TRANSMODERNITY: Journal of Peripheral Cultural Production of the Luso-Hispanic World

This article examines the representation of Asian culture and technology in Rita Indiana Hernández Sánchez’s dystopian novel La Mucama de Omicunlé (2015) through the lens of techno-orientalism. Set in a futuristic Dominican Republic, the novel employs speculative fiction to explore societal issues, including the influence of Asian capital and culture. The analysis focuses on how Asian technologies, particularly Japanese cars and electronics, serve as markers of social status across different time periods in the narrative. The article argues that the novel’s portrayal of Asian cultural products, especially Japanese animation, reflects a complex interplay of marginalization and exoticism. This is particularly evident in the character of Malagueta, whose identity is shaped by both his blackness and his affinity for Japanese anime. The study later contends that the novel’s approach to Asian culture and technology can be understood as a form of techno-orientalism, reflecting collective anxieties about the infiltration of Asian capital into local culture. By examining the novel’s hyper-realistic depictions and its characters’ interactions with Asian cultural products, the article reveals how Tentacle both acknowledges and perpetuates orientalist stereotypes, ultimately positioning Asian culture as an “other” within the speculative Caribbean setting.