Sounding Indigenous: Authenticity in Bolivian Music Performance [Paperback]

Michelle Bigenho (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 5, 2002

Sounding Indigenous explores the relations between music, people, and places through analysis of Bolivian music performances: by a non-governmentalorganization involved in musical activities, by a music performing ensemble,and by the people living in two rural areas of Potosi. Based on researchconducted between 1993 and 1995, the book frames debates of Bolivian national and indigenous identities in terms of different attitudes people assume towards cultural and artistic authenticity. The book makes uniquecontributions through an emphasis on music as sensory experience, anexamination of authenticity in relation to music, a combined focus on different kinds of Bolivian music (indigenous, popular, avant-garde), and an interpretation of local, national, and transnational fieldwork experiences.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A perfectly executed study about authenticity of musical expressions in Bolivia’s pluri–multicultural encounters with tradition and modernity. Bravo! An excellent performance." -- Enrique Mayer, Yale University

"A sensitive and wide-ranging study of the conundrums of national imagining and the politics of musical performance. Michelle Bigenho’s fascinating account combines anthropological insight with first-hand experience as a ‘Bolivian’ musician." -- Olivia Harris, Professor of Social Anthropology at Goldsmiths College, University of London

"This sensitive, astute, and nuanced ethnography takes us on a intriguing excursion into how national modernity intersects with indigenous modernities in the construction of a sense of nationhood in Latin America." -- Joanne Rappaport, Georgetown University

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

About the Author

Michelle Bigenho is Assistant Professor of Anthropology and Latin American Studies at Hampshire college. Her field research has focused on music performance in Bolivia and Peru.

Product Details

• Paperback: 289 pages
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan (July 5, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312240155
• ISBN-13: 978-0312240158
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #293,373 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Search for Authenticity, August 30, 2002

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This review is from: Sounding Indigenous: Authenticity in Bolivian Music Performance (Hardcover)

We live in an age of ever increasing globalism. People and societies living on the margins are rapidly being drawn into the world economy. As this process speeds on, these same people are taking a step back and wondering what is it that makes us unique? And in turn, who and what is truly "authentic".

Michelle Bigenho's book looks at these important questions within the context of Bolivian musical performance. As a participant observer, Bigenho joins and chronicles the experiences of three groups of musicians.

The first group is made up of professional musicians/intellectuals whose performance repertoire includes mestizo criollo music from the era of the Chaco War. This group explores the question of what it means to be a Bolivian by re-discovering music of the traumatic Chaco War. This was the key event that helped develop the sense of Bolivia as a nation state. This group helps expand the idea of what is "authentic".

The second case she describes is of an indigenous community that due to the migration of young people fears that it is losing its traditional culture. This community lives with the sense that they are losing their "authenticity". Bigenho examines this fear through the lense of their musical performances.

Bigenho contrasts this feeling of loss with another nearby community that is suffering the same demographic and cultural pressures. However, due to frequent contacts with anthropologists and NGO's, this community is secure in its identity. Their belief in their own authenticity is reflected in the music.

This book is interesting because of its many insights into Bolivian Music and its role in forming and defining a National Identity. However, what makes this an important book is that it addresses the subtle nuances of "authenticity" in this age of rapid globalization.