Salsa and its World: Latin America, New York, and the Nordic Countries
Lecture
Date: Wednesday 11 May 2022
Time: 18.00 – 20.00
Location: Library of the Nordic Institute of Latin American Studies (Universitetsvägen 10B) & webinar
This Open Lecture will historicize and discuss the role played by Salsa, the Latin American musical style, around the world
To participate online, please register here »
As a musical style, Salsa has become one of the most important elements of Latin American identification in the world. Since its emergence at the end of the 1960s, this rhythm has achieved great success in terms of musical production and followers. This open lecture aims to analyze the importance of Salsa inside and outside Latin America, its musical and national sources of inspiration, and the multiple meanings it conveys for musicians, dancers, and enthusiasts. The open lecture also seeks to uncover and reflect on the transformation processes of Afro-Caribbean sources of Salsa, the construction of the regional dimension of the "raza latina," and its links to pan-African culture. It will highlight the importance of Salsa as a channel of expression and construction of national, ethnic, regional, racial, ideological, class, and gender identities. It will explore Salsa as a cultural phenomenon that is simultaneously political and commercial. Significant attention will be paid to the international expansion of Salsa. The open lecture will highlight the role played by New York City and the United States in the creation of Salsa and its spread to European, Asian, and African countries. This will be analyzed by paying attention to the acceleration of globalization since the 1990s and the international circulation of music, specifically commercially branded "ethnic music." These aspects will be considered from different angles, focusing on Latin American diasporas and the importance of music within migration, cultural hybridism, technological developments, and cultural commodification.
This Open Lecture will take place at the Library of the Nordic Institute of Latin American Studies and Zoom. In order to participate online, please register here:
The Open Lecture will be divided into two sections. First, a keynote expert and a Nordic panel of Salsa connoisseurs will historicize and discuss this music style. Second, after the conclusion of the panel, a dance show will be performed.
Keynote speaker
Associate Professor Martha Santos (University of Akron, USA) (40 min. talk): Historian, salsa dancer, visiting professor at University Sorbonne Nouvelle (France), and facilitator of the interdisciplinary course "Salsa: History in Motion."
Nordic panel of Salsa connoisseurs:
Finland, Matilda Peltonen: is a journalist and experienced teacher. She has participated in the World Latin Dance Cup Pro, she was leader of a salsa dance group and is musical composer
Norway, Reidun Svabø: is artistic director, she has a long experience as dance teacher ads well as in the organization of cultural events in Norway, particularly focused on Latin American dance and music.
Sweden, Mileydi Fougstedt: is a Cuban-Swedish linguist and teacher. Mileydi is one of the founders of Musigrama Productions which organizes musical events, and has made a program about Salsa for Sveriges Radio (SR).
To participate online, please register here »
Organiser: Nordic Institute of Latin American Studies in collaboration with The Embassy of Colombia in Sweden
Contact: Andrés Rivarola Puntigliano; Gianfranco Selgas
Föranmälan krävs/Registration required
Last updated: April 29, 2022
Source: Nordic Institute of Latin American Studies