Sad songs and love songs. For Vietnamese refugees who fled Vietnam after the 1975 takeover by the Viet Cong, the predominant music of choice falls into these two general categories rather than any particular musical genre. In fact, Adelaida Reyes discovers, music that exiles call "Vietnamese music" -- that is, music sung in Vietnamese and almost exclusively written before 1975 -- includes such varied influences as Western rock, French-derived valse, Latin chacha, tango, bolero, and paso doble.

The Vietnamese refugee experience calls attention to issues commonly raised by migration: the...

Reyes brings history, politics and decades of research to her study of four resettlement communities, including refugee centres in Palawan and Bataan, the early refugee community in New Jersey, and the largest of all Vietnamese communities, Little Saigon, in Southern California's Orange County.

The acceleration of mobility among the world's peoples, the growth of populations resettling in places other than their homelands, and world events that have propelled these developments have brought minorities unprecedented attention. Their significance as subjects for study has grown correspondingly and the study of their music has become an important gateway into understanding the culture of minorities. The Study Group for Music and Minorities, part of the International Council for Traditional Music, has seen a steady increase in membership since its inception in 1998 - evidence of the...