Two nights ago Benque celebrated St. George's Caye, a sort of saint's feast rolled into a national holiday. At the end of the night there was a sort of street dance at which they played quite a bit of American music. I was off playing basketball, but the raucous sound of Lady Gaga telling us about her bad romance were unmistakable. I had two distinct reactions: First, the sound of a familiar American artist was a great comfort, although I am not a fan of her music by any means. Nonetheless, something so distinctly American made me feel not so much at home, but that home was not so far away.
Second, I realized the the battle for souls in Belize is not drawn at the poverty line, so to speak. Belize has just enough affluence to allow a pipeline of Americana to reach its people, especially the youth. To be blunt, I don't see this as a good thing. The products of pop culture seem to be accepted with near total openness. The fact that something is from America makes it popular. At least this is how it appears to me thus far. More later
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