MEMORY, NOSTALGIA AND RESISTANCE: THE AFRO-LATIN ART SONG

In this episode, we delve into Dr. Patricia Caicedo's thought-provoking article "Memory, Nostalgia, and Resistance: The Afro-Latin Art Song," exploring how the African diaspora in Latin America, impacted by the Atlantic slave trade, used music, language, and rituals as mechanisms of cultural preservation and resistance.

We discuss how Afro-Latin composers and poets embedded rhythmic, melodic, and idiomatic elements into art songs to keep their cultural identity alive while navigating the challenges of acculturation. These art songs served as a way to participate in avant-garde artistic movements and also as a tool for social mobility and political advocacy. Dr. Caicedo highlights how, despite their cultural contributions, the diaspora faced a "whitening" process that threatened to strip away their symbolic and artistic wealth once  ...