Musicologist Visits UNM to Discuss Politics and Sentimentalism in Bolero

September 19, 2016

As part of the UNM Department of Music's fall colloquium series, musicologist Dr. León García Corona will visit UNM to speak about "Mexico's Broken Heart: Music, Politics, and Sentimentalism in Bolero." The presentation will take place on Thursday, September 22, 2016, at 2:00 p.m. in Keller Hall (College of Fine Arts). For reference, see the Department of Music's website.

Performances of sentimentalism are ever-present in Mexican society, whether in the streets or in informal gatherings, where people sing songs that provide an outlet for deep-seated feelings of vulnerability. In this presentation, García Corona explores how the bolero encapsulates not only sentimentalism in Mexico but also the country’s economic and political turmoil.

García Corona is Assistant Professor of Ethnomusicology at Northern Arizona University. He worked as a content producer and education specialist for the Smithsonian Institution, where he was the founder and managing editor of Folkways Magazine. His research focuses on the connections between politics, economics, and music sentimentalism. His current book project explores music and sentimentalism in Mexico in its socio-economic, political, and historical context. He has also directed ensembles and world music workshops as a guest lecturer at the University of Washington, University of Michigan, Pennsylvania State University, and the University of Idaho.

This event is jointly sponsored by the UNM Department of Music and the LAII. For reference, see the event flyer.