Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter6
The Lives and Time of Miss Chiquita
''[T]hebananaindustryisnolongeragypsyindustrythatcan
moveontonewlandasPD[Panamadisease]orotherpests
invadetheoldplantations.Wemustnowholdthefrontandin
ordertodosoarehavingtomaketremendousinvestmentsinflood
fallowing,Sigatokacontrolandinsectcontroltobringbackthis
landandmaintainitinmaximumproduction.''
l. g. cox, vice-president for research, united fruit 1954
I'mChiquitaBananaandI'vecometosay
Bananashavetoripeninacertainway.
Whentheyarefleck'dwithbrownandhaveagoldenhue,
Bananastastethebest,andarethebestforyou.
...
Butbananasliketheclimateofthevery,verytropicalequator.
Soyoushouldneverputbananasintherefrigerator.
the chiquita banana song, 1944
MissChiquitawasbornontheairwavesin1944.Thatyear,theUnitedFruit
Company launched a nationwide radio campaign that featured the voice
of Patty Clayton singing the ''Chiquita Banana Song.'' The tune, set to a
calypso beat, achieved hit status and found its way onto the play lists of
radiodiscjockeys,jukeboxes,andtherepertoireoftheBostonPops. 1 Both
thelyricsandthemediumreflectedchangestakingplaceinU.S.consumer
culture.Written bya NewYork Cityadvertising agency, the jingle's often-
quoted couplet, ''But bananas like the climate of the very, very tropical
equator / So you should never put bananas in the refrigerator,'' conjured
images of middle-class homes equipped with electric appliances such as
refrigerators and radios. This vision of domestic life stood in sharp con-
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