Banana Craze
The Universidad de los Andes in Colombia has a virtual exhibit entitled “Banana Craze” looking into the many facets of Latin American and Caribbean life affected by the colonial cultivation of the banana. Various topics include violences, ecosystems, and identities with a variety of other resources to promote a wider understanding. MoMA has an article analyzing the work of María José Argenzio and Óscar Figueroa Chaves included in the project, found here.
A few more resources may be helpful to discuss the term “Banana Republic” and the impact of the United Fruit Company (now known as Chiquita) in Latin America. Forbes has an article defining the term from 2020, found here. NPR’s Throughline podcast has an episode from the same year entitled “There Will Be Bananas” and Harvard Business Review’s Cold Call podcast has an episode from 2019 dedicated to “Controversial History of United Fruit.” Finally, the Zinn Education Project has Chilean author Pablo Neruda’s “The United Fruit Company” in it’s original Spanish with an English translation, which was later made famous in song by Greek musician Mikis Theodorakis.