To date, scholars have paid little attention to the role that music played at political rallies and protests, the political activism of right-wing and left-wing musicians, and the emergence of musical performances as sites of verbal and physical confrontations between Allende supporters and the opposition. This book illuminates a largely unexplored facet of the Cold War era in Latin America by examining linkages among music, politics, and the development of extreme political violence. It traces the development of folk-based popular music against the backdrop of Chile's social and political history, explaining how music played a fundamental role in a national conflict that grew out of deep cultural divisions. Through a combination of textual and musical analysis, archival research, and oral histories, Jedrek Mularski demonstrates that Chilean rightists came to embrace a national identity rooted in Chile's central valley and its huaso ("cowboy") traditions, which groups of well-groomed, singing huasos expressed and propagated through música típica. In contrast, leftists came to embrace an identity that drew on musical traditions from Chile's outlying regions and other Latin American countries, which they expressed and propagated through nueva canción. Conflicts over these notions of Chilenidad ("Chileanness") both reflected and contributed to the political polarization of Chilean society, sparking violent confrontations at musical performances and political events during the late 1960s and early 1970s. Mularski offers a powerful example and multifaceted understanding of the fundamental role that music often plays in shaping the contours of political struggles and conflicts throughout the world.This is an important book for Latin American studies, history, musicology/ethnomusicology, and communication.

This two-volume encyclopedia profiles the contemporary culture and society of every country in the Americas, from Canada and the United States to the islands of the Caribbean and the many countries of Latin America. From delicacies to dances, this encyclopedia introduces readers to cultures and customs of all of the countries of the Americas, explaining what makes each country unique while also demonstrating what ties the cultures and peoples together. The Americas profiles the 40 nations and territories that make up North America, Central America, the Caribbean, and South America, including British, U.S., Dutch, and French territories. Each country profile takes an in-depth look at such contemporary topics as religion, lifestyle and leisure, cuisine, gender roles, dress, festivals, music, visual arts, and architecture, among many others, while also providing contextual information on history, politics, and economics. Readers will be able to draw cross-cultural comparisons, such as between gender roles in Mexico and those in Brazil. Coverage on every country in the region provides readers with a useful compendium of cultural information, ideal for anyone interested in geography, social studies, global studies, and anthropology.

This is the first Charango method to use conventional musical notation, and the only bilingual (Spanish and English) text of its kind. These characteristics make the method attractive to musicians with a wide variety of cultural backgrounds, interests and skill levels.The method is comprised of two parts: A first section regarding strumming techniques and a second section regarding melodic plucking techniques. the first section provides a clear and precise method for learning the rasgueo repique and tremolo skills central to the Charango repertoire. the second section, meanwhile, provides an indispensible guide to expressive techniques for embellishing melodic lines including hammer-ons and pull-offs, trills, simultaneous melodies and arpeggios.The method is appropriate for a wide range of musical skill levels, from beginners to accomplished Charanguists who want to improve their technical chops. Exercises are clear and progressive. In the event that the student is not familiar with music theory, an appendix clarifies the basics of musical notation. In addition to 201 written exercises for the Charango solo, the method includes 23 South American folk music classics arranged for Charango and guitar accompaniment. It thus serves as both a pedagogical tool and a source of performance repertoire. the musical scores included in the method are accompanied by a CD of recorded exercises and a free audio download of repertoire played by recognized Chilean instrumentalists.

The Encyclopedia's coverage ranges from the Bahamas to Tierra del Fuego and from Baja California to Uruguay as it describes the extraordinarily rich and varied music of people from all the countries south of the Rio Grande river.