation of immigrant and ethnic minority youth in post- industrial societies. The book should be of particular interest to scholars of incorporation issues for youth or anyone interested in immigration and settlement in the contemporary global context.