It didn't feel like the hosts were selling *their* culture to the tourists -- the culture being sold was from a long way away and a different ethnic group. It was more that they were aware that the local culture wasn't the one the tourists were expecting, so they were presenting what the tourists expected.
I was impressed by the excellent performance (the dancing, especially, was very good indeed), but it was surreal to encounter it there. It was a little sad to hear some of the tourists talking about the dancing as 'indigenous' when it was as much of an import as the waltz would have been, though.
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Date: 9 Sep 2010 06:04 am (UTC)I was impressed by the excellent performance (the dancing, especially, was very good indeed), but it was surreal to encounter it there. It was a little sad to hear some of the tourists talking about the dancing as 'indigenous' when it was as much of an import as the waltz would have been, though.