LLAS 284 Sonic Latinidad: Latino/a music in the United States

Although they have often been marginalized within official histories of North American music-making Latino/a musicians have contributed to the production and development of every major genre of music in the United States. In this course, we will review the history of Latino/a music in the United States, focusing on regional musical movements in Texas, California, New York, and Florida. In addition to exploring Spanish-language genres, including cumbia, salsa, merengue, conjunto, banda, and reggaeton which have been shaped by musical innovators in the United States, we will trace the influence of Latino/a musicians on rock n’ roll, punk, jazz, hip hop, and country. In particular, we will be interested in exploring how music has helped to shape emerging patterns of racial, ethnic, class, and gender identification, while fanning the flames of social protest movements from the Chicano Movement of the 60's and 70's to the pro-immigrant rights movement of the past two decades. Finally, we will consider the emerging soundscape of U.S.-based protests on behalf of the 43 students massacred in Iguala Mexico. In addition to written assignments, students will also collaboratively develop a digital project incorporating maps storytelling and data visualizations. No prior study of music or digital humanities is required.