- Latin American Music History

Catalog description

Latin American music is incredibly diverse in its historical components, and in turn, is some of the most influential source material of popular music today. The course focuses on several main regions of development each with specific countries of influence: Cuba, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic and the Caribbean; Mexico and North/Central America; and Brazil and South America. Along with aural analysis of the music itself, the course analyzes the unique social construction of the prevailing musical styles for each region. The themes of cultural interaction and collision along with (often forced) population shifts provide a uniting current across the vast geography of study and provide organizing through-line across the region. If time permits, the course will culminate with the development of Latin American music in the United States and its influence on modern popular music.