Turismo e immaginari migratori. Esperienze dell'Altrove nel Senegal urbano

Representations of the 'Elsewhere' is as peculiar field to understand the aspirations to travel of many African people; this factor assumes a pivotal role in individual and collective experiences, becoming a meaningful device that opens up spaces of self-definition. So far, a minor interest is devoted to styles and arenas where the Elsewhere is represented, often assumed as the expression of culturally globalised images and models of a Western universalism. Conversely, this contribute underlines how the 'idea of Elsewhere' is constructed historically within a local context, shedding light on how some cultural local aspects produce a specific sense of spatiality, fostering the formation of the frontier between 'here' and 'there'. Looking at the urban areas of M'bour-Saly, I show the role played by the touristic processes and to what extend they give meaning to images, narrations and practices through which people express their 'desire of Elsewhere'. The work aims to problematise the naïf idea of Europe, collectively perceived as a stereotypical and homogeneous El Dorado: its perception seems rather to be linked to the subjective local experiences of individuals.