In the fourth chapter of their book „The Latino/a Canon and the Emergence of Post-Sixties Literature” Raphael Dalleo and Elena Machado Sáez argue that Christina Garcia’s novel “Dreaming in Cuban” offers many aspects that link the Latino/a culture to consumerism and the U.S. mass consumer culture. The authors critically examine the food imagery which has recently been used to describe the relationship between the U.S. culture and the Latino/a culture. They ____ the arguments made by Ilan Stavans and Gustavo Pérez Firmat who support this food metaphor and new approaches by Néstor García Canclini and Arene Dávila. Lastly, Dalleo and Sáez focus on Garcia’s “Dreaming on Cuban” and identify yet another approach towards Latino/a identity in the U.S. …show more content…
The consequence of this metaphor is therefore that “Latino/as will cease to exist” because their culture has been absorbed into the mainstream (110). García and Dávila offer different approaches. They state that the relationship between consumer and producer is not about dominance but rather includes “collaboration and transaction” (113). According to Dávila, this can be seen in big cities which are made up of many different cultures. According to Dalleo and Sáez, “Dreaming in Cuban” portrays Pilar’s successful search for her cultural roots and the connection of her Cuban and American background through consumption in the U.S. “Dreaming in Cuba” depicts Cuba very negatively because every character which stays in Cuba dies (128). This is linked to Cuba’s isolation from the global world market which is essential for development and, ultimately, survival. Cuba is therefore stuck in the past and Garcia does not imagine a progress after the