Resumen de Macunaíma: To Be and Not To Be, That Is the Question
The analysis of a well�established symbol of Brazilian national identity, Macunaíma, allows me to discuss the impossibility of defining clear�cut identities in modern situations that reflect changes brought by the expansion of the world system and the resulting complex articulation of ethnic segments with different cultural backgrounds. The search for authenticity and essence is here understood as an inevitable simplification of a highly complex historical process. In reality, Macunaíma is a hero created by Brazilian writer Mario de Andrade from a Taulipang myth that was collected by Koch�Grunberg, a German ethnologist
