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Isle of Rum
Havana Club, Cultural Mediation, and the Fight for Cuban Authenticity
Language:
English
Published/Copyright:
2024
About this book
Focusing on Havana Club rum as a case study, Isle of Rum examines the ways in which Western cultural producers, working in collaboration with the Cuban state, have assumed responsibility for representing Cuba to the outside world. Christopher Chávez focuses specifically on the role of advertising practitioners, musicians, filmmakers, and visual artists, who stand to benefit economically by selling an image of Cuba to consumers who desperately crave authentic experiences that exist outside of the purview of the marketplace.
Rather than laying claim to authentic Cuban culture, Chávez explores which aspects of Cuban culture are deemed most compelling and, therefore, most profitable by corporate marketers. As a joint venture between the Cuban state and Pernod Ricard, a global spirits marketer based in Paris, Havana Club embodies the larger process of economic reform, which was meant to reintegrate Cuba into global markets during Cuba’s Special Period in a Time of Peace.
Rather than laying claim to authentic Cuban culture, Chávez explores which aspects of Cuban culture are deemed most compelling and, therefore, most profitable by corporate marketers. As a joint venture between the Cuban state and Pernod Ricard, a global spirits marketer based in Paris, Havana Club embodies the larger process of economic reform, which was meant to reintegrate Cuba into global markets during Cuba’s Special Period in a Time of Peace.
Author / Editor information
CHRISTOPHER CHÁVEZ is the Caroline S. Chambers Distinguished Professor of Advertising and the director of the Center for Latina/o and Latin American Studies (CLLAS) in the School of Journalism and Communication at the University of Oregon in Eugene. He is the author of The Sound of Exclusion: NPR and the Latinx Public and Reinventing the Latino Television Viewer: Language Ideology and Practice.
Reviews
"Through decades of advertising and internal corporate documents, Chávez examines the case study of Havana Club rum. Unlike the ubiquitous Bacardi rum, Havana Club remains a state-run product, produced in communist Cuba. Chávez effectively argues that the ever-changing marketing campaigns reflect the evolving political, economic, and social conditions in Cuba, from campaigns that promote Cuban rum as a kind of cultural diplomacy to one that becomes about the marketing of the commodity itself to Western, capitalist social influencers."— Jennifer P. Mathews, coauthor of Sugarcane and Rum: The Bittersweet History of Labor and Life on the Yucatán Peninsula
"An important book, rich in reflections and information."
— Got Rum? Magazine"Isle of Rum is an intoxicating journey through the heart and soul of Cuba’s most iconic spirit. Meticulously researched, Chávez’s exploration of the intersections of commercial pressures, the socialist state, and advertising culture provides a thought-provoking narrative of how authenticity is continuously reimagined in the global marketplace. Whether you are a rum aficionado, a communication studies student, or just curious about the sociopolitical complexities of Cuba, this is a must-read. Simply fantastic."
— Marie Sarita Gaytán, author of ¡Tequila! Distilling the Spirit of Mexico
— Marie Sarita Gaytán, author of ¡Tequila! Distilling the Spirit of Mexico
"Chávez's analysis exposes the deeper complex historical and political threads of Cuban rum that the global market prefers to frame only as surface-level or distorted culture that they insist is authentic. . . . Chávez convincingly exposes how external voices commodify Cuban culture."
— International Journal of CommunicationTopics
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Frontmatter
i -
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Contents
vii -
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Introduction
1 -
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Chapter 1 Advertising and Authenticity
24 -
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Chapter 2 Selling Cuban Culture
47 -
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Chapter 3 Long-Distance Nationalism and the Logic of Capitalism
69 -
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Chapter 4 Museums and Memory
92 -
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Chapter 5 Rum, Race, and Representation
113 -
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Chapter 6 The Losing Game of Authenticity
135 -
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Acknowledgments
157 -
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Notes
159 -
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References
161 -
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Index
173 -
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About the Author
179
Publishing information
Pages and Images/Illustrations in book
eBook published on:
September 5, 2024
eBook ISBN:
9781978838864
Pages and Images/Illustrations in book
eBook ISBN:
9781978838864
Keywords for this book
cuba; Caribbean; communism; rum; latin america; Havana Club rum; politics; diaspora; culture; art; filmmakers; musicians; Cuba’s Special Period; cold war; soviet union; United states; CIA; fall of the USSR; cuban embargo
Audience(s) for this book
For universities and colleges of further and higher education
