Outside the Revolution; Everything: A Redefinition of Left-wing Identity in Contemporary Cuban Music Making

by Tom Astley

Overview

Through the reclamation of a left-wing identity, disparate groups of Cuban musicians seek a collective Cubanness 'outside of the Revolution'.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781780994109
Publisher:	Zer0 Books
Publication date:	08/27/2012
Sold by:	SIMON & SCHUSTER
Format:	eBook
Pages:	117
File size:	185 KB

About the Author

Tom Astley lives, writes and studies ethnomusicology in Newcastle Upon Tyne. He is proud to call Santa Clara, Cuba his adoptive second home.

Table of Contents

Dedication ix

Introduction 1

Part 1 'How the Left Was Won': The Construction of a Singular Cuban Identity 'Within the Revolution' 5

'Hecho en Cuba': Autochthonous Cultural Production 7

"The Blood of Africa": An 'Other' Root 11

"David and Goliath": The Defiant Nation. 14

A Grey Island, A Fixed Identity 17

Part 2 The Archipelago of Us: The Event of the Special Period, and the Fragmentation of a National Identity 20

"Los Hijos de Guillermo Tell": Social Commentary and Political Critique 24

Religion, 'Africanness' and 'Blackness' 27

"Like Smoke Under a Door": Tourism, Balseros and Musical Dissemination" 33

An 'Archipelago of Individualism'? The Splintering of the 'Cuban Voice' 40

Part 3 A Reclaimed Identity: Redefining the Left, and Reassembling the Nation 44

Porno Para Ricardo - DIY, Home Recording and Recording the Home 47

Sounding the Home: Creating Commonality by (re)Presenting the Everyday 50

Silent Noise: The Soundproofed Studio and the Reclamation of Cultural Production 55

Escuadrón Patriota - Who Are "The People'?: Social Commentary and a Popular Voice 59

"Las Revoluciones Son Para el Pueblo" (Revolutions Are For the People): Leading a New 'Pueblo' 61

Cultural Connections, Individual Differences 68

Pedro Luis Ferrer - Como Viviré?: Reconnecting Cuba Temporally and Spatially 73

Rewriting the Map: A Spatial Connection 76

Re-Presenting Tradition: A Temporal Connection, A Modem Approach 82

Conclusion Towards the Future of Cuban Music Making 89

Notes 93

Bibliography 99

Acknowledgements 106