Latina/o Studies Commons^™

Blending European And Latin Sounds: A Study Of French Horn Repertoire In Mexico, Aj Bernal

Theses and Dissertations--Music

As a first generation Mexican-American, it is crucial that I advocate and promote music of the culture I grew up in. This project aims to unearth Mexican compositional techniques that derive from the fusion of European and Indigenous roots in an effort to promote diversity within the realm of Western Classical music. Music in Mexico is characterized by a unique blend of indigenous rhythms, European classical structures, and regional folk influences. This project will discuss how the bold timbre of the French horn intertwines with traditional Mexican and indigenous melodies, rhythms, and forms that create a unique style. The horn’s …

Crossing The Atlantic: Italians In Argentina And The Making Of A National Culture, 1880–1930, Lauren A. Kaplan

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Between 1880-1930, Argentina took in millions of Italian immigrants, contributing to the largest voluntary diaspora in modern history. This dissertation examines how Argentina’s open immigration policy dovetailed with the formation of a national artistic style, generating new perspectives on how immigrants, particularly Italians, proactively shaped Argentine culture while also becoming enmeshed in an intricate geo-political relationship that spanned generations and regimes. This project takes an interdisciplinary approach, drawing upon research from anthropology, social history, political science, and nationalism studies in order to produce new insights about art and national identity in Argentina around the turn of the twentieth century.

Though …

Still Dreaming Of You: Selena's Discourse With And Continuing Impact On American Musical Culture, Hannah Lastra

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Selena Quintanilla Perez continues to circulate in popular culture, including MAC cosmetic lines, a Netflix series, and podcasts. As a result, her cultural influence continues to be passed on and shared with future generations. This thesis focuses on three aspects of Selena and Selena y Los Dinos: Selena’s music, Selena’s performance aesthetic, and Selena’s fandom today. Chapter 1 focuses on Selena y Los Dinos’ American musical influences, particularly studying the songs “Enamorada de ti,” “Missing my Baby,” and “Fotos y Recuerdos” and the presence of American genres of new jack swing, R&B, and rock within them. Chapter 2 focuses on …

Latinos In Massachusetts Selected Areas: Newton, Phillip Granberry, Florita Coto Tristán

Gastón Institute Publications

Established in 1989, the Massachusetts Legislature created the Mauricio Gastón Institute for Latino Community Development and Public Policy in response to a need for an improved understanding of the Latino experience in the commonwealth. Now in its 34th year, the Gastón Institute continues its mission of informing the public and policymakers about issues vital to the state’s growing Latino community and providing information and analysis necessary for effective Latino participation in public policy development. To learn more about the Gastón Institute, visit: www.umb.edu/gastoninstitute

The Notion Of Cultural Assimilation Into An American Identity: Abstract Or Concrete?, Julie A. Rivera

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Assimilation is believed to be the process immigrants follow to become "American." To be American is to be equal to other Americans in societal, employment, and educational opportunities. But this is not and cannot be an outcome of the assimilation process in the United States. There are multiple definitions and expectations of assimilation; too many to allow a clear outcome. This project addresses the complexity associated with all versions of assimilate, the multiple definitions, processes, and outcomes associated with this term, and demonstrates that there is no concrete resolution to an assimilation process due to the multitude of definitions attached …

A Power Man’S Theology: Marvel’S Luke Cage And Black Liberation Theology, Diarron B. Morrison

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Netflix released Marvel’s Luke Cage in 2016 to critical acclaim. Born from a 1970s comic book, the series features Luke Cage, an African-American superhero. Cage is a big, bald, bulletproof black man. Instead of tights and a cape, Cage wears a hoodie calling the audience to remember Trayvon Martin and other victims of white racism. Theologian James Cone created Black Liberation Theology in the 1970s. As a result of Cone’s work, Black Liberation Theology addresses the issue of white racism from a theological standpoint. In this thesis I present a close reading of Marvel’s Luke Cage using Black Liberation Theology …

Just A Buncha Clowns: Comedic-Anarchy And Racialized Performance In Black Vaudeville, The Chop Suey Circuit, And Las Carpas, Michael Shane Breaux

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

While the practice of white musical variety clowns embodying stereotypes of African, Chinese, and Mexican Americans has been widely documented and theorized in scholarship on US American popular performance, it has been done largely in segregated studies that maintain the idea that racial impersonations in musical variety is a privilege of white performers. For instance, no study exists that focuses on more than one stereotype at a time, and the performer’s body is always either white or of the same “color” as the type being played. In addition, very little has been written about the tours and circuits run by …

Dancing Around And Through Harm: Examining The Lived Experiences Of Women Of Colour With Gender-Based Violence In The Toronto & Kitchener-Waterloo Latin Dance Communities, Lexi Salt

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Given the systemic nature of gender-based violence in Canada, as well as the increasing popularity of Latin dance, it is important to better understand the particular and culturally-specific ways gender-based violence manifests itself within the Latin dance community. This research study examines the lived experiences of women of colour with gender-based violence in the Toronto and Kitchener-Waterloo Latin dance communities. Two groups of participants took part in semi-structured interviews: 14 women of colour dancers, and six “Power Players”, leaders in the Latin dance community who are in a position of power (e.g., instructors, organizers, DJs). The data was analyzed using …

The Life And Death Of Mambo: Culture And Consumption In New York's Salsa Dance Scene, Carmela Muzio Dormani

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

In recent decades salsa dancing has become a global phenomenon, spawning a variety of styles and levels. Although formerly passed from person to person through Latinx family and community networks, salsa dance has long been practiced in a more codified way. Today, salsa is largely reproduced in dance studio classes, congresses, and competitions collectively referred to as “the salsa scene”. In New York City, the salsa scene retains vestiges of Nuyorican and Afro-Caribbean identity, though it is practiced by people of all racial and ethnic backgrounds and marketed to a global base. Building on long term participation observation and nearly …

My Mother's Daughter, Monica Vanessa Martinez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

In order to address the way the Chicano culture attempts to silence its women, My Mother's Daughter is a collection of short stories narrated by Chicanas. The collection uses the complicated relationship between mothers and daughters to highlight the conflicts that lead to the silencing of Chicanas. The collection attempts to challenge this silencing by utilizing the first person perspective to give a voice to these traditionally silenced women. Another literary technique employed is the use of dramatic irony. With multiple first person narrators in the same story the collection uses dramatic irony as a way of playing up the …