Why Does Cultural Hybridity Still Matter? Lessons from Diaspora Communities Online

This essay examines how cultural hybridity is articulated through the manifestations of cultural reconversion in South–South diasporic relations. Through a critical discourse analysis of the Facebook page “General Consulate of Lebanon in Rio de Janeiro,” created for the Lebanese diaspora living in Brazil, I review definitions of cultural hybridity and offer a new perspective on how cultural hybridity, under certain conditions and contexts, morphs into a horizontal exchange of cultures, where the diaspora can move from the margins to becoming a part of the social fabric of the host country. This reformulated outlook on cultural hybridity allows diasporic communities to navigate and negotiate the space between home and host countries through a reinvention of cultural practices in digital spaces. This paper provides a critical analysis of how the Lebanese diaspora in Brazil utilizes social media to strengthen their connection to their place of origin.