Haciendo caras on the borderlands: The masks of Monteverde-Santa Elena's ecotourism industry
Abstract
Gloria Anzaldúa describes various phenomena present on the physical border between the United States and Mexico. I will argue that this type of border situation is also present in Costa Rica, between this Central American country and the United States. The space between these two countries creates a locale, or a state of nepantla, where these opposing forces clash as a result of Costa Rica's ecotourism industry. I will examine the use of Anzaldúa's metaphor of haciendo caras, or wearing masks, in the brochures from Costa Rica's ecotourism community, Monteverde-Santa Elena, and the U.S. American travel literature to this area. These masks are revealed as creating consubstantiality between the Costa Ricans and the U.S. Americans, and by framing the cloud forests and its wildlife as a sublime nature.
Subject Area
Mass media|Recreation
Recommended Citation
Monsivais, Jeannette Aileen, "Haciendo caras on the borderlands: The masks of Monteverde-Santa Elena's ecotourism industry" (2007). ETD Collection for University of Texas, El Paso. AAI1444082.
https://scholarworks.utep.edu/dissertations/AAI1444082