The City of Musical Memory: Salsa, Record Grooves and Popular Culture in Cali, Colombia (Music / Culture)

A social history of salsa in Colombia. Winner of the ASCAP Deems Taylor Award for Popular Music Books (2002) Winner of the Society for Ethnomusicology's (SEM) Alan P. Merriam Prize (2003) Salsa is a popular dance music developed by Puerto Ricans in New York City during the 1960s and 70s, based on Afro-Cuban forms. By the 1980s, the Colombian metropolis of Cali emerged on the global stage as an important center for salsa consumption and performance. Despite their geographic distance from the Caribbean and from Hispanic Caribbean migrants in New York City, Caleños (people from Cali) claim unity with Cubans, Puerto Ricans and New York Latinos by virtue of their having adopted salsa as their own. The City of Musical Memory explores this local adoption of salsa and its Afro-Caribbean antecedents in relation to national and regional musical styles, shedding light on salsa's spread to other Latin American cities. Cali's case disputes the prevalent academic notion that live music is more "real" or "authentic" than its recorded versions, since in this city salsa recordings were until recently much more important than musicians themselves, and continued to be influential in the live scene. This book makes valuable contributions to ongoing discussions about the place of technology in music culture and the complex negotiations of local and transnational cultural identities. <P><B>Winner of the ASCAP Deems Taylor Award for Popular Music Books (2002)</B><BR><B>Winner of the Society for Ethnomusicology's (SEM) Alan P. Merriam Prize (2003)</B></P><P>Salsa is a popular dance music developed by Puerto Ricans in New York City during the 1960s and 70s, based on Afro-Cuban forms. By the 1980s, the Colombian metropolis of Cali emerged on the global stage as an important center for salsa consumption and performance. Despite their geographic distance from the Caribbean and from Hispanic Caribbean migrants in New York City, Caleños (people from Cali) claim unity with Cubans, Puerto Ricans and New York Latinos by virtue of their having adopted salsa as their own. The City of Musical Memory explores this local adoption of salsa and its Afro-Caribbean antecedents in relation to national and regional musical styles, shedding light on salsa's spread to other Latin American cities. Cali's case disputes the prevalent academic notion that live music is more "real" or "authentic" than its recorded versions, since in this city salsa recordings were until recently much more important than musicians themselves, and continued to be influential in the live scene. This book makes valuable contributions to ongoing discussions about the place of technology in music culture and the complex negotiations of local and transnational cultural identities.</P>

Winner of the ASCAP Deems Taylor Award for Popular Music Books (2002)
Winner of the Society for Ethnomusicology's (SEM) Alan P. Merriam Prize (2003)

Salsa is a popular dance music developed by Puerto Ricans in New York City during the 1960s and 70s, based on Afro-Cuban forms. By the 1980s, the Colombian metropolis of Cali emerged on the global stage as an important center for salsa consumption and performance. Despite their geographic distance from the Caribbean and from Hispanic Caribbean migrants in New York City, Caleños (people from Cali) claim unity with Cubans, Puerto Ricans and New York Latinos by virtue of their having adopted salsa as their own. The City of Musical Memory explores this local adoption of salsa and its Afro-Caribbean antecedents in relation to national and regional musical styles, shedding light on salsa's spread to other Latin American cities. Cali's case disputes the prevalent academic notion that live music is more "real" or "authentic" than its recorded versions, since in this city salsa recordings were until recently much more important than musicians themselves, and continued to be influential in the live scene. This book makes valuable contributions to ongoing discussions about the place of technology in music culture and the complex negotiations of local and transnational cultural identities.

Annotation Salsa is a popular dance music developed by Puerto Ricans in New York City during the 1960s and 70s, based on Afro-Cuban forms. By the 1980s, the Colombian metropolis of Cali emerged on the global stage as an important center for salsa consumption and performance. Despite their geographic distance from the Caribbean and from Hispanic Caribbean migrants in New York City, Calenos (people from Cali) claim unity with Cubans, Puerto Ricans and New York Latinos by virtue of their having adopted salsa as their own. The City of Musical Memory explores this local adoption of salsa and its Afro-Caribbean antecedents in relation to national and regional musical styles, shedding light on salsa's spread to other Latin American cities. Cali's case disputes the prevalent academic notion that live music is more "real" or "authentic" than its recorded versions, since in this city salsa recordings were until recently much more important than musicians themselves, and continued to be influential in the live scene. This book makes valuable contributions to ongoing discussions about the place of technology in music culture and the complex negotiations of local and transnational cultural identities Frontmatter List of Illustrations and Tables (page viii) Preface (page xi) Introduction (page 1) 1 "In Those Days, Holy Music Rained Down": Origins and Influence of Música Antillana in Cali and Colombia (page 31) 2 Memory and Movement in the Record-Centered Dance Scene (page 69) 3 Life in the Vinyl Museum: Salsotecas and Record Collectors (page 111) 4 "Heaven's Outpost": The Rise of Cali's Live Scene (page 153) 5 Taking Center Stage: The Boom of Local Bands (page 188) 6 "Cali Is Feria": Salsa and Festival in Heaven's Outpost (page 222) 7 Epilogue: Del Puente Pa'llá (page 256) Appendix 1: Map of Hubs of Salsa and Música Antillana in Cali (page 264) Appendix 2: Map of Socioeconomic Zones in Cali (page 265) Appendix 3: Important International and National Bands Appearing at the Cali Feria, 1968-95 (page 266) Notes (page 273) Glossary (page 291) Selected Discography (page 307) Index (page 309) Lise A. Waxer. Includes Bibliographical References, Discography (p. 307), And Index.