Music and Immigration in the United States and Chile: Identity and Hybridization

• In Event: 121 - Section on Marxist Sociology Refereed Roundtable Session and Business Meeting
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: Table 07. Culture, Music, and Identity: Critical Perspectives

Abstract

This presentation will examine the question of identity and hybridization among Latino American immigrants in the San Antonio music scene. The significance of this problem is relevant to sociological research since there is an increasing flow of Latino American immigrants settling in the San Antonio area. By using a theory of border culture hybridity to analyze sensitizing concepts in the data from qualitative interviews, there is evidence of the mechanism of hybridization. While we examine migration from Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean, most of the US data comes from Mexican-origin immigrants and the Banda music they bring to the scene. Data gathered from interviews reveal that Latino-origin American immigrants’ participation in music is closely related to other sociological factors: political action, identity, space and place, and social differentiation. The results and implications of this research study highlight the specificity of culture in the immigration process. Finally, we present comparative data on identity and hybridization among recent Latino immigrants to Chile.

Authors

• Jeffrey A. Halley, The University of Texas San Antonio

• Christina Eloise Lopez-Mobilia, UTSA