Mestizo Memories: Hybridity, Eroticism and Haunting

Analyzes the mediatic mulata, Globeleza, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, as a cultural icon. She appears on the local TV network Rede Globo clad only in painted designs & surrounded by special effects to entice viewers to the network & to the upcoming carnival. Globaleza's mysticism, exoticism, & eroticism are emphasized, highlighting the critical role of these characteristics in the selling of national identity as a consumer commodity. The position of the mulata in the culture's collective mestizo memory & slave history is explored, incorporating its history of religious hybridity; the example of the Catholic slave Saint Anastacia is discussed. 17 References. K. Hyatt Stewart