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Kathryn Bishop-Sanchez's Creating Carmen Miranda explores the creation, interpretation, and imitation of Carmen Miranda's image in 1930s Brazil, on Broadway, and in Hollywood, focusing on her star text at key moments in her career as a singer, and particularly as a film star. The author's stated intention is to analyze her performances, "grounding them in a broader social, political, and racial context" (4), and she clearly succeeds in doing so. This study is extensively researched, drawing on a range of archival material and narratives published in the mainstream and fan press, as well as on publicity and promotional material, including press books and film posters. It also effectively synthesizes existing academic writings on the Portugal-born Brazilian star.
Bishop-Sanchez begins by examining the figure of the baiana in Brazilian popular culture, illustrating how this persona—based on colonial-era Afro-Brazilian street vendors—was appropriated by Miranda in a display of...