Postcolonial Theory and the Traditional
Castilian Lyric: The Morenita as
Epidermal Stereotype

Beresford, Andrew M.

Abstract

his article is the revised text of the twenty-fifth Kate Elder Lecture, delivered at Queen Mary University of London, on 27 March 2014. This lecture series com-memorates the life of Kate Elder, who died while a student at Westfield College, and is generously funded by her family. Discussions of the morenita, whose white skin turns almost black as a result of exposure to the searing heat of the sun, have traditionally been dominated by factors intrinsic to her status. This paper, which examines her legacy in the light of postcolonial theory, offers a series of fresh interpretations of the corpus of morenita lyrics, focusing on the epidermalization of identity and the complex relationship between mimicry and menace. It argues that, while the traditional Castilian lyric stands to benefit from an engagement with theory, theoretical explorations of phenotypic identity also have much to learn from an appreciation of the morenita’s peculiar ontological ambivalence.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Mar 27, 2014
• Online Publication Date: Feb 6, 2016
• Publication Date: 2015-12
• Deposit Date: Jan 29, 2016
• Journal: Hispanic Research Journal
• Print ISSN: 1468-2737
• Electronic ISSN: 1745-820X
• Publisher: Taylor and Francis Group
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 16
• Issue: 6
• Pages: 471-488
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/14682737.2015.1129833
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1393681