Lexington Books Sound, Image, and National Imaginary in the Construction of Latin/o American Identities (Music, Culture, and Identity in Latin America)

Sound, Image, and National Imaginary in the Construction of Latin/o American Identities addresses a gap in the many narratives discussing the cultural histories of Latin American nations, particularly in terms of the birth, configuration, and perpetuation of national identities. It argues that these processes were not as gradual or constrained as traditionally conceived. The actual circumstances dictating the adoption of particular technologies for the representation of national ideas shifted and varied according to many factors including local circumstances, political singularities, economic disparities, and highly individualized cultural transitions. This book proposes a model of chronology that is valid not only for nations that underwent strong processes of nationalism during the early or mid-twentieth century, but also for those that experienced highly idiosyncratic cultural, economic, and political development into the early twenty-first century. Review Once again the Americas reveal the persistence of gaps at the heart of the nexus between nation and society and of how their perdurance compels the endless but necessary work of the imagination. This broad-reaching collection illustrates how sound and images both seek to bridge across those gaps while making them audible and visible in the very affective responses they provoke. A must-read for anyone interested in Latin American politics of culture during the long twentieth century.--Jairo A. Moreno, University of Pennsylvania Moving beyond the outdated idea that music has a meaning in itself, the essays in Sound, Image, and National Imaginary in the Construction of Latin/o American Identities explore instead how music acquires profound social significance according to the ways it is used at particular moments in history. By focusing on a wide variety of elite, commercial, and semi-underground musics, the authors in this splendidly conceptualized volume convincingly show how music and the imagery that accompanies it have been affectively mobilized to play powerfully effective roles in nation-building and cultural identity projects throughout Latin@ America that not only complement but often transcend the intellectual efforts of the lettered city.--Alejandro L. Madrid, Cornell University To those interested in cutting edge perspectives on the power of popular music, and in particular its influence on how Latin Americans have imagined themselves, their communities and their nations: read this book! The authors in this anthology insightfully explore the complex relationships between sound, emotion, and identity, using as analytical lenses genres popular throughout the Americas, from Colombian vallenato, Argentine tango, Chilean pop to Puerto Rican salsa. Other contributors examine the intersections between music and visual images, such as the dialogues between comics and popular music in Brazil, or how the reggaeton music video Bailando reveals evolving notions of national identity in Cuba. Kudos to the editors for this fine anthology!--Deborah Pacini, Tufts University About the Author Héctor Fernández L'Hoeste is professor in the Department of World Languages and Cultures at Georgia State University. Pablo Vila is professor of sociology at Temple University.