Embedded Files
What makes Perugia a specific "place" and how is it connected to various other "places"? This week I was tasked with uncovering the specificity of Perugia as a "place" and how this correlates or contrasts with others versions of it. However, during this time the Umbria Jazz Festival was occurring. It is a defining feature of Perugia from July 13-22. The festival transforms the city from a sleepy small town to a bustling hub for tourism. This proved to be advantageous for me due to the exaggeration of features deemed marketable pertaining regional values and the changes in place to cater to foreigners. All of this was manifested in the foods being advertised and sold.
"What might have been mildly catering to Western tourists is now fully explicit. New signs have emerged advertising: 'Happy Hour' (not a thing in Italy) and 'Appetizers', or the "Umbria Jazz 2018 Special Menu" that is entirely in English and list items such as: 'Beer Pork Ribs served with butter potatoes' and 'Fish & chips with red beer and potatoes salad'."
"Here one finds constellations of meanings embedded in food that elicit re-creations of the past in the 'traditional' foods on display, presenting to the foreign through Anglicized menus, and uncertainties about the future symbolized through food...The oscillation between continuing traditions and catering to tourists contributes to the creation of a place that is both performed, lived, and globalized"
"Within the interior, there is a large sign behind the ordering station that depicts enlarged images of a hamburger alongside a bag of Rossana Perugian candies...with the words terra, cultura, sapori, suoni (earth, culture, flavors, sounds) above them.
"The juxtaposition of advertised American food and 'traditional' foods passively on display highlights the internal consciousness of globalization"
"The interactions between capitalism, corporations, and local producers reveals a dynamic relationship of enacting Perugian values while catering to perceived foreign demands."
Field Report 3.docxReport abuse