Music as a cultural identity: a case study of Latino musicians negotiating tradition and innovation

Author:O'Hagin, Isabel Barbara; Harnish, David

Article Title:Music as a cultural identity: a case study of Latino musicians negotiating tradition and innovation in northwest Ohio

Abstract:
This study, based on recent field research, explores Latino music culture in Toledo, Ohio, and presents strategies for incorporating the music into the classroom. In the ethnographic project, three professors-music educator, ethnomusicologist, folklorist - interviewed many musicians, bands and community leaders. Musicians were regenerating Mexican-American traditions, especially that of the folk conjunto ensemble, while developing strategies to innovate the sound and meet the changing aesthetics of a populist youth market and emerging pan-Latino identity. In addition to reconstructing traditional culture, musicians and community leaders were interested in crafting a positive image for both cultural outsiders and insiders and reaching out to the greater Toledo community. The authors highlight the musical lives of the artists, suggest that musicians can play a role in shaping culturally sensitive class curricula, and advocate that educators and students engage directly in fieldwork projects to better grasp the meaning of music in peoples' lives.

Keywords: agency; classroom; community; curriculum; fieldwork; multicultural; strategy; Tejano

DOI: 10.1177/0255761406063107

Source:INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MUSIC EDUCATION

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