"What Does the 'Baiana' Have?" Josephine Baker and the Performance of Afro-Brazilian Female Subjectivity on Stage.

An essay is presented which discusses a 1939 performance by singer Josephine Baker in which she wore an Afro-Brazilian baiana costume and performed the song "O que é que a baiana tem? (What does the baiana have?)" at the Urca Casino in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The author describes Baker's role in transnational dialogue and exchange between Harlem, New York City and Paris, France. Other topics addressed include how Baker's performance addressed Brazil's colonial past, the Black Atlantic cultural exchange, the terms baiana and mulata, and actress Carmen Miranda's performance of the song.