ABOUT THIS BOOK

Arsenio Rodríguez was one of the most important Cuban musicians of the twentieth century. In this first scholarly study, ethnomusicologist David F. García examines Rodríguez's life, including the conjunto musical combo he led and the highly influential son montuno style of music he created in the 1940s. García recounts Rodríguez's battle for recognition at the height of "mambo mania" in New York City and the significance of his music in the development of salsa. With firsthand accounts from relatives and fellow musicians, Arsenio Rodríguez and the Transnational Flows of Latin Popular Music follows Rodríguez's fortunes on several continents, speculating on why he never enjoyed wide commercial success despite the importance of his music. García focuses on the roles that race, identity, and politics played in shaping Rodríguez's music and the trajectory of his musical career. His transnational perspective has important implications for Latin American and popular music studies.

AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY

David F. García is Assistant Professor of Music at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

REVIEWS

"An engaging, timely, and thoroughly researched work that explores the accomplishments and legacy of one of Cuba's most important musicians and bandleaders, Arsenio Rodríguez Scull. García's book fills a voice on Cuban and Latin American popular music scholarship, painstakingly outlining the details of Arsenio's strong African playing style, and how his musical creations were deeply tied to race, class, and cubanidad. No other book so skillfully combines biography with a convincing cultural analysis of how music both emerges from and contests specific ideologies of race, class, and national identity. This book promises to be the definitive biography of Arsenio in the English language—comprehensive and unstinting in its attention to detail."
—Katherine Hagedorn, Associate Professor of Music at Pomona College, and author of Divine Utterances: The Performance of Afro-Cuban Santería

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Final Table of Contents

List of Illustrations
Preface

Introduction
"Feeling Son Montuno": Issues and Theoretical Approach
Outline
1    "I Was Born of Africa": Black Consciousness and Cubanidad
Formative Years
Reclaiming "Africa"
"Adore Her as Martí Did"
2    Negro y Macho: Arsenio Rodríguez's Conjunto and Son Montuno Style
The Early Septetos and Conjunto, 1926-1944
Contratiempo and the Emergence of the Son Montuno Feel
Placing the Emergence of Son Montuno
3    Who Is Who in Mambo?
Migrating to New York City
"I Sell Rhythm!" The Political Economy of Son Montuno and Mambo
The Pueblo Pueblo of El Barrio and the Bronx
4    Remembering the Past with El Ciego Maravilloso
Arsenio Rodríguez in Chicago, Curaçao, and Los Angeles
Nostalgia, Exile Politics, and the "Pre-salsa" Milieu in New York City
Final Performances and Death
5    Salsa and Arsenio Rodríguez's Legacy
"We Were Disciples of Arsenio"
Son Montuno and Salsa Aesthetics
Conclusion: Remembering Arsenio Rodríguez/Remembering Son Montuno

Notes
Discography
Bibliography

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