Neoliberal theorists argue that human well-being is best served when markets operate freely. In Latin America, along with the eased flow of capital and resources among nations, this sparked a new discourse about globalization and an ever-smaller world. National governments aimed to bolster their economies and mitigate debt through the implementation of neoliberal policies, often dictated by international lenders and advisers. Corporations strove to take maximum advantage of this new phase of deregulation. Meanwhile, citizens reacted to the emerging politics of scarcity by organizing through local and global grassroots networks. Popular musicians played a multifaceted role in this process. As governments sought to activate non-traditional exports, local cultural resources came to the fore and smaller nations in particular turned increasingly to tourism as a means of generating income; musicians were key actors in both of these arenas. The music they produced articulated local communities' experiences of precarity and self-branding while catering to an international public increasingly curious about global connections. In turn, they interfaced directly with companies seeking to invest in and extract from those resources.
This panel brings together three distinct perspectives on this cultural moment, representing Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean, rock, world music, and popular dance music. The first paper examines how rock musicians used Mexican folk elements and Afro-Caribbean rhythms like clave to articulate the many ethnic, social, and cultural ambiguities of modern Mexican identity, crafting a hybrid, self-exoticized idiom in order to become more marketable in an international, cosmopolitan music scene. The second paper considers the intersection of neo-traditionalism in Central American Garifuna popular music with neoliberal marketing strategies within the 2000s world music industry. The third paper investigates the work of Cuban artists as they lead the revolution's tentative reinsertion into capitalist markets, balancing the distinct but overlapping demands of domestic and foreign markets with their own drive for virtuosic self-expression. Together, these papers elaborate the complex interactions of structural constraints and individual agency that characterize the global neoliberal arena and its manifestations in Latin America, as evidenced in the work of these musicians.
Neoliberal theorists argue that human well-being is best served when markets operate freely. In Latin America, along with the eased flow of capital and resources among nations, this sparked a new discourse about globalization and an ever-smaller world. National governments aimed to bolster their economies and mitigate debt through the implementation of neoliberal policies, often dictated by international lenders and advisers. Corporations strove to take maximum advantage of this new phase of deregulation. Meanwhile, citizens reacted to the emerging politics of scarcity by organizing through local and global grassroots networks. Popular musicians played a multifaceted role in this process. As governments sought to activate non-traditional exports, local cultural resources came to the fore and smaller nations in particular turned increasingly to tourism as a means of generating income; musicians were key actors in both of these arenas. The music they produced articulated local communities' experiences of precarity and self-branding while catering to an international public increasingly curious about global connections. In turn, they interfaced directly with companies seeking to invest in and extract from those resources.
This panel brings together three distinct perspectives on this cultural moment, representing Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean, rock, world music, and popular dance music. The first paper examines how rock musicians used Mexican folk elements and Afro-Caribbean rhythms like clave to articulate the many ethnic, social, and cultural ambiguities of modern Mexican identity, crafting a hybrid, self-exoticized idiom in order to become more marketable in an international, cosmopolitan music scene. The second paper consi ...
Zoom Meeting Room 2 AMS 2021 ams@am1smusicology.orgTechnical Issues?
If you're experiencing playback problems, try adjusting the quality or refreshing the page.
Questions for Speakers?
Use the Q&A tab to submit questions that may be addressed in follow-up sessions.
