Capitalism, God, and a Good Cigar: Cuba Enters the Twenty-First Century. By Lydia Chávez. Durham: Duke University, 2005. Pp. X, 253. Illustrations. Notes. Bibliography. Index. $21.95 paper.
One criticism is called for, that by no means outweighs the considerable value of this book. The phrase "tourist gaze" should be retired. It has lost its analytical usefulness, if it ever had any. Humans everywhere look, "gaze," and sometimes stare at others; we commonly call it "people watching." We watch one another, and visitors to the United States watch us. It is disingenuous to criticize tourists for wanting to look at or photograph the Antigua vendors when the Maya attempt to attract tourists with female tipica vendors in traditional dress. In a sense, traditional dress is used as a form of advertising, and the Maya realize that women are more successful than males wearing Euro-Americanized clothing. Otavalos in Ecuador, Taquileans in Peru, and other indigenous people, like the Maya, know that their dress signals their status not only as indigenas, but as vendors of crafts, and use this strategically to attract customers. This does not excuse rude behavior by tourists anywhere, but asks for finer distinctions among tourists' behavior in works such as this.