Description
Book SynopsisIn the hands of the state, music is a political tool. The Banda de Música del Estado de Oaxaca (State Band of Oaxaca, BME), a civil organization nearly as old as the modern state of Oaxaca itself, offers unique insights into the history of a modern political state.
In The Inevitable Bandstand, Charles V. Heath examines the BME's role as a part of popular political culture that the state of Oaxaca has deployed in an attempt to bring unity and order to its domain. The BME has always served multiple functions: it arose from musical groups that accompanied military forces as they trained and fought; today it performs at village patron saint days and at Mexico's patriotic celebrations, propagating religions both sacred and civic; it offers education in the ways of liberal democracy to its population, once largely illiterate; and finally, it provides respite from the burdens of life by performing at strictly diversionary functions such as serenades and Su
Trade Review
“An important contribution to historical studies, complementing the existing body of work on our understanding of Oaxaca, and adding a crucial piece to the puzzle.”—Mark Brill, associate professor of musicology and world music at the University of Texas at San Antonio and the author of Music of Latin America and the Caribbean
Table of Contents
List of IllustrationsAcknowledgmentsIntroduction1. Closing the Colonial Past2. Nineteenth-Century Invasions and Influences3. Inception, Institutionalization, and Venue4. The BME during the Porfiriato and the Mexican Revolution5. Mestizaje, Musical Pedagogy, and the Socialist State6. Municipal Control to Innes’s Reign7. From Political Proselytizer to Economic EngineConclusion: Gauging the Political ToolAppendix 1. BME DirectorsAppendix 2. Oaxaca Military and National Guard Units, 1846 and 1848Appendix 3. BME DependenciesAppendix 4. Extraordinary Performances, 1966 (Partial)NotesGlossary of Song and Dance FormsBibliographyIndex
