Musicology Colloquium: Ay, ay, ay, ay canta y no compones: Mariachi Performance and Composition

Dr. Russell C. Rodríguez


Wednesday, November 06, 2024 | 02:00 pm

Latin American and Iberian Institute (801 Yale Blvd NE)

801 Yale Blvd NE (campus building #165)

About:

Focusing on the impact of technology on mariachi music, this presentation examines the transition of the ensemble and its repertoire at the beginning of the 20th century. Rodríguez ultimately argues that the global reach of the mariachi, facilitated by the modern capitalist marketplace, garnered musical developments from cosmopolites contributing to the form’s vibrancy.

Russell C. Rodríguez is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Music at the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC). He received his PhD in Cultural Anthropology from UCSC. His research interests focus on expressive culture and cultural production within Greater Mexico. Rodríguez has worked over forty-five years as a mariachi musician in a transnational arts world. He has composed, arranged, and produced music for a variety of communal theater ensembles including Teatro Campesino and Teatro Vision. Rodríguez has also worked in the public sector with The Alliance for California Traditional Arts and as a consultant for Folkways Recordings.


Notes:

This event is free and open to the public.