For the Achi, one of the several Mayan ethnic groups indigenous to Guatemala, the music of the marimba serves not only as a form of entertainment but also as a form of communication, a vehicle for memory, and an articulation of cultural identity. Sergio Navarrete Pellicer examines the marimba tradition -- the historical confluence of African musical influences, Spanish colonial power, and Indian ethnic assimilation -- as a driving force in the dynamics of cultural continuity and change in Rabinal, the heart of Achi culture and society. By examining the performance and consumption of marimba...

Examines the marimba tradition -- the confluence of African musical influences, Spanish colonial power, and Indian ethnic assimilation -- in the dynamics of cultural continuity and change in Guatemala.

Arsenio Rodriguez, composer and musical innovator, made an indelible impact on a broad range of musical styles from the Caribbean and Latin America to West and Central Africa. The son montuno style that he created and his innovative conjunto ensemble inspired other Cuban musicians and played a key role in the development of salsa, yet Arsenio achieved only intermittent commercial success. Drawing on the testimony of family, musicians, dancers, and other contemporaries, David Garcia traces Arsenio's early career in Cuba, his influence on Cuban and Latin popular music in the 1940s, his struggle...

Traces Arsenio Rodriguez's early career in Cuba, his influence on Cuban and Latin popular music in the 1940s, his struggle for recognition at the height of mambo-mania in the 1950s, and his importance to Puerto Rican and Cuban communities in New York City, Chicago, and Los Angeles.