Selka, “Cityscapes and contact zones”
Abstract: In this article the author explores the ways in which Catholic, evangelical, and CandomblĂ© actors produce competing framings that shape encounters taking place in the city of Cachoeira in the Brazilian state of Bahia. The framing of Cachoeira as a site of heritage tourism â one where local religious practices are read as part of the African heritage and attractions for African American âroots touristsâ â obscures as much as it reveals. This is not to suggest that this framing is entirely inaccurate or to deny that many visitors themselves describe their trips to Bahia this way. But I contend that the âheritage frameâ masks key issues that complicate diasporic encounters in Cachoeira, particularly different understandings of heritage and religion and their relationship to black identity that African Americans and Afro-Brazilians bring to these encounters.