African American Research Center, Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Journal Title Details:
p. 570
Notes:
"This dissertation explores the discursive and material practices that Afro-Antilleans in the Archipelago of Bocas del Toro (Panama) employ to craft and assert their identity for tourist consumption. In participating in the transnational circuits of tourism, Panamanian Afro-Antilleans stage a complex and subtle cultural politics vis-à-vis the state and Panama's multicultural society. The transnational process that is tourism produces rather than reduces difference. This production must be understood historically and with respect to national racial policies." (author)
Discusses the multiple meanings of music for Panamanian Afro-Antillean identity in the Caribbean, by placing musical genres such as calypso, soka, and reggae, in the context of tourism development
"A comparative perspective of the tourism industry in the islands of Colón, Panama and Carriacou, Grenada is presented in this article. The islands have long histories of association with colonial powers, coupled with more recent histories of 'discovery' as tourist destinations. The historical constructions of 'paradise islands' and the appropriation of tourism for nation-building purposes in these territories are analysed. The discussion assesses the underlying reasons for the differing responses by African Caribbean populations toward tourism development, in spite of similar colonial and postcolonial histories." --The Author