The article ‘Repackaging’ Cuban cultural consumption has been published in Lumina Journal (Revista do Programa de Pós-graduação em Comunicação Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora / UFJF) in the number edited by Sallie Hughes (University of Miami) and Sonia Virgínia Moreira (Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora). The purpose of this special issue of Lumina is to give visibility to the connections established between Latin American researchers and Latin American specialist researchers who are part of the regional team set up to work on specific questions and themes aimed at regional studies and for inclusion in the third stage survey questionnaire. international comparative Worlds of Journalism Study (2020-2022).
In ‘Repackaging’ Cuban cultural consumption, next to José Raúl Concepción, we review those changes and discuss what they mean for consumption of information and entertainment materials in Cuba. It explains the incremental development of the alternative cultural consumption market on the island by focusing on the Paquete Semanal (Weekly Package) as the most popular example of cultural distribution and consumption following an alternative logic of consumerism. Researchers on the island suggest the Paquete’s attractiveness is based on the perceived diversity, quality, and authenticity of its materials, as compared to state television. Its production and distribution network is decentralized, operates in unregulated or “a-legal” status, and is commercially driven, possibly employing thousands. The authors argue that, given the popularity of the Paquete, the product has implications for the conservation of the socialist ideological foundations of the Cuban government and the ‘modus operandi’ of communications media in the country.
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MARTÍN OLLER ALONSO 