ABSTRACT
The Cantina's updating of the Galician tavern is the most visceral of the experiences the Cidade provides, and the most tangible. As Arjun Appadurai suggests, foodways can serve the purpose of nationalism, creating a hegemonic cuisine of the bourgeoisie. In this regard, the Cantina adapts traditional, "folk" Galician culture to "modern" expectations in cuisine, service, and style. Contemporary Galician cultural forms work to "transcend both cultural essentialism and homogeneous uniformity by successfully incorporating the global in the local and by simultaneously inscribing their 'Galicianness' in the global arena". Educating global audiences and marketing Galician culture, programs such as On the Road and No Reservations, tend to fossilize cultural practices, rendering them mere commodities. Authenticity and heritage are tied to both space and labor, demanding a premium for products that come with explicit marking of place. Simultaneously, the labor processes—practices linked to heritage—add value, and are encoded as contributing to the products' authenticity.
