Cooking a nation of consumers: Peru as global brand

Authors

  • Raúl Matta Aguirre Universidad de París III – Sorbonne Nouvelle

Keywords:

Peru, commodification, national identity, nation branding, Peruvian food

Abstract

Nation branding or “marca país” programs are intended to articulate a new and positive image for external consumption
and, at the same time, to revive national pride. This article adopts a critical interpretive approach and analyses the
symbolism in the TV spot of Peru's nation branding campaign. The analysis points out tensions and contradictions in the
advertisement to generate insights about symbolic commodification in a context of economic growth, after decades of economic
decline and political incertitude. The findings state that the campaign appropriates national identity for the purposes of
neoliberal globalization. This appropriation constrains national imaginaries within an ahistorical, depoliticized frame,
resulting in an image gallery in where old and new stereotypes intend to live together. In this way, nation branding also serves
to foreclose democratic ways for national redefinition.

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Author Biography

Raúl Matta Aguirre, Universidad de París III – Sorbonne Nouvelle

Licenció en Sociología de la Universidad de Paris X – Nanterre, y luego obtuvo el título de Doctor en Sociología en la Universidad de París III – Sorbonne Nouvelle (Institut des Hautes Etudes d'Amérique Latine) en el 2009. Actualmente es investigador, ha publicado artículos y capítulos en libros

Published

2012-12-01

How to Cite

Matta Aguirre, R. (2012). Cooking a nation of consumers: Peru as global brand. Consensus, 17(1), 49–60. Retrieved from https://revistas.unife.edu.pe/index.php/consensus/article/view/935

Issue

Section

Artículos