Parejas mixtas e hibridación transcultural en España. Reflexiones sobre un nuevo fenómeno desde perspectivas comparativas a nivel europeo.

Abstract

During the last few decades, most European societies have become multicultural due to the increase in labour immigration and the rise of new life-styles related to the intensification of intercultural communication and geographical mobility as a result of globalising technology. This process has contributed not only to social conflicts between culturally divided populations but also to dialogue and transcultural hybridization. The article attempts to open the path toward further, more comprehensive studies of this phenomenon, focussing the subject with the help of some reflections on its structural and objective dimension in order to prepare future qualitative analysis of the subjective dimension of social interaction. Based on statistical data, this article analyzes the significant rise in the number of mixed couples in Spain and Andalusia during the last two decades from a comparative perspective and related with the migration processes. It considers binational or bicultural couples as a new phenomenon and a social fact that induces the redefinition of cultural standards including conflicts and segregation, but also the chance for intercultural communication and hybridisation as the prerequisites for a necessary cultural reconstitution of advanced societies.

Key words: migrations; life-styles; Andalusia