Latin American Music & Culture

FOLK-F315

Instructor
Eduardo Herrera
Course Description
In this class students will closely listen to the rich and diverse musical traditions of Latin America. This survey course will look at multiple genres, including salsa, reggaeton, Latin rock, merengue, tango, cumbia, and bachata, and explore the cultural, social, political, and economic forces that shape them. Our journey will take us to the Andean region, the Hispanic Caribbean, Argentina, Colombia, Brazil, and Mexico. We will delve into the ways in which music can be used to communicate important messages about the world around us, be used as a tool for region and nation building, tell stories about migration, and shed light on matters of race and gender equality. As we explore the musical landscape of Latin America, we will discover that the region is not simply a geographic location, but a complex set of ideas and relationships that cut across North, Central, and South America, and the Caribbean.