Identity and experience in Haitian voodoo shows

This paper explores relations between tourist and performer identities and definitions of the situation in tourist-oriented entertainment events in Haiti. In the staged authenticity of the tourist voodoo show, tourists and performers attempt to assert various identities and definitions of the event, using as cues performance media and cultural stereotypes that involve associations with a variety of social structures. In the interplay of these cognitive frameworks, structural arrangements, and social practices, participants' interpretations are shown to be neither freely chosen nor rigidly determined.