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E-book
Author Smith, Kimbra, 1970- author

Title Practically invisible : coastal Ecuador, tourism, and the politics of authenticity / Kimbra L. Smith
Published Nashville, Tennessee : Vanderbilt University Press, 2015

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Description 1 online resource (ix, 254 pages)
Contents Discourse: Fixity -- Practice: Fluidity -- Dispositions: Fear -- Interpracticality: Displacing Fear
Summary "The community of Agua Blanca, deep within the Machalilla National Park on the coast of Ecuador, found itself facing the twenty-first century with a choice: embrace a booming tourist industry eager to experience a preconceived notion of Indigeneity, or risk losing a battle against the encroaching forces of capitalism and development. The facts spoke for themselves, however, as tourism dollars became the most significant source of income in the community. Thus came a nearly inevitable shock, as the daily rhythms of life--rising before dawn to prepare for a long day of maintaining livestock and crops; returning for a late lunch and siesta; joining in a game of soccer followed by dinner in the evening--transformed forever in favor of a new tourist industry and the compromises required to support it. As Practically Invisible demonstrates, for Agua Blancans, becoming a supposedly "authentic" version of their own Indigenous selves required performing their culture for outsiders, thus becoming these performances within the minds of these visitors. At the heart of this story, then, is a delicate balancing act between tradition and survival, a performance experienced by countless Indigenous groups"--Provided by publisher
"A theoretically rich ethnography of an unrecognized coastal Ecuadorian Indigenous group. Grounded in local knowledge and practice, the book shows how Agua Blancans bypass the national discourses that erase them from the landscape to access broader globalizing processes, with international implications as well as national and local ones"--Provided by publisher
Bibliography Includes bibliographical references and index
Notes Print version record
In Books at JSTOR: Open Access JSTOR
OAPEN (Open Access Publishing in European Networks) OAPEN
Subject Manta Indians -- Ecuador -- Agua Blanca
Manta Indians -- Ethnic identity
Culture and tourism -- Ecuador -- Agua Blanca
SOCIAL SCIENCE -- Anthropology -- Cultural.
SOCIAL SCIENCE -- Customs & Traditions.
SOCIAL SCIENCE -- Human Geography.
HISTORY -- Latin America -- South America.
SOCIAL SCIENCE / Customs & Traditions
Culture and tourism
Manners and customs
Manta Indians
SUBJECT Agua Blanca (Ecuador) -- Social life and customs
Form Electronic book
ISBN 9780826520586
0826520588
9780826503701
0826503705