Overview

"The Panama Canal is a world-famous site central to the global economy, but the social, cultural, and political history of the country along this waterway is little known outside its borders. In Música Típica, author Sean Bellaviti sheds light on a key element of Panamanian culture, namely the story of cumbia or, as Panamanians frequently call it, ""música típica,"" a form of music that enjoys unparalleled popularity throughout Panama. Through extensive archival and ethnographic research, Bellaviti reconstructs a twentieth-century social history that illuminates the crucial role music has played in the formation of national identities in Latin America. Focusing, in particular, on the relationship between cumbia and the rise of populist Panamanian nationalism in the context of U.S. imperialism, Bellaviti argues that this hybrid musical form, which forges links between the urban and rural as well as the modern and traditional, has been essential to the development of a sense of nationhood among Panamanians. With their approaches to musical fusion and their carefully curated performance identities, cumbia musicians have straddled some of the most pronounced schisms in Panamanian society."

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9780190936471

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Reviews

This ambitious book innovatively theorizes the interhemispheric isthmus of Panama as cultural borderland. It deftly weaves historical research, astute musical analysis and fine-grained ethnography into a superb, engaging and impressively grounded study. This pioneering work is long overdue for one of Central America's principal popular musics. * T.M. Scruggs, Professor Emeritus, University of Iowa * A journey through the dancehalls of Panama's heartland, packed with insights, joy, and empathy! After finishing this book, the reader might ask, 'Why didn't I become a jazz pianist and ethnomusicologist? * Peter A. Szok, Texas Christian University *

A journey through the dancehalls of Panama's heartland, packed with insights, joy, and empathy! After finishing this book, the reader might ask, 'Why didn't I become a jazz pianist and ethnomusicologist? * Peter A. Szok, Texas Christian University * This ambitious book innovatively theorizes the interhemispheric isthmus of Panama as cultural borderland. It deftly weaves historical research, astute musical analysis and fine-grained ethnography into a superb, engaging and impressively grounded study. This pioneering work is long overdue for one of Central America's principal popular musics. * T.M. Scruggs, Professor Emeritus, University of Iowa *

Author Information

Sean Bellaviti is Adjunct Professor at Ryerson University in Toronto, Canada. His research interests include the development of musical nationalism in Panama, genre studies, the political economy of Latin America and Caribbean popular music and dance, and folk music collections in the Americas. More recently, he has embarked on a new research project best described as a social history of Toronto's salsa scene.

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