Rock The Nation : Latin/o Identities and the Latin Rock Diaspora

__Rock the Nation__ analyzes Latino/a identity through rock 'n' roll music and its deep Latin/o history. By linking rock music to Latinos and to music from Latin America, the author argues that Latin/o music, people, and culture have been central to the development of rock music as a major popular music form, in spite of North American racial logic that marginalizes Latino/as as outsiders, foreigners, and always exotic. According to the author, the Latin/o Rock Diaspora illuminates complex identity issues and interesting paradoxes with regard to identity politics, such as nationalism. Latino/as use rock music for assimilation to mainstream North American culture, while in Latin America, rock music in Spanish is used to resist English and the hegemony of U.S. culture. Meanwhile, singing in English and adopting U.S. popular culture allows youth to resist the hegemonic nationalisms of their own countries. Thus, throughout the Americas, Latino/as utilize rock music for assimilation to mainstream national culture(s), for resistance to the hegemony of dominant culture(s), and for mediating the negotiation of Latino/a identities. > This is an alternative history of rock music, from a Latino/Hispanic perspective, which focuses on the story of the rock genre with an emphasis on identity politics. "Rock the Nation" amounts to a first-time-ever scholarly study of Latino/Hispanic identity through an examination of the history of rock 'n' roll music by linking Latin Rock from the U.S. with Latin Rock music from Latin America. As the author argues, the developments of both U.S.-based Latin Rock music and non-U.S. Latin Rock illuminate several contemporary issues and reveal interesting paradoxes with regard to identity politics (e.g., language, culture, race, class, gender and nationality). Music in Spanish has been used to resist English and the imposition of mainstream U.S. culture in general; yet for Latin Americans, singing in English and adopting U.S. popular culture has allowed youth to resist the hegemonic nationalisms of their own countries (i.e., countering notions of U.S. cultural imperialism). Therefore, in both U.S.- Latin Rock and Latin American Rock music, the rock 'n' roll genre reveals how Latino/a youth use rock music for achieving assimilation to mainstream culture(s) at the same time that they resist the hegemony of dominant culture(s) "Rock the Nation analyzes Latino/a identity through rock 'n' roll music and its deep Latin/o history. By linking rock music to Latinos and to music from Latin America, the author argues that Latin/o music, people, and culture have been central to the development of rock music as a major popular music form, in spite of North American racial logic that marginalizes Latino/as as outsiders, foreigners, and always exotic. According to the author, the Latin/o Rock Diaspora illuminates complex identity issues and interesting paradoxes with regard to identity politics, such as nationalism. Latino/as use rock music for assimilation to mainstream North American culture, while in Latin America, rock music in Spanish is used to resist English and the hegemony of U.S. culture. Meanwhile, singing in English and adopting U.S. popular culture allows youth to resist the hegemonic nationalisms of their own countries. Thus, throughout the Americas, Latino/as utilize rock music for assimilation to mainstream national culture(s), for resistance to the hegemony of dominant culture(s), and for mediating the negotiation of Latino/a identities."--Bloomsbury Publishing. Introduction : On Latinos/hispanics In The United States : Latino/as, The Us Census, And Other Foundational Concepts -- Heard It On The X : Border Radio As Public Discourse, The Latin/o Legacy In Popular Music, And The Roots Of Multicultural America -- The Missing Links : Zoot Suits, Original Chicanos, And Diasporic Latin/o Connections -- Latinos In The Garage : Latin/o Presence And Influence In Garage-rock And Other Rock And Pop Music -- Las Ondas De José Agustin : The Birth Of Rock In México And The Latin/o Rock Diaspora (1970-1990) -- Transnational Punk(s) : On The Transnational Character Of The Latin/o Rock Diaspora -- Conclusion : Alter-latino : The Latin/o Rock Diaspora And New Latinidades. Roberto Avant-mier. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 205-216) And Index.