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Re‐encountering Cuban Tastes in Australia 1
Author(s) -
Cardona Euridice T. Charon
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
the australian journal of anthropology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.245
H-Index - 25
eISSN - 1757-6547
pISSN - 1035-8811
DOI - 10.1111/j.1835-9310.2004.tb00364.x
Subject(s) - ethnic group , homeland , multiculturalism , context (archaeology) , identity (music) , population , sociology , gender studies , ethnology , political science , geography , anthropology , politics , aesthetics , demography , law , archaeology , pedagogy , philosophy
This paper explores the challenges presented to the everyday praxis of maintaining Cuban identity in the Australian context through an examination of the preparation and eating of Cuban food by migrants in Sydney. I argue that the very different demographic configuration of Cubans in Australia and the US is played out through the different experiences of eating. Cuban identity in the US contrasts markedly with the situation in NSW where the small population of Cubans focus on maintaining a Cuban world in their domestic space through the practice of eating Cuban food, rather than in the public domain. The struggle to find and prepare Cuban food in Australia reflects a distance and separation from homeland both spatially and temporally. The paper suggests that the eating habits of this group constitute a significant ethnic marker used by members of the group to differentiate themselves as Cubans in Australia. Additionally, I argue that the existence of a substantial multicultural and ethnic food market in Australia allows Cuban migrants to acquire the products needed for the Cuban cuisine, from shops primarily serving numerically larger ethnic groups.