The Sounds of Latinidad: Immigrants Making Music and Creating Culture in a Southern City by Samuel K. Byrd (review)

Abstract

and suffering. But on their way to the sanctuary, they worship the sunrise and sunset, and perform rituals at sacred locations called apachetas. When they arrive at their destination, the ukukus and dancers enact the yawar mayu (river of blood) ritual. In brief, this cultural syncretic practice combines Catholic worship from the colonial period with a pre-Columbian native cult celebrating water as the source of life and death. After observing the pilgrimage three times, Mendoza concludes that there is a strong unity of sound, sight, and motion in the Andean world, opening up new avenues for social science researchers. At the same time, she subtly urges us to study the pilgrimage before it drastically changes. It is a race against the modernization of Andean society and the effects of global warming, as each year the glaciers are smaller. The documentary is an appropriate length for classroom use, short enough to also allow for discussion in the same class. It addresses issues of Andean music, dance, and religiosity. It also addresses topics such as cultural change, capitalist modernization, global warming, and cognitive processes, and so is a well-conceived introduction to the Andean world. Moreover, the documentary could be used at undergraduate and graduate levels in departments of anthropology, cultural studies, and Spanish, as well as in centers for Latin American studies.