Abstract
Abstract The main objective of this article involves describing how African nightclubs of Lisbon have become spaces for cultural resistance against certain representations of African-ness, taking Madrid as a contrasting case. Since the 1970s, the so-called African nightclubs of Lisbon have constituted spaces for gathering and nurturing a sense of community for immigrants from Portuguese-speaking Africa. Commonly regarded suspiciously by most Portuguese citizens, commodification of the couple dance labelled kizomba during the 1990s helped changed their status. However, most African research participants do not recognise their beloved dance in the commodified version of kizomba. In this context, I analyse the commodification process as a form of symbolic violence that disguises postcolonial structural inequalities and unsolved conflicts through a discourse of neutral “approaching of cultures” on the dance floor. Moreover, from the point of view of a meritocratic symbolism, this discourse portrays the performances displayed at African discos as “basic” and unworthy. After exploring several ways of resistance to commodified kizomba displayed by African discos clientele, I conclude reflecting on the increasing symbolic power of global industries for naming social groups, structuring practices and exercising symbolic violence in late modernity.
Highlights
Since the late sixties, a series of nightclubs have been opened in Lisbon devoted to music and dance popular in Portuguese-speaking Africa
After exploring several ways of resistance to commodified kizomba displayed by African discos clientele, I conclude reflecting on the increasing symbolic power of global industries for naming social groups, structuring practices and exercising symbolic violence in late modernity
From what Dwyer and Jones call a “White socio-spatial epistemology” (Dwyer and Jones, White Socio-spatial Epistemology), these spaces were ethnically marked as African discos in the urban imaginary of citizens
Summary
A series of nightclubs have been opened in Lisbon devoted to music and dance popular in Portuguese-speaking Africa. The objective of this article is to analyse how these nightclubs have turned into spaces for cultural resistance against postcolonial misrepresentations of African-ness. This work stems from my postdoctoral project “Dancing ethnicities in a transnational world,” which contains the general objective of exploring the diverse ways in which ethnicity is constructed out of social dance contexts. Between 2013 and 2015, I carried out ethnographic fieldwork in kizomba dancing contexts in Spain and Portugal: mainly participant observation in the so-called African discos, kizomba dance schools and kizomba international festivals. It involved taking lessons, socializing with aficionados and partygoers, dancing with informants, having a good deal of informal conversations, combining strategies of
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
