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Monday, June 9, 2008
Haitian kids love American cartoon characters
Haitian culture is a fascinating mix of African, Caribbean and French influences, which swirl together in the streets of Port-au-Prince in ways that can dazzle and confuse foreign visitors, especially Americans.
Billboards sport indecipherable phrases in Creole, the meanings sometimes becoming at least partly clear from accompanying photographs of bottled water or beer or happy young Haitians using the latest cell phones.
But American culture still intrudes and is nowhere more noticeable than on the signs and billboards advertising kindergartens and preschools, which at times seem to be located on nearly every corner.
No Haitian kindergarten’s sign seems complete without an American cartoon character. Winnie the Pooh, Goofy, Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck beckon children to come play and learn, their jaunty images plastered in bright colors on cement block walls in even the most depressing neighborhoods.
While American corporations sometimes make headlines when they track down small businesses that use the characters without licenses, trademark disputes seem unknown in Haiti.
The characters are so ubiquitous it would take an army of lawyers to even make a dent.
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Sex and (Mexico) City
Mexico City fashionistas sip cosmos (or more likely mojitos) at exclusive bars and shop for shoes by cutting edge designers. Of course this world is just one small slice of the hemisphere’s biggest city, which has fallen head over heels for the new “Sex and the City” movie. According to a poll in the Mexico City Reforma newspaper, 92 percent of Mexico City’s denizens liked the move and nearly 70 percent say it was as good as the original series.
So who do Chilangos (as Mexico City residents are called) most identify with?
It’s probably no surprise that 40 percent go with Carrie, but in second place is the prim and proper Charlotte, with 20 percent. Wild child Samantha (who would probably fit best into the city’s raucous nightlife scene) is third with 15 percent, while staid Miranda apparently doesn’t connect with Mexico City audiences (just 5 percent).
