Torna atrás explained

Torna atrás (pronounced as /es/) or tornatrás is a term used in 18th century Casta paintings to portray a mestizo or mixed-race person who showed phenotypic characteristics of only one of the "original races", such as European or Amerindian ancestry.^[1] The term was also used to describe an individual whose parentage was half white and half "albino".^[1]

Spanish America

The term torna atrás (in English, similar in meaning to "throwback" or "harken back to") could also refer to the appearance of racial characteristics not visible in the parents. An example is the child of a white person and a light-skinned person of partial African ancestry (albino) born with darker skin than their African-descended parent.

The term torna atrás does not appear as a legal category in colonial documentation, but it is often shown in families portrayed in casta paintings in eighteenth-century Mexico.

Miguel Cabrera, 1763^[2]	Andrés de Islas, 1774^[3]	Luis de Mena, ca. 1750^[4]
De Español y d'India; Mestiza De español y Mestiza, Castiza De Español y Castiza, Español De Español y Negra, Mulata De Español y Mulata; Morisca De Español y Morisca; Albina^[5] De Español y Albina; Torna atrás De Español y Torna atrás; Tente en el aire De Negro y d'India, China cambuja. De Chino cambujo y d'India; Loba De Lobo y d'India, Albarazado De Albarazado y Mestiza, Barcino De Indio y Barcina; Zambuigua De Castizo y Mestiza; Chamizo De Mestizo y d'India; Coyote Indios gentiles (Heathen Indians)	De Español e India, nace Mestizo De Español y Mestiza, nace Castizo De Castizo y Española, nace Española De Español y Negra, nace Mulata De Español y Mulata, nace Morisco De Español y Morisca, nace Albino De Español y Albina, nace Torna atrás De Indio y Negra, nace Lobo De Indio y Mestiza, nace Coyote De Lobo y Negra, nace Chino De Chino e India, nace Cambujo De Cambujo e India, nace Tente en el aire De Tente en el aire y Mulata, nace Albarazado De Albarazado e India, nace Barcino De Barcino y Cambuja, nace Calpamulato Indios Mecos bárbaros (Barbarian Meco Indians)	Española + Indio, Mestizo Mestizo + Española, Castizo Castiza + Espanol, Española Español + Negra, Mulato Mulato + Española, Morisca Morisca + Español, Albino Torna-atrás Mestiza + Indio, Lobo Lobo + India, Indio

Philippines

The term tornatrás was also used in the Philippines during the Spanish colonial era from the 16th to 19th century, to describe persons of mixed Austronesian (referred to in Spanish as indio), Chinese (referred to in Spanish as Sangley), and Spanish ancestry (referred to in Spanish as español (or kastila in Filipino/Tagalog), specifically either filipinos/insulares (Spaniard born/raised in Spanish Philippines) or americanos (Criollo born/raised in Spanish America) or peninsulares (Spaniard born/raised in Iberia)), or just mixed Chinese and Spanish ancestry.^{[6] [7]}

Although tornatrás was originally used to describe a descendant of mestizos, albinos and Europeans, in the Philippines they were commonly known as those born from a Spanish father and a mestiza de Sangley (mixed native and Sangley Chinese) mother or a pure-blooded Sangley Chinese mother; they can be born to any mixed native and Spanish parent and any mixed native and Chinese parent. Most tornatrás who were mostly middle-class people in Spanish Philippines used Spanish as their primary language multilingually with Philippine languages and/or Hokkien Chinese, and in many cases converted to the Catholic faith. Examples of famous tornatrás persons in colonial history are José Rizal, Andrés Bonifacio, and Manuel Quezon.

See also

• Castas
• Filipino mestizo
  • Miscegenation Morisco
• Mulato
• Atavism
• Passing (racial identity)
• Sandra Laing

Notes

• Should not be confused with Albinism

Notes and References

1. Web site: Definición de tornatrás . Real Academia Española . 21 September 2016.
2. Katzew (2004), Casta Painting, 101-106. Paintings 1 and 3-8 private collections; 2 and 9-16 Museo de América, Madrid; 15 Elisabeth Waldo-Dentzel, Multicultural Music and Art Center (Northridge California).
3. Katzew, Ilona. Program for Inventing Race: Casta Painting and Eighteenth-Century Mexico, April 4-August 8, 2004. LACMA
4. Cline, Sarah. “Guadalupe and the Castas: The Power of a Singular Mexican Colonial Painting”. Mexican Studies/Estudios Mexicanos Vol. 31, Issue 2, Summer 2015, pages 218–247.
5. Christopher Knight, "A Most Rare Couch Find: LACMA acquires a recently unrolled masterpiece." Los Angeles Times, April 1, 2015, A1.
6. Book: Mallat . Jean . Les Philippines; histoire, géographie, moeurs, agriculture, industrie et commerce des colonies espagnoles dans l'Océanie Vol. 2 . 1846 . Arthus Bertrand . 135.
7. Book: Macdonald . Roderick . Open and Closed Economies Lessons from the Philippines and Vietnam . 2021 . Springer International Publishing . 9783030795344 . 71.