The Return of América Tropical

In 1932, the Mexican artist David Alfaro Siqueiros was commissioned to paint an idealized tropical scene on a second-story exterior wall on Olvera Street, in the heart of downtown Los Angeles. Siqueiros instead created América Tropical, a monumental mural depicting an overgrown jungle with a crucified Indian peasant surmounted by an American eagle, at which revolutionary soldiers aim their rifles. This imagery was immediately controversial; within the decade the entire mural was whitewashed. For the next twenty years, it remained under layers of white paint, neglected and all but forgotten. In 1988, the Getty Conservation Institute began a collaboration with the City of Los Angeles to conserve América Tropical. This led to a study of the environment around the mural and the design of a protective shelter and viewing platform for the public. Eighty years after its creation, América Tropical was re-unveiled to the public. Today, visitors to El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historical Monument can learn more about the history, controversy, and modern techniques in mural conservation at the America Tropical Interpretive Center, located on historic Olvera Street.

Music on the edge: Busking at the Cliffs of Moher and the commodification of a musical landscape

The Cliffs of Moher is one of the most popular tourist sites in all of Ireland, and buskers have been playing traditional music there for generations. The site and traditional music have each become powerful metonyms for Irish identity. In this article, I explore the complex and changing relationship between Irish identity, music, and tourism at the cliffs. In particular, I analyze recent conflicts that have erupted between musicians and the local tourism authorities which opened a €32 million award-winning interpretive center there in 2007.