Rising confidence: Diversity in Latin America

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“After 214 years we have a government of the people... a government of the callused hands... a government of the nobodies of Colombia.” So said Francia Márquez, who, a little over six months ago, became Colombia’s first black vice-president.

Márquez comes from Yolombó, a small village in the remote western state of Cauca. She trained as an agricultural technician, got a law degree, and became an environmental activist who organised a 350km march of 80 Afro-Colombian women to the capital, Bogotá, to protest against illegal mining.

Márquez could serve as a poster child for the rise of the marginalised across much of Latin America, which has been dominated by a male, white urban elite since the ‘conquest’ of the continent by European colonists. These groups – be they indigenous people, women, or inhabitants of far-flung regions such as the vice-president’s home state – are increasingly finding their voice.

A shift to the left in many countries and the election of a number of indíginas – such as Márquez and the former president of Bolivia Evo Morales – has led to more political representation and overt attempts to further inclusion, even if the results are yet to lead to measurable improvements in the lives of the underprivileged.

Newly confident communities and demographics are asserting themselves through soft power, and are becoming more and more influential in setting trends and reshaping how Latin Americans see themselves. The immense creative energy of diverse, previously suppressed voices is giving rise to new businesses, along with a vibrant cultural scene.

Artesanos Don Bosco, based in the cool Barranco neighbourhood of Peru’s capital, Lima, sells highly contemporary furniture that incorporates Inca and Mesoamerican designs from Peruvian craftworkers using Amazon-sourced materials. The business is run as a charitable operation, with all profits going into educational and training programmes in the highlands.

Fashion designer Amelia Toro splits her time between her stores in Bogotá and New York. Her signature is the red embroidery she uses for white garments, which is influenced by indigenous Colombian needlework.

Mexican film has been particularly successful in making indigenous people more visible – from Oscar winner Yalitza Aparicio, who played the lead in Roma, a film told from the perspective of an indígena housemaid, to Tenoch Huerta, who plays the hero of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and is an activist behind the Poder Prieto movement, which fights racism in the entertainment sector.

In fact, many Latin Americans are beginning to tap into latent indigenous wisdom for the benefit of consumers – and even the planet. On a macro level, Argentina’s Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries has created a National Directorate of Agroecology to promote traditional farming methods, such as organic pest control, the conservation of natural predators, and the development of biological corridors to create self-sustaining ecosystems.

In addition, spiritual tourism, including ayahuasca retreats, is on a steep growth curve, while there has been a re-evaluation of shamanism in Peru, Colombia and Mexico. In the Colombian Amazon, local indigenous groups, supported by the World Wide Fund for Nature, are developing so-called impact ventures, which protect the natural environment and offer life benefits to communities. One such venture is the firm Bioingredientes Amazonicos in the border state of Putumayo, which has developed a sustainable use for two Amazonian fruits with nutraceutical properties – sacha inchi and cacay – in cosmetic skin products.

At the same time, making use of the huge diversity of local experiences and traditional practices can amount to a real challenge to the hegemony of white and US culture. As a result, young people are forging identities that are rooted in their own countries rather than aspiring to emigrate, or even travel.

This does not mean that Western culture does not still play a role. Latin Americans are mixing US cultural references into native folklore, giving birth to local fusions – both proudly asserting their own culture and challenging conservative expectations of women in their communities.

In the Bolivian city of Cochabamba, a group of young skateboarding women have formed ImillaSkate. They sport the usual white Vans trainers but pair them with polleras – voluminous, colourful skirts, traditionally worn by the Aymara and Quechua indigenous women. Wearing this attire, while also styling their hair in the traditional way, the skaters make strong statements of pride in their origins and promote further acceptance of their often-discriminated-against ethnic culture.

This confluence of ethnic inclusivity on the one hand, and female (and gender) emancipation on the other, is particularly striking on a continent strongly influenced by conservative values and subject to polarisations between progressive ideas and regression. In some countries, such as Colombia, the economic contribution of women is encouraged through active state aid for female entrepreneurship.

Argentina has seen years of reproductive rights activism known as the Marea Verde (Green Tide), which saw women take to the streets in protest wearing green scarves, culminating in the Argentine senate voting to decriminalise abortion in 2020. That movement has spread to other Latin American countries, with the Mexican Supreme Court ruling in 2021 that the penalisation of abortion is unconstitutional.

However, there has been a backlash. Argentinian-born and London-based Fernando Desouches, managing director of brand and cultural transformation agency New Macho at BBD Perfect Storm, says: “Despite a lot of progress in the years before the pandemic, more recent figures show that men’s, especially young men’s, attitudes towards equality are regressing.” Given a backdrop of drug-related violence and widespread corruption in some of the countries, political progress still feels febrile.

Where does this hugely diverse and dynamic continent that seems so much in flux leave brands trying to market to its 650 million inhabitants, including 160 million young people?

Some are actively harnessing the vibrancy and wealth of diverse ideas that is being unleashed by disadvantaged groups. Local players such as Mexican clothing chain ¡Ay Güey! and Guatemalan liqueur brand Quetzalteca, big players such as Brazilian footwear brand Havaianas, and global companies such as Absolut Vodka are using a colourful, maximalist aesthetic inspired by local cultures and the legacy of ancient American civilisations. Others are involved in brand activism, with PepsiCo supporting moves against gender violence, and others – such as Unilever, the owner of Dove – ensuring more diverse representation in advertising. Nike has launched a campaign Juntas Imparables (Together Unstoppable) promoting female empowerment.

However, other international brands are treading very carefully, uncertain how to use local codes without making mistakes, and nervous of falling foul of what may still be a conservative majority, irrespective of gender.
The potential gains for companies are huge, not only for campaigns that tap into the exciting wealth of Latin American culture, but also for developing businesses and new products that may help to make better use of our planet’s resources.

Sabine Stork is founding partner at Thinktank, Jimena Martinez is founder at LemonLab and Graciela Sylva is cultural strategist at HighSpeed Solutions.

This article was first published in the July 2023 issue of Impact.