The Making of Latin London: Salsa Music, Place and Identity - Hardcover

Roman-Velazquez, Patria

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1840148810 ISBN 13: 9781840148817

Publisher: Routledge, 1999

Synopsis

This book focuses on how Latin American people and cultural practices have moved from one continent to another, and specifically to London. How do Latin Americans experience such a process and what part do different people play in the re-making of Latin identities in the neighbourhoods, parks, bars and dance clubs of London? Through a critical engagement with theories of globalization, the geography of power, cultural identity and the transformation of places, the book explores how the formation of Latin identities is directly related to wider social, economic and political processes. Drawing on the voices of migrant peoples, community activists, shop owners, sports organizers, club owners, dancers, dance teachers, musicians and disc jockeys, the book argues that the micro movements of people - through a shopping mall or across a dance floor in a club - are directly connected to global processes involving the regulated movement of citizens, sounds and images across national boundaries and through cities.

About this title

Review

'...this is a well documented study that includes an analysis of contemporary theories about cultural identities...this is a pioneering study - of academic nature - that extends the growing area of cultural studies in relation to concepts such as nation, identity and migration.' El Neuvo Dia '...well researched, well written and a genuinely interesting account...' Ethnic and Racial Studies

Synopsis

This book interrogates recent debates about globalisation and cultural identities by focusing on how Latin American people and cultural practices have moved from one continent to another, and specifically to London. What does Latin culture mean when it is dislocated from its point of geographical reference? How do Latin Americans experience this process and what part do different people play in the re-making of a Latin identity in the neighbourhoods, parks, bars and dance clubs of London? This work approaches these issues by bringing together theoretical insights drawn from some of the key contemporary debates in the human and social sciences and combining this with information derived from detailed research and involvement in London's Latin community and music scene. Through critical engagement with contemporary theories of globalization, the geography of power, cultural identity and the transformation of places, the book explains how the formation of Latin identities is directly related to wider social, economic and political processes.

The book argues that most "micro" movements of people - through a shopping mall or practicing dances in the intimate environment of a nightclub - are directly connected to the most "macro" of global processes involving the regulated movement of citizens, sounds and images across national boundaries and through cities. The work represents an important contribution to our understanding of global processes by highlighting and exploring the inter-relationships between nation and migration, the identity of places and the performing body.

About this edition

• Publisher: Routledge
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 1840148810
• ISBN 13: 9781840148817
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 176