Of course, the story of fruit in Latin America is also the story of exploitation. To many Brazilians of the time, Carmen Miranda's empty lyrics and her massive fruit headdress was an offensive symbol of the way foreigners perceived Latin American women: as objects to be consumed and discarded like a piece of fruit.
The connection of fruit to art in Latin America can be traced through music (e.g. the song Buscando Guayaba, the elaborate headdresses of Carmen Miranda) and through literature (e.g. the banana massacre in One Hundred Years of Solitude). Fruit is symbolic of the exploitation of Latin American culture by the West, as papayas, passionfruit, and other produce were shipped across the Atlantic during the Columbian Exchange.