Samuel Jiménez is inspiring a much-needed conversation about Tiki culture

We can trace the origins of Tiki bars back to the 1930s, when Don the Beachcomber first opened in Los Angeles, introducing nautical and island themes into cocktail culture. However, as tiki has undergone its own resurgence amid the current cocktail renaissance, some voices are encouraging enthusiasts on both sides of the bar to take a little exploration into the history and culture of the Pacific Islanders before diving headfirst into romantic and surreal fantasies. “There is a lot of symbolism, imagery, and language that I grew up with and have been observing in the context of my Polynesian upbringing, that is being used in a very different way,” says Samuel Jiménez, a veteran bartender from the Bay Area, now working at “Novela” in San Francisco.

Growing up in the East Bay, with a Mexican father and a Samoan mother, Jiménez was part of a considerable population of California residents with roots in the Pacific Islands. Now, working in the bar world, he notes that he has seen elements of this culture reflected in the tiki experience, but not always in a respectful manner. “Coming from a culture where respect for elders is deeply rooted, as well as respect for your culture, traditions, and values - to some extent it felt like these things were used to play around with, and while they weren’t necessarily made fun of, that culture hasn’t been treated as respectfully as I experienced during my upbringing.”

To share his perspectives on the interrelation between Polynesian and tiki cultures, last year Jiménez gave talks on this topic at bartender conferences in Toronto, Portland, and Boston. And at a time when tiki is enjoying a resurgence, but also facing strong criticism in certain circles, Jiménez shares his best way of not oversimplifying things in either direction. “As I mention in my talk, I don’t see this situation as if it’s all ruined - I give people the benefit of the doubt,” he tells us. “Most people don’t have the context to understand what the true meaning of these images is.”

While his home state, California, along with Oregon and Washington, has considerable communities of Pacific Islanders, Jiménez tells us that this culture is very underrepresented in bars and restaurants in general, and this is part of the problem. “Due to the lack of representation in the food and drink world, these voices have been drowned out,” he comments. “That’s why it’s important for me to provide historical context about the problematic history of Oceania and the colonizing countries, where the U.S. is one of the most present countries in the Pacific.”

A perspective with so many nuances may seem out of place in our times, so politically charged. But tropical-style bars and tiki culture have long idealized the island lifestyle, and since the true history of the Pacific and its cultures is much more complicated, finding a solution for the sometimes questionable history of tiki requires something more than knee-jerk or thoughtless solutions. “With the people I’ve talked to within the tiki world, who have been involved for a long time in that subculture, they have been very receptive and understanding of the issues that tiki has,” he says.

“I don’t like to talk about ‘cultural appropriation,’ which is a very trendy term - people can feel inspired by other cultures in a very enriching and authentic way. Many people who have been in the tiki culture for a long time understand this - but with this tiki boom of the last 10 years, there are people who aren’t as rooted in the history of tiki, and they aren’t showing the due understanding of the complete cultural context of all this.”

In his talks at bar conferences, Jiménez neither condemns nor absolves tiki, and admits that there are bars and bar owners who approach tiki culture in a respectful manner. He also acknowledges that the debate about tiki culture is itself complicated and that the opinions he shares are his own, and that others from oceanic communities may see things differently, on both sides of the debate. “There are people from oceanic cultures, people of color, who have been involved in tiki for a long time.

These things are not mutually exclusive, Jiménez comments. “As Polynesians and people from Oceania, we love to share our culture - it’s something we are proud of. But as people start to contemplate the historical context, they begin to see that culture differently - what they decide to do from there is up to them, but the first step for me is for them to know this context, and then they often make changes, because it’s the right thing to do.”

 

Author: Paul Clarke

Translated by: Bar Stations

Link to the original article:

https://imbibemagazine.com/samuel-jimenez/