Cameron Diaz to Peru: Lo Siento Mucho
Travel Blog • Jim Benning • 06.25.07 | 1:02 PM ET
Photo by Poor Cameron Diaz. She was only going for the commie-chic, retro-kitsch look on her trip to Peru. Instead, she wound up offending Peruvians. On a visit to Machu Picchu Friday for the taping of a Canadian TV show called “4 Real,” Diaz toted an olive green bag featuring a red star and the words “Serve the People” in Chinese. That old Mao-era propoganda is hip among many young people in China—the same crazy kids enjoying plates of “Socialist Economic Model” at Beijing’s Red Capital Club. But is it hip in Peru? Not so much.
It evokes memories of Shining Path rebels, whose Maoist insurgency is blamed for tens of thousands of deaths.
Diaz regrets the incident. “I sincerely apologize to anyone I may have inadvertently offended,” she wrote in an e-mail to the AP. “The bag was a purchase I made as a tourist in China and I did not realize the potentially hurtful nature of the slogan printed on it.”
Diaz isn’t the only one to apologize to Peru lately.
Email to friend
Twitter
del.icio.us
Digg
Facebook
Furl
Ma.gnolia
Mixx
Reddit
StumbleUpon
Yahoo! Buzz
Jim Benning is the editor and co-founder of World Hum.
John 06.26.07 | 11:38 AM ET
I read this story in a few places, but it never actually told me who was offended by the bag. Did locals complain to her? Or was it just the case that someone in the western media spotted her bag and thought it would make a good story?
Not that I’m defending cultural insensitivity, or saying that the bag is not potentially offensive, but I am always a bit sceptical of stories saying things like ‘it evokes memories of…’ without a direct quote from one of the offended people.
marco 06.27.07 | 3:49 AM ET
I am peruvian, and we were all very excited about Ms. Diaz visiting our country. I havent heard of a SINGLE peruvian complain about the handbag. It seems some Human Rights NGO complained to AP about it, and thats how it started. As far as I know, the Mayor of Cusco wanted to even give an Honorable Visitor Condecoration on Ms. Diaz, which she refused, and flew in probable but uncalled for fear. Plus, peruvians DONT read chinese, and the red star was NOT Sendero Luminoso, it was the red hammer as far as I can remember. Though they are a horrid Maoist group, no one thought she did it on purpose, and no one in their right mind was offended, we just hoped she helped promote tourism and help hard working indians in cuzco fight poverty.
melisa 05.27.08 | 5:18 PM ET
I am peruavian as well and as far i know noone got offended with that bag..this is ridiculous!! we don read chinese how we can get offended for something that we dont know what its means…God Sake…!!!