Colonial art as ethnic unifier

Abstract

The use of religious art and architecture for building community among immigrant communities in the United States is a well-documented phenomenon. But how is the use of religious culture adapted for a multinational, multi-ethnic and multiracial immigrant enclave that witnesses high levels of change and turnover? This paper draws from ethnographic work in the Catholic Church that serves the neighborhoods of Wynwood and Allapattah in Miami, Florida, to demonstrate how one religious community has used religious art and architecture to unite in the face of difference. As ‘landing neighborhoods’, these neighborhoods have historically received immigrants from a host of nations in Latin America before they move on to other areas of the city. Through the use of colonial art and architecture, in particular, Corpus Christi Catholic Church was able to build community in these diverse, low-income, and transient neighborhoods. By emphasising commonality of history and practice, faith leaders were able to use this colonial culture as a ‘strategy of action’ for creating unity amidst difference.

Keywords:

• Colonial art
• catholicism
• Miami
• communities
• neighborhoods

Acknowledgements

Many thanks to Robert Wuthnow, Viviana Zelizer and Paul DiMaggio for reading previous editions of this manuscript and to the members of the Religion and Public Life seminar at the Center for the Study of Religion at Princeton University for excellent feedback and suggestions.

Notes

1. The name ‘Miami’ may be misleading because of its application both to Miami-Dade County—a sprawling section of land in the south-east corner of Florida that includes urban, rural and suburban areas—and the City of Miami, which is much smaller and denser. This study focuses on the City of Miami as a global city and on Wynwood, a neighborhood approximately 3 miles north of Downtown Miami. For more on the geographic variability between the City of Miami and Miami-Dade County, see Nijman (2010), and Rey and Stepick (2013).

2. These figures are for the Miami-Dade County area and come from the 2010–2014 American Communities Survey estimates obtained from the US Census Bureau’s Quickfacts page (http://www.census.gov/quickfacts/table/LFE041214/12086).

3. Historical information drawn from the parish’s website, http://corpuschristimiami.com/quienes-somos/ (Accessed 25 May 2015), and archival material at the parish.

4. From field notes, 3 April 2015.

5. From field notes, 13 April 2015.

6. From field notes, 1 February 2015.

7. From field notes, 16 October 2015.

8. From field notes, 3 August 2015.

9. Taped interview, 12 June 2015.

10. The project, including architectural plans and description, can be found on the Duany Plater-Zyberk & Company, LLC, website: http://www.dpz.com/Projects/8905.

11. From field notes, 25 March 2016.