The Devil Wears Dockers: Devil Pacts, Trade Zones, and Rural-Urban Ties in the Dominican Republic

Abstract This essay examines popular narratives that a spirit demon or bacá lurked in an export garment plant in the Santiago trade zone of the Dominican Republic in the early 2000s. By interpreting the bacá story, and the transformation of the bacá itself from a rural context to an urban factory, w...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:New West Indian Guide 2013-01, Vol.87 (3-4), p.294-321
Main Authors: Derby, Lauren, Werner, Marion
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Allegories
Analysis
Attitudes
Business
Capitalism
Criticism and interpretation
Essays
Factories
Folk literature
Folklore
Foreign trade zones
Males
Myths and legends
Neoliberalism
Occupations
Race
Racial identity
Rural areas
Vampires
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Summary:Abstract This essay examines popular narratives that a spirit demon or bacá lurked in an export garment plant in the Santiago trade zone of the Dominican Republic in the early 2000s. By interpreting the bacá story, and the transformation of the bacá itself from a rural context to an urban factory, we unpack the changing nature and meaning of employment under neoliberal capitalism, and tease apart complex geographies of status, exploitation, technology and debt.
ISSN:1382-2373
2213-4360
1382-2373
DOI:10.1163/22134360-12340109