World

Fiestas in Mexico have a unique exuberance, and nonemore so than Los Muertas – a jubilant celebration of thedead, who are honoured in music, pageant, dance andfood. (Mexico, 20.8.99)During the course of his South American travels,Ainsley met and chatted to a range of local people fromvarious walks of life connected with the food industry –a fishmonger, a restaurateur, chefs, street vendors. Theseconnections all helped to put the recipes in context. InBrazil, he also commented on the diet of local people:You know it’s not surprising – being so close to the river –that fish is a stable part of the forest people’s diet here, andI’m going to show you the perfect dish to accompany someof the marvellous ingredients that you can get fromaround here. (Brazil, 27.8.99)Beyond the references to food were numerousreferences to local culture and history. This wasparticularly true of the programme filmed in Brazil. Inthe country’s former capital of Salvador, the presentercelebrated the vibrant and cosmopolitan nature of theculture:For over 200 years Salvador was the capital of Brazil,and next to Lisbon it was the most important city in thePortuguese empire. It was also Brazil’s chief slave port.And today fifty percent of the population is black. In fact,the African culture is everywhere. (Brazil, 27.8.99)Walking through the streets in Salvador, he cameacross a group of local people performing a crossbetween a martial arts display and a dance. He explainedthat this form of dancing was devised by slaves in the city:As you can see it’s basically foot fighting cunninglydisguised as a dance. (Brazil, 27.8.99)He also touched on the territory of holidayprogrammes while travelling up the Amazon River inBrazil. Here he used a term which did not appear inmainstream holiday shows – ‘eco-tourism’. Comingacross what he described as the largest tree-top lodge inthe world, he commented:Perched at the level of the tree canopy, seven towers risefrom the creeks, to accommodate eco-tourists looking foradventure. (Brazil, 27.8.99)Travelling further south, the presenter ended theseries in Argentina, moving from Buenos Aires toPatagonia, where he met a Welshman who spends half ofeach year in the area, living with local people as a cowboyor ‘gaucho’:The people here are a mixture of native Indian, Spanishdescendant and the Welsh, who came here in theirnumbers in the late nineteenth century. My guide spendshalf the year in Cardiff and half on horseback inPatagonia. (Argentina, 3.9.99)He finally arrived in the town of Ushuaia, ‘thesouthernmost town in the world’ which he described as‘freezing,’ and was seen barbecuing local delicacieswearing warm clothing. Before the series ended there wasa summary of the entire series, with flashbacks from thehigh points of his travels. His comment indicated whichfeatures of his travels had greatest significance to him:It’s left me with wonderful memories of great food,marvellous people and stunning scenery. (Argentina,3.9.99)DISCUSSIONIn this section, comparisons have been drawn betweencookery programmes and holiday shows, where eachgenre features travel to developing countries. In somerespects the basis of the two programme types is similarwith a focus on consumption and maximising thepotential gains for British viewers from these countries.But many holiday programmes were filmed in touristscomplexes, or areas with highly developed tourist infrastructures.Local people tended to appear only in limitedroles, particularly in the provision of services such ascatering, cleaning and attending to the needs of westerntourists. In contrast, the cookery series were filmedamongst local people, and heard from those with someconnection to local food industries.Both cooks approached their destinations withconsiderable enthusiasm, commenting positively ontheir experiences while travelling. However there weredifferences in their presentational styles. Rick Steinfocused more on the exotic and the ethereal in both Goaand Thailand, explaining the title of his series byreferences to ancient mythology. His visits to thesedestinations appeared fleeting, as each programme waspartly presented from Cornwall. Discussion of local lifewas limited. He did however, acknowledge the skills andabilities of local people, acknowledging that he had‘taken ideas’ home from his destinations. AinsleyHarriot’s series resembled more the travel/adventureapproach, with his continuing journey through theAmericas. The images presented of South America werevibrant and inviting, while celebrating local culture andproviding comments on the history, and occasionallyecology, of the countries.DFID – July 2000 113