Banania was the trademark of a French powdered chocolate in which label appeared an individual with exaggerated "negro" traits (particularly broad lips), who seemed to be pronouncing, in what was pejoratively termed "petit négre," the phrase "Y a bon banania," which can be translated as "Banania is good." Fanon uses this powerful image in the middle of an existentialist argument, thus revealing that the construction of stereotypes in the colonial imagery is evident even in the minutest details. I thank Bertrand and Dominique for their explanation during a talk we had in Trelew (Patagonia) in the winter of 1996.
