The ethnoracial commodification of Brazilianness at cultural festivals in Toronto, Canada

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This article analyzes representations of Brazilianness at festivals in Toronto, Canada, to understand how ethnoracialized groups are negotiating cultural commodification and neoliberal entrepreneurship. At these festivals, Brazilian immigrants employ specific semiotic assemblages to present themselves as a culturally rich, entrepreneurially successful group. They uphold Canadian multicultural ideals while avoiding negative stereotypes associated with Latin Americans. Entrepreneurship is thus a key idiom through which ethnoracial and cultural differences are managed and transformed for profit within a neoliberal regime where minoritized groups compete for visibility and resources. Current forms of cultural commodification therefore merit study because they illuminate how capitalism reproduces ethnoracial inequalities.