‘An Unrivalled Paradise’: The Production of Difference in the Cuban Ministry of Tourism&apos;s <i>Auténtica Cuba</i>

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International Journal of Cuban Studies

Volume 11, Issue 2

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‘An Unrivalled Paradise’: The Production of Difference in the Cuban Ministry of Tourism's Auténtica Cuba

research-article

Author(s): Gabriela Bacsán ¹

Publication date (Print): 1 December 2019

Journal: International Journal of Cuban Studies

Publisher: Pluto Journals

Keywords: Cuban difference, afro-Cubans, tourism, paradise, revolution

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Abstract

Utilising an interdisciplinary methodology that draws from cultural studies and critical tourism studies, this article examines the production of difference at the intersection of hedonism and revolution in the Cuban Ministry of Tourism's international campaign, Auténtica Cuba. I analyse how the campaign's feature film, Auténtica Cuba, carefully crafts a narrative of authenticity in its construction of the island as ‘an unrivalled paradise’. I pay close attention to how the production, commodification and marketing of Cuban difference for tourist consumption is contested and perpetuated, especially as difference is embodied by Afro-Cubans in the film. I conclude by considering whether the campaign provides what Stuart Hall terms, effective translation, in its aims to challenge the gendered, racialised and sexualised constructions of Cuba and Cubans as objects for tourist consumption. As tourism shapes and is shaped by neocolonial discourses of difference, this work is timely as – in light of the speculation about future transformations on the island – it considers the implications of the state's renewed framing of the expansion of tourism development as central to the work of the revolution.

Content

Author and article information

Contributors

Gabriela Bacsán

Journal

Journal ID (doi): 10.2307/j50005551

Journal ID (jcode): intejcubastud

Title: International Journal of Cuban Studies

Publisher: Pluto Journals

ISSN: 1756-3461

ISSN: 1756-347X

Publication date (Print): 1 December 2019

Volume: 11

Issue: 2 ( doiID: 10.13169/intejcubastud.11.issue-2 )

Pages: 310-331

Affiliations

Scripps College, California, USA

Author notes

[1]

Gabriela Bacsán, PhD, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Spanish, Latin American, and Caribbean Literatures and Cultures at Scripps College. Her research centres on contemporary Latin American and Caribbean literatures and cultures with a focus on the intersections of sexuality, gender, and race.

Article

Publisher ID: intejcubastud.11.2.0310

DOI: 10.13169/intejcubastud.11.2.0310

SO-VID: 6c67a2b9-1723-4066-9b09-12ade276b2bd

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All content is freely available without charge to users or their institutions. Users are allowed to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of the articles in this journal without asking prior permission of the publisher or the author. Articles published in the journal are distributed under a http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

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lang eng

ScienceOpen disciplines: Literary studies,Arts,Social & Behavioral Sciences,History,Cultural studies,Economics

Keywords: tourism,Cuban difference,afro-Cubans,paradise,revolution

References

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Allen, Jafari S. (2011) ¡Venceremos? The Erotics of Black Self-making in Cuba. Durham, NC: Duke University Press.
Babb, Florence E. (2010) ‘Sex and Sentiment in Cuban Tourism’, Caribbean Studies 38(2): 93–115.
Babb, Florence E. (2011) ‘Che, Chevys, and Hemingway's Daiquiris: Cuban Tourism in a Time of Globalisation’, Bulletin of Latin American Research 30(1): 50–63.
Blanco Borelli, Melissa (2016) She Is Cuba: A Genealogy of the Mulata Body. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Cabezas, Amalia L. (2008) ‘Tropical Blues: Tourism and Social Exclusion in the Dominican Republic’, Latin American Perspectives 35(3): 21–36.
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Carter, Thomas F. (2008) The Quality of Home Runs: The Passion, Politics, and Language of Cuban Baseball. Durham, NC: Duke University Press.
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Odgen, Rebecca (2018) ‘Living the Brand: Authenticity and Affective Capital in Contemporary Cuban Tourism’, in Dunja Fehimović and Rebecca Odgen (eds), Branding Latin America: Strategies, Aims, Resistance. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, pp. 79–94.
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Pritchard, Annette and Nigel Morgan (2007) ‘Encountering scopophilia, sensuality and desire: Engendering Tahiti’, in Annette Pritchard, Nigel Morgan, Irena Ateljevic and Candice Harris (eds), Tourism and Gender: Embodiment, Sensuality and Experience. Wallingford: CABI, pp. 158–81.
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Comments

Comment on this article

[1] Aitchison, Cara (2001) ‘Theorizing Other Discourses of Tourism, Gender and Culture: Can the Subaltern Speak (in Tourism)?‘ Tourist Studies 1 (2): 133–47.

[2] Alexander, M. Jacqui (2005) ‘Imperial Desire/Sexual Utopias: White Gay Capital and Transnational Tourism’, in M. Jacqui Alexander, Pedagogies of Crossing: Meditations on Feminism, Sexual Politics, Memory, and the Sacred. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, pp. 281–305.

[3] Allen, Jafari S. (2011) ¡Venceremos? The Erotics of Black Self-making in Cuba. Durham, NC: Duke University Press.

[4] Babb, Florence E. (2010) ‘Sex and Sentiment in Cuban Tourism’, Caribbean Studies 38(2): 93–115.

[5] Babb, Florence E. (2011) ‘Che, Chevys, and Hemingway's Daiquiris: Cuban Tourism in a Time of Globalisation’, Bulletin of Latin American Research 30(1): 50–63.

[6] Blanco Borelli, Melissa (2016) She Is Cuba: A Genealogy of the Mulata Body. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

[7] Cabezas, Amalia L. (2008) ‘Tropical Blues: Tourism and Social Exclusion in the Dominican Republic’, Latin American Perspectives 35(3): 21–36.

[8] Cabezas, Amalia L. (2009) Economies of Desire: Sex and Tourism in Cuba and the Dominican Republic. Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press.

[9] Carter, Thomas F. (2008) The Quality of Home Runs: The Passion, Politics, and Language of Cuban Baseball. Durham, NC: Duke University Press.

[10] Casavantes Bradford, Anita (2014) The Revolution Is for the Children: The Politics of Childhood in Havana and Miami, 1959-1962. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press.

[11] Castro, Fidel (1994) ‘Discurso pronunciado por el Comandante en Jefe Fidel Castro Ruz, Primer Secretario del Comite Central del Partido Comunista de Cuba y Presidente de los Consejos de Estado y de Ministros, en la clausura del Encuentro mundial de solidaridad con Cuba, efectuado en el teatro “Carlos Marx”, el 25 de noviembre de 1994‘, Discursos e intervenciones del Comandante en Jefe Fidel Castro Ruz, Presidente del Consejo de Estado de la República de Cuba. Gobierno de Cuba. Available at www.cuba.cu/gobierno/discursos/1994/esp/f251194e.html

[12] Collins, Patricia Hill (1991) Black Feminist Thought: Knowledge, Consciousness, and the Politics of Empowerment. Perspectives on Gender, vol. 2. New York: Routledge.

[13] Culler, Jonathan D. (1988) ‘The Semiotics of Tourism’, in Jonathan D. Culler, Framing the Sign: Criticism and Its Institutions. Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press, pp. 153–67.

[14] Daigle, Megan (2015) From Cuba with Love: Sex and Money in the Twenty-First Century. Oakland, CA: University of California Press.

[15] Fehimović, Dunja and Rebecca Odgen (2018) ‘Introduction: Context and Contestation’, in Dunja Fehimović and Rebecca Odgen (eds), Branding Latin America: Strategies, Aims, Resistance. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, pp. 1–33.

[16] Fernandez, Nadine (1999) ‘Back to the Future? Women, Race, and Tourism in Cuba’, in Kamala Kempadoo (ed.), Sun, Sex, and Gold: Tourism and Sex Work in the Caribbean. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, pp. 81–89.

[17] Fernández, Raúl (2016) ‘La estética del sabor’, in Ontología del son y otros ensayos. San Bernardino, n.p., pp. 102–22.

[18] Ferraris, Paola (2017) “Cuba, la vives la amas': entrevista con David Lobaina Frómeta, Consejero del Ministerio de Turismo de Cuba en Europa del Este', Buenos días Eslovaquía, 21 February. Available at www.buenosdiaseslovaquia.sk/cuba-la-vives-la-amas-entrevista-con-david-lobaina-frometa-consejero-del-ministerio-de-turismo-de-cuba-en-europa-del-este

[19] Hall, Stuart (2013a) ‘Introduction’, in Stuart Hall, Jessica Evans, and Sean Nixon (eds), Representation, 2nd edition. London: SAGE, pp. xvii–xxvi.

[20] Hall, Stuart (2013b) ‘The Spectacle of the “Other”‘, in Stuart Hall, Jessica Evans, and Sean Nixon (eds), Representation, 2nd edition. London: SAGE, pp. 215–71.

[21] Kauremszky, Ilona (2010) ‘AUTENTICA CUBA: Putting yourself in the picture’, Travel Industry Today, 5 July. Available at http://travelindustrytoday.com/2010-07-05-autentica-cuba-puttting-yourself-in-the-picture::10733

[22] Levi, Vicki Gold and Steven Heller (2002) Cuba Style: Graphics from the Golden Age of Design. New York City: Princeton Architectural Press.

[23] Lossio Chávez, Félix (2018) ‘The Counter-Narratives of Nation Branding: The Case of Peru’, in Dunja Fehimović and Rebecca Odgen (eds), Branding Latin America: Strategies, Aims, Resistance. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, pp. 59–77.

[24] MacCannell, Dean (2013) The Tourist: A New Theory of the Leisure Class. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.

[25] Ministerio de Turismo de Cuba (2010) Auténtica Cuba, YouTube Video, 6:21, June 23. Available at www.youtube.com/watch?v=99IBtics0wQ

[26] Morgan, Nigel (2004) ‘Problematizing Place Promotion’, in Alan A. Lew, C. Michael Hall, and Allan M. Williams (eds), A Companion to Tourism. Malden, MA: Blackwell, pp. 173–83.

[27] Morgan, Nigel and Annette Pritchard (2018) ‘Gender, Advertising and Ethics: Marketing Cuba’, Tourism Planning & Development 15(3): 329–46.

[28] Nash, Dennison (1989) ‘Tourism as a Form of Imperialism’, in Valene L Smith (ed.), Hosts and Guests: The Anthropology of Tourism. Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press, pp. 37–52.

[29] O'Connell Davidson, Julia and Jacqueline Sanchez Taylor (1999) ‘Fantasy Islands: Exploring the Demand for Sex Tourism’, in Kamala Kempadoo (ed.), Sun, Sex, and Gold: Tourism and Sex Work in the Caribbean. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, pp. 37–54.

[30] Odgen, Rebecca (2018) ‘Living the Brand: Authenticity and Affective Capital in Contemporary Cuban Tourism’, in Dunja Fehimović and Rebecca Odgen (eds), Branding Latin America: Strategies, Aims, Resistance. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, pp. 79–94.

[31] Patil, Vrushali (2011) ‘Reproducing-Resisting Race and Gender Difference: Examining India's Online Tourism Campaign from a Transnational Feminist Perspective’, Signs 37(1): 185–210.

[32] Pérez, Louis A. (2008) On Becoming Cuban: Identity, Nationality and Culture. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press.

[33] Pérez, Louis A. (2011) Cuba: Between Reform and Revolution. 4th edition. New York: Oxford University Press.

[34] Perrottet, Tony (2018) ‘The Man Who Saved Havana’ Smithsonian Magazine, May. Available at www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/man-who-saved-havana-180968735

[35] Pritchard, Annette and Nigel Morgan (2007) ‘Encountering scopophilia, sensuality and desire: Engendering Tahiti’, in Annette Pritchard, Nigel Morgan, Irena Ateljevic and Candice Harris (eds), Tourism and Gender: Embodiment, Sensuality and Experience. Wallingford: CABI, pp. 158–81.

[36] Puar, Jasbir (2002) ‘A Transnational Feminist Critique of Queer Tourism’, Antipode 34(5): 935–46.

[37] Raffaele, Lisa (2010) ‘Cuba … Truly Authentic!‘, PAX News, 7 February. Available at www.paxnews.com/news/archives/article/30510

[38] Rigdon, John (2016) English / Cuban Spanish Phrasebook. Cartersville, GA: Eastern Digital Resources.

[39] Riquenes Cutiño, Odalis (2010) ‘Ciudad Escolar 26 de Julio arriba a su 50 cumpleaños’ Juventud Rebelde, 27 January. Available at www.juventudrebelde.cu/cuba/2010-01-27/ciudad-escolar-26-de-julio-arriba-a-su-50-cumpleanos

[40] Roland, L. Kaifa (2013) ‘T/Racing Belonging through Cuban Tourism’, Cultural Anthropology 28(3): 396–419.

[41] Rubio A., Leysi (2018) ‘Aunque el mundo se empeñe en opacar la realidad, esto es auténtica Cuba’, Cuba Debate, 5 May. Available at www.cubadebate.cu/noticias/2018/05/05/aunque-el-mundo-se-empene-en-opacar-la-realidad-esto-es-autentica-cuba/#.WzKYBVMvwWo

[42] Schoonover, Karl and Rosalind Galt (2016) Queer Cinema in the World. Durham, NC: Duke University Press.

[43] Schwartz, Rosalie (1999) Pleasure Island: Tourism and Temptation in Cuba. Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press.

[44] Sontag, Susan (1999) ‘Posters: Advertisement, Art, Political Artifact, Commodity’, in Michael Bierut, Jessica Helfand, Steven Heller and Rick Poynor (eds), Looking Closer 3: Classic Writings on Graphic Design. New York: Allworth Press, pp. 196–218.

[45] Stout, Noelle M. (2014) After Love: Queer Intimacy and Erotic Economies in Post-Soviet Cuba. Durham, NC: Duke University Press.

[46] Thompson, Kenneth (1997) ‘Regulation, De-Regulation and Re-regulation’, in Kenneth Thompson (ed.), Media and Cultural Regulation. London: SAGE, pp. 9–52.

[47] Urry, John and Jonas Larsen (2012) The Tourist Gaze 3.0. Los Angeles, CA: SAGE.

[48] Williams, Erica Lorraine (2013) Sex Tourism in Bahia: Ambiguous Entanglements. Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press.