Consumer Culture in Latin America

ARC Postdoctoral Research Fellow, University of Queensland, Australia

How can we understand consumption in a region known for its cultural richness and vast inequalities? What do Latin Americans consume, and why? Examining topics from tango and samba to sex workers in Costa Rica, from eating tamales to selling ice in the Andes, and from building and moving houses to buying cell phones, this collection brings together original research on some of the many forms of consumption and consumers that contribute to Latin American cultures and histories. Contributors include sociologists, anthropologists, media and cultural studies scholars, geographers and historians, showcasing diverse approaches to understanding Latin American consumption practices and consumer culture.

This collection brings together 20 original papers demonstrating the rise of scholarly interest in Latin American consumer cultures across the contemporary humanities and social sciences

Understanding Consumer Culture in Latin America; J.Sinclair  & A.C.Pertierra PART I: TRANSNATIONAL DEVELOPMENTS New Social and Business Models in Latin American Music; G.Yúdice The Advertising Industry in Latin America: A Contemporary Overview; J.Sinclair PART II: GETTING AND SPENDING From 'Country of the Future' to Emergent Country: Popular Consumption in Brazil; R.G.Oliven  & R.P.Machado Chile's Forgotten Consumers: Poor Urban Families, Consumption Strategies, and the Moral Economy of Risk in Santiago; J.Stillerman Peasants and Pirámides: Consumer Fantasies in the Colombian Andes; J.Antrosio PART III: DOMESTIC PRACTICE Decorating the New House: The Material Culture of Social Mobility; T.Ariztia Stitching Identities: Clothing Production and Consumption in Mexico City; M.Francois Christmas Tamales in Costa Rica (1900-1930); P.V.Jiménez , translated by Fergus Grealy and Anna Cristina Pertierra PART IV: IMAGES AND SOUNDSCAPES Quinceañera: Coming of Age through Digital Photography in Cuba; A.C.Pertierra Images of Work for Consumption: Factory's Representations in Ideological Propaganda and Advertising; V.Casaqui , translated by Marcela Ferreira da Silva and Anna Cristina Pertierra Tango, Samba and National Identities: Similarities and Differences in the Foundational Myths of 'Mi Noche Triste' and 'Pelo Telefone'; R.Helal  & H.R.Lovisolo , translated by Marc Figuerola Delgado and Anna Cristina Pertierra PART V: SPACES AND PLACES Spaces of Consumerism and the Consumption of Space: Tourism and Social Exclusion in the 'Mayan Riviera'; D.M.Navarrete  & M.Redclift Singing for Shaved Ice: Glacial Loss and Raspadilla in the Peruvian Andes; K.W.Dunbar  & K.D.M.Marcoa Becoming Middle Class? Consumption, Respectability and Place in Sex Tourism; M.Rivers-Moore