Imagine the scene: tourists riding in a jeep through Rocinha, Rio de Janeiro’s largest favela. With their cameras at the ready, they listen to stories of gang violence and gawp at people’s homes, believing they are learning about the “real” Rio beyond the glamorous beaches of Copacabana and Ipanema.
Far away from the South American warmth, tourists arrive in Finnish Lapland eager to meet a man in a red suit with a big white beard, maybe taking part in a “shaman ceremony” staged as an authentic piece of Sámi culture.
