ideology and salsa

8/12/2019 Ideology and Salsa

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210 WESTERN FOLKLOREand socialpsychologicaltrain.His conception f ideology ecog-nizes that social order is precariously eld together nd proble-matic.He sees man as realizedthrough ymbolic hought; on-structingymbolicmodelswhich createthecapabilities ywhichhe is defined.Man makeshimself politicalanimal through heconstructionf ideologieswhich are schematicmagesof a socialorderwhich s chronicallymal-integratedince no socialarrange-ment is or can be completely uccessfuln coping withproblemst inevitably aces. lI suggest hatthe ideologicalsymbols f which Geertzspeaksmaybe contained n concentratednd condensedform n folk-lore.The powerof these ymbolsies in their capacity o grasp,formulatend communicate ocial realitiesthatelude the tem-pered languageof science,that it maymediatemore complexreadingsthan its literalreadingsuggests. 2 eertz'spreferenceforspeakingof ideologicalsymbolswhosemeanings re sociallyrooted s in refreshingontrasto thetypical iew ofideologies sdistortions nd oversimplifications. 3Evaluatively hargedconceptualizationsf ideologyhave beenemployedn studies fthe use offolklore y rulingelitesor poli-ticalpartiesmputed obe extremistrnationalistic.hey includestudiesof theuse offolklore yromantic ationalists,ommunistor fascist overnmentsnd of the use of folkloreby Americanleftistmovements.4hey examinetheexplicit deologies f thesegroups ather hanthe deologies f theparticularultural ystemsinwhich hefolkloreppears.R. SergeDenisoff's ork s themostblatantlyvaluative fthese.He opposes the traditional o the ideologicaland presumes n1. CliffordGeertz, Ideology as a Cultural System, n The InterpretationofCultures (New York,1973),203.2. Ibid., 210.3. Ibid., 209, 211 et passim.4. A reviewof much of this work appears in John Alexander Williams, Radi-calism and Professionalism in Folklore Studies: A Comparative Perspective,Journalof the Folklore Institute 11 (1975): 211-235. For representative xamples ofworks on the use of folkloreby leftistmovements n the United States see, R.SergeDenisoff,Great Day Coming (Chicago and Urbana, 1971); by communistgov-ernments,Richard Dorson, Folklore and the National Defense Education Act,Journal of American Folklore 75 (1962): 160-164; by fascist Germany, ChristaKamentsky, Folklore as a Political Tool in Nazi Germany, Journal of AmericanFolklore 85 (1972): 221-235; by romanticnationalists,William Wilson, Folklore andNationalism in Modern Finland (Bloomington, 1976).

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SYNCRETISM AND IDEOLOGY 211idealizednotionof a non-ideologicalfolk .He doesnotconsidereither hesongs hemselvesr theculture f theirmakersdeologi-cally, describingnsteadthe folksongsof the southeastUnitedStates s

general nd rhetorical,arely ffering serious olution o thesocial problemsbeleaguering he south. . . These woe-begonewails werecouched n thesymbolichetoricf theblues,whichrarely fferedolutions utside f a goodwoman, bottleonSaturdaynightor goingto heaven. ... The heightenedmmisera-tion fsouthern orkersound heirongs ocusedncreasinglyneconomic nd politicalconditions. owever,t tooknorthernideologieso add the ocialpanacea o theperceivedilemma.5Denisoff ailsto presenthis ideologicalperspectivewhile con-demningthat of theseurbanradicals.Perhapshe identifies iththe values of thedominant ociety fromwhichhe reports heleftwassociallyndpoliticallysolated.6 hese values redefended

in works loaked n a guiseofobjectivity.In someof his recentworksDenisoffppearsto recognize hatthe deologies ssociatedwithfolk ongsdo notonly ppear mongextremists.7n all of hisworkshe reliesmainlyupon thecontentanalysisof songs.He rarely onsiders he ideas of musicians x-trinsic o textual ontent r themanipulation fmusical form sa function f ideology.Alone amongfolklorists,ene Bluesteinhas allowed forboth ofthese pproachesn a workwritten romtheperspectivesf iterarynd cultural riticism.8ohnGreenwayhas used profilesf individual ingers o suggest elationships e-tweenthe deologies fsongwritersnd their ongwriting.9acobElderhasshownhowCalypso erved s a vehiclefor ocio-politicalprotest, elating ts aterdevelopment o therise ofTrinidadian5. Denisoff,GreatDay Coming,18. A morebalanced view of the situation in theSouth at the time about which Denisoffwrites s provided,curiously, n an essay

suggesting the applications of Marxist cultural theory to country music. TimPatterson claims that a music which protestedagainst countysheriffs,merchantsand bankers but which exhibits vacillation on the subjects of race, religiousescapism and religious chauvinism expressed the condition and resentments f aclass, but not a revolutionary lass. See Tim Patterson, Notes on the HistoricalApplication of Marxist Cultural Theory, Science& Society39 (1975): 283.6. Denisoff,GreatDay Coming,18.7. Denisoff, ing a Song of Social SignifiganceBowlingGreen, Ohio, 1972).8. Gene Bluestein,The Voice of the Folk (Amherst,Massachusetts,1972).9. JohnGreenway,AmericanFolksongsof Protest (Philadelphia, 1952).



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SYNCRETISM AND IDEOLOGY 213ing.Remodeling ncreases heambiguityfsymbols s it changesforms o resemble s closely s possibleboththehistoricalourceand the forms urrentn the environment. '3yncretismsre bynature mbiguous nd exhibitpalpablyhowthecomplex ffectsfacculturative ontactshape the emergent ualities of culturalforms.AlthoughHerskovits ecognized hattheconceptof syncretismhad broad mplications orcultural heory,14e did not elaborateupontheprocessesnvolved n thegenesis fsyncretismsr on thenatureof the formswhich theyassume.Roger Bastide has at-tempted odefine he formal eatures e associateswith twotypesof syncretictructures.hese syncretictructuresorrespond otwotypes f acculturationtudies: material cculturation hichinvolves nly hecombination ftraits,nd formal cculturationwhich ncludesthepsychologicalspects f acculturationnd theprocessesf transformationn logic,perception,memorynd emo-tion,encompassingmuchofwhatHerskovits alled reinterpreta-tion.15Material acculturationwould only involveles structureslind-aires, linear structures, onsisting f sequencesof words andsigns,each containing n irreduciblebundle of relations.Per-mutationsn thesestructures ccurwhen a bundle of relationsfrom heforms f another ulture re added to the structure rsubstituted ora bundle of relations riginallyn the structure.Les structuresayonnantes,radiating tructures, onsist f com-plex groupings f sentiments,nclinationsnd cognitive eatures

13. Karl Reisman, Cultural and Linguistic Ambiguity n a West Indian Village,in Norman WhittenJr. and John Szwed,Afro-American nthropologyNew York,1970), 129-132. He sees masking and transvaluation as involving,respectively,the takingon of forms rom he immediateenvironment s a mask behind which,or throughwhich,alternatemeanings are conveyedand the transformationf themeanings of forms is imposed upon people. He cites the work of Metraux onHaitian Voodoo (AlfredMetraux, Voodoo in Haiti [New York, 1959]) as providingexamples of these processes.He cites Taylor's examples of the origins of certainwords in Saramaccan (a Surinamese creole language) and their relationships tosynchronic echniquesas well as linguisticexamples fromhis own work in Antiguaas processesof remodeling.See Douglas Taylor, reviewof Anton Donicie and JanVoorhoeve, Sarama Kaanse Woordenschat in International Journal of AmericanLinguistics30 (1964): 434-439.14. Herskovits,The Myth of the Negro Past (Boston, 1958),xxii-xxiii.15. Roger Bastide, L'acculturation formelle in Le Prochain et le Lointain(Paris, 1970), 137-148.



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214 WESTERN FOLKLOREforming halo around a nucleus. In radiating tructuresyn-cretismsnvolve psychical ransformationsorrespondingo thereworkingf Gestalten hatoccurs n formal cculturation.'6Bastidecharacterizes yth s having he features fboth inearand radiating tructures. s a narrative myth onsists fwordsin sequenceand bundles ofrelations.However, incemyths realso objectsofbelief, heydo not stay mprisonedwithin narra-tive. The myth spreads ut intobehavior nd attitudes. t mayappearin dreams,n gestures,n caregivento the sick or in thecourting f overs.' We might egard ongs s having hefeaturesofboth inearand radiating tructures.ike a myth, songdoesnot only exist withina particularyricor narrative ormas abundleof relations r a set offormal eatures.t mayswim boutin theheadsofpersonswhohave heard ton theradio,may erveas a model forbehavior ndmay ppear n dreams.As Bastide ndicates,yncretismsavebothcognitive nd affec-tiveaspects.The behavioral ealizations f ideologiesof syncreticprocessesmaybe manifestedn a variety fways. observed,ndnote below,changes n the instrumentationf bands,the use ofmusical nd linguisticode-switching,nd the useof musicalformsassociatedwithparticular ultures. deologieswere nferred romthe observation fsuchbehavior nd the elicitation f the ideas,attitudes,nd beliefs fmusicians.deologiesmayalso appearinwritten orm,s inbooks nd articleswrittenyand formusicians,aswell as interviews ithmusiciansn the fanzine magazines orthe aficionadosf a music.Bastide contendsthat the radiatingstructures f myths rerestructuredy ideologiesresulting rom n dchecsociologique( sociological low ) experienced ue to frustrationsmposedbysocial existence and economic exploitationby other ethnicgroups. 8sWhat I refer o as syncreticdeologies re mosthighlymanifesturing periodofdchec ociologique.Theyareresponsesto thealterationsfspatial, emporal nd situational erspectiveswhichKarlMannheim eesas occurring uring heprocess fcul-turechange.19

16. Bastide, Le syncretismemystique, in Le Prochain et le Lointain (Paris,1970),237-239.17. Ibid., 237-238.18. Ibid., 241.19. Karl Mannheim, deology and Utopia (New York, 1936),82-83 et passim.



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SYNCRETISM AND IDEOLOGY 215Discussionsof the Salsa musicof Latin New Yorkersusuallyspeakof tssyncreticualities.Theytrace heorigins f the music

to Cuba, where ontact etweenBlacks,Latins,Amerindians,ndEuropean mmigrantsontributed o theformationfa pluralisticculture.n NewYorkthe musichasfelt he effectsfthepluralismof thatcitywith its largeHispanic populationfrom hroughoutLatin America nd thevariety f otherethnicgroups.Syncreticideologies fLatin musiciansn New York evaluatethedirectiontheirmusic should take n appealingto a Latin audience and inbeingadaptedfor non-Latin udience.They are also concernedwith whether uchadaptationswill sacrificehe integrityf themusic s a Latinmusic.Latinmusiciansn New York,regardlessf their thnicgroup,acknowledge Cuban originfor alsa.Ethnomusicologicaltudieshavenotedthat hesyncretizationfAfricannd Europeanmusicshas been mostextensive n the Latin Catholic reasoftheAmer-icas and especiallymarked n Cuba. In Cuba, Iberianmusic ofcomplexand hot rhythmicoundationperhapsdue partly oMoorish nfluence)wassyncretizediththemusicof severalWestand CentralAfrican eoples.20 ocalmusichistoriansnNewYorkhave tied the development f Salsa musicto the complexities fcreolizationn Cuba. Max Salazarstatesthat AfricanYorubanrhythmsmbodies tself sic]with the Spanishand Moorishrhy-thms,hus heoverwhelmingfro-Cubanhythmsfthe Yambu,Manyunga, Columbia, Yuca and Palo were the first fmanyto be created ... [and] theseprimitiverhythms volved intotheAfro,Rumba, Son,Conga,Guaguancoand Guaracha. 21The antecedent uban musicmost imilar o SalsawasperformedbyurbanAfro-Cuban onjuntos.The conjuntosdevelopedfromfestivaltreet ands ndbegantoplay ncabarets, otels, nddancehalls in theyears ollowing he FirstWorldWar. They typicallyconsisted fcongaandbongodrums, iano,the Cuban guitar res,claves,trumpets,nd otherwind instruments.onjuntogroupsperformednumber f traditional fro-Cubanhythmsncludingtheguaracha,heguaguanco, varietyf rhumba hythms,ndtheson ofrural Orienteprovincewhichbecamequite popularafter

20. RichardWaterman, Hot' Rhythm n Negro Music, Journalof theAmericanMusicological Society1 (1948): pp. 24-37.21. Max Salazar, A ShortHistoryof Salsa, Latin NY, April 1974,p. 12.



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216 WESTERN FOLKLOREit was introducedn Havana in the earlyyearsof the twentiethcentury.While theconjuntoswere the mostpopularurbandance bandof theAfro-Cubans,haranga andsplayed hemostpopulardancemusic forthe Europeanizedupper classes.Charangamusic is aliltingmusic of flute, imbales, nd stringednstruments hichincorporatedspects fEuropeanclassical nd nineteenth-centurydance music. The rhythmsmost closely associatedwith thecharangawere thedanzon, hepachanga, nd thechachachi.

Duringthe sameperiodas theconjuntosbeganto playin cab-arets and hotelsforan upper class and internationaludience,charangamusicians eganexperimenting ithrhythmsssociatedwith heconjuntos.A senseoftheastonishingclecticismesultingfrom yncretizationsuch as weretakingplace in Cuba betweenthe worldwarswasprovidedbya Salsamusicianwhospoketomeofhow when isteningoa danzononemight hear Mozart's heme... [whereupon] they'dadd the son to it at the end [which]makes. . . themriff littlebit. Charangamusicians ventuallytartedplayingforAfro-Cuban udiences n theearlynineteenforties.At that ime harangamusicianswere yncretizingazzwith heirmusic.The influence f American azz upon the music of theconjuntoshad been significantince the 1930s. Black Americanjazz heard on phonographrecords and fromblack Americansperformingn Cuba had a great nfluence uring hisperiod.Cu-banmusicians, howereexposedthrough ariousmedia to Amer-ican azzandwhosemusicwasnowheardbyan internationaludi-ence in the resorts f Cuba, migratedn increasing umbers oNew YorkCitywhere,n contactwithLatinsfrom ther ountriesandblackAmericans,hey reated musicalfusionknown s Latinjazz.Salsa is a genericnameadoptedrecentlyor variety fNewYorkLatin dancemusics. t includesthemusicofgroupswhichplaywhat was called Latin jazz threedecadesago as well as themusicof other Latin ethnicgroups n New York.PuertoRicanmusicianshavesubstantiallynfluenced hemusicwiththeirrein-terpretationsf black American azz and the plena and bombarhythmsf their sland. Dominicanmusicianshave brought hemerengue of the Dominican Republic to the music. Salsa musichas in the last fewyearsassumed an identity s a music of Latin



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SYNCRETISM AND IDEOLOGY 217NewYorkers,n identificationsually onsidered o be superordi-natetoan identification ith nyparticular atin ethnicgroup.

The word Salsa formallyefersoa sauce usedin theprepara-tionand seasoning ffood.As a label for hemusic t is used bymanyas synecdochic22orNew York Latin culture. t is oftenthought fas referringo Latin essencemuchas theword soulhasbeenused forAfro-Americans.alsa music s partofa symboliccomplexbringingogether isparate lements rom hedomains fmusic, exualitynd food: Salsa wasusedin Cuba manyyears goas well as in Puerto Rico and in many partsof SouthAmerica.When a band wasreally nto it, itwas said theywereworkin' r'cocinado'and thustheyhad SALSA, an importantngredientncooking.... Salsais something eryLatin,fiery, ildand sensual.If you are making ove withmuchogustoand emotion,you gotSALSA. 23The antecedents f Salsa musicas it is thought o have beenplayedin Cuba are consideredby Salsa musicians o be tipico,which s to saythat t is nationallyepresentative,typical, ndthat t assumed hefunctionsftradition. uban tipicomusicde-fines baseline of roots fromwhichSalsa has grown nd fromwhich it continuesto be nourished. Tipico assumesdiversemeaningsformusicians n theirsyncreticdeologies.The mosttraditionalist usiciansmayrefuse o use the label Salsa at all orclaim that heyplayCuban music.At theoppositepole are thosemusicianswhosee commercializations an imperative hichnec-essarily nvolvesthe diminutionof the tipico qualites of themusic.Most musicians pprehendthe ambiguity f the syncretismswhichare beingcreated.There is considerable mbivalence o-wardstheconsequences fchange.Manymusicians re, however,optimistic hat an essential ipicocore will be maintained n amusic enriched y change.Theyhope toreaptheeconomicbene-fitswhichwould result rom laying or massAmericanudienceand theaesthetic ewards fexperimentationithothermusics.One highly uccessful andleader nd recordproducerbelievesthatSalsa maybe commercial nd tipicowithoutcontradiction.

22. Kenneth Burke, The Philosophy of LiteraryForm (Baton Rouge, Louisiana,1941), 26.23. Izzy Sanabria: Mr. Salsa, Latin NY, October 1974,pp. 28-29.



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218 WESTERN FOLKLOREHe claimsto be authenticallyeworking uban tipicomusic. Hementions hathe rarelyborrowsmusicalideas fromother Salsamusicians n New York.His reinterpretationsf tipicomusic aremodelledfrom ecordingsfold music,hisexperiencesn Havanabeforetherevolution,nd tapesofrecentRadio Havana broad-casts.He sees himself s kindof a traditionalist,typicalist :

I really elieve nmaintainingtipico hing.f I go too far wayI'm unhappy,'ll be bastardizing yselforthebread. Tipico]meansveryCuban music [and] Salsa means tipico . . [the]NewYork ipico ound, ubanmusicnterpretedyNewYork ats.This musician s one of themostprominentfa number f non-Latinswho havebecome Salsa musicians.He claimsa fidelityotraditionwith all the commitment f a convert, o the Santeriacult as well as to tipicoSalsa music.Yet he speculates t lengthabouthow hismusicmight ppeal to a broadAmerican udience.He code-switchesetween nglish nd Spanish n the ntroductory

frames f hissongs.He feels t willbe necessaryor alsamusiciansto be recorded ylargenationalrather han smallethnic-orientedrecord ompanies.He talks fusingEnglish yrics,rapdrums nda littlemoredisco to cultivate n American udiencewithamusicwhichwouldbe bothcommercialnd tipico.Anothermusician has recently xpanded his applicationoftipicoto includeelements f the ibaromusicof hisnativePuertoRico thathehasincorporatednto his music.He contends hathismusic can be tipico n thisbroadened ensewhileappealingto amass udience.Others ikehimfeelthat alsa canreadily yncretizevarieties f Latin music such as Brazilianor Panamanianmusic.Suchsyncretisms,owever,reat an early,mosaic tage.The remodeling rocessmaygenerate onsiderable mbivalenceamongmusicianswho view the sacrifice f tipicoaspectsof themusicas an inevitable onsequenceof theirgrudgingubmissionto commercial ressures. onfusion nd ambivalence haracterizeone groupwhichhad fora numberof yearsrevivedcharangamusic.A schism entsthemembers f thisgroup,whohold op-posing deasconcerninghedirection f theirmusic.An oldermember f thisgrouplaments he coursewhich hisgrouphastaken n deviating rom hetipico haranga orm.Whilehe feelsthattheyoungerLatins for whom he playsbasicallyappre-



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SYNCRETISM AND IDEOLOGY 219ciatetheirmusic,he believes hat heywould rather swing hanappreciatethe harmony nd sweetness f their music. Hecannot dentify ithwhatheregards s a tendencyoexcessivenessin inventionwhichhas torn t theintegrityfcharangamusic.He acknowledges ut does not acceptthat uchinventionsre inparta response o thechanging astes f audiences. n the past,dancerswouldoften ausefrom ancing oappreciate solo.Thismusician emarkedwithfrustrationpontheunwillingnessfhiscurrentudiences o sitand listento tres nd piano solos becauseof their ompulsion oconstantlyance.A youngCuban refugee,who is a leaderofthisgroup, s morereconciledto change.He speaksof past failureswhichresultedfrom rigid dherence o a tipicocharanga orm:

We have nsisted n charangamusic. ora longtimewe weren'tacceptedt all.Peoplehere ikethebrasswith heband sound..therhythm-thecongadrum,the timbale and theguiro .... Wetried opush tdown,ndkeep tat a veryow evel, ndhave heviolins,ndthevoices ndthepianoandthebasscome utmore.Well,thatwas notverywellaccepted.t waspretty, aybe, utthey ouldn't isten o,really et nto t,and likewhatwasgoingon. So whatwe did swebroughthe hythmp,with hebigbelland thenoise little it o that heyould ccept his ndthey id.His grouphas become increasinglyelective n adaptingtheirrepertoire o differentontexts.The danzon,closelyassociated

withcharangamusic in Cuba, is now played onlybeforeolderLatinaudiences. n a performanceefore largely atinaudienceon the East Side of Manhattanhe framed he performancef adanzonwith n explanatoryntroduction,o thedisinterestfmostof the audience.He regards heclave beat as structurallyssential o hismusic.Within heframeworkfthat tructuree isattemptingtentativecommercialization. e speakswith obvious uncertainty:Whatwe're doing now, this is just an experiment . . . becoming morecommercialized;hat s,takea fewof the American unes nd playit within heclavestructuref themusic.The violinist f thisgroup,who performsegularlywith azzand rhythmnd blues as well as Salsa groups,felt thatmuchofthe uniqueness of theirmusic rested in its rhythm.He thoughtthatharmonic experimentationwas beyond both the competence



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220 WESTERN FOLKLOREand instrumentationf the band. Such innovations re ambiva-lentlyviewed,as necessary ut probablyharmful: I love therhythms. owever,harmonicallyt doesn'tgo too far.And then,again, fyouadd too muchharmony oudestroyhefeeling.Rhythm s, as Bruno Nettlhas observed, strongfeature fAfricanmusic which has been highly esilientduringaccultura-tion.24Manymusicians cho an emphasisupon the centralityftheclavebeatwhich, s RichardWatermannotes, ppears n themusicofDahomey,Nigeria, nd Brazil as well as in themusic ofCuba.25A seasonedmusician,prominentn Latin musicin NewYork for hirty ears, lso sees theclavebeat as a frameworkponwhich nnovationsre tobe constructed. e recalled hatharmonicinnovations ad been necessary rom he earliestperiodof NewYork Latinmusic:

Wealways ept he uthenticityo matter hat. he Latinrhythmwasever-presentn theformfthe lavebeat.The clavebeatwaseither wo ndthree,rthree nd two.Wedeveloped armonicallyover hat.As weprogressed,eAmericanizedur harmonictruc-ture. guesswewanted morediverseudience, wider ccep-tance.We added ninths nd thirteenthsnd made the wholeorchestra ork arder.t also made t morenterestingor s. Buttherhythmsemained nchanged,orthe mostpart.The clavebeatmust e adhered obytheentire hythmection r itwon'twork. t'sbasically two-barhrase hat an change, ependinguponthetune. t'salsobasedon the yncopated,hythmicigura-tion fthemelodyine. t camefrom frica ndbecame hepopu-larthingt s when thitCuba decades go.26ManySalsamusicians ontend hattheir ongsmust haveEng-lish lyrics f theirmusic is to appeal to a non-Latinaudience.However,musicians ecognize he strong entimentsf languageloyalty eldbytheirLatin audience.Here,Bastide'smetaphor fa halo of complex groupings f sentiments,nclinations,ndcognitive eaturess especially pt. One bandleader peaks roni-

cally fhow,regardlessfthetransvaluationfforms ymusicians,meaningswhich re alien or alienatingmaybe perceived yaudi-ences: If we start inging hem our tunesin Englishthen our24. Bruno Nettl,Music in Primitive Culture (Cambridge,Mass., 1954), 132-133.25. Waterman,36.26. ArnoldJaySmith, Sounds from the Salsa Source,'Downbeat, 22 April 1976,p. 16.



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SYNCRETISM AND IDEOLOGY 221Latinaudiences eelthatwe'regettingoocommercializednd tooAmericanized.f we don't do it thentheAmericanpublicwon'tunderstandwhatthehell we're playing o againwe're betweenthedeviland thedeepblue sea.The bandleader nd recordproducer f whomwe spokeearliercontends hatEnglish yricswill be indispensable or uccesswitha massAmericanudience.He proposes compromise hichwouldrespectthe language loyaltiesof a faithful atin audience: Idon'tthinkEnglish lonewouldsufficeecause thinkyou'dkillthe people who supportyou. You'd alienate themaway.But Ithink bilingualapproachwouldwork . . themelody ine re-peatedtwice, nce in English nd once in Spanish.This strategys partoftheformulawhichhe citesfor cross-overtune, thesingle highly uccessfulongwhichwouldbridgethegapbetween he Latin andnon-Latin udience.The crossovertune is thesource fmuchspeculationmongSalsamusicians.One universallyitedcriteria ora crossoverune is that t beeasyfornon-Latins odance to it. It is feltbyall that alsamusicisa dancemusic-a minimal efinitionfSalsamust ncludemen-tionof this. n fact,n some reasofSouthAmerica, alsamusic sknown s movimiento.Salsa musicians emember hatmasspopularity f Latin musicin thepastwasassociatedwiththepopularityf Latindances uchas the cha-cha-chand themambo.Experiencedmusicians, ow-ever,recall thatwhileadapting heirmusic fornon-Latindancersmanymusicianswatereddown theirmusic. Musicians such asPerez Prado and XavierCugat,who at one time wererespectedas innovatorsmongLatinmusicians,rethoughto havestagnatedin their reativityollowingommercial uccess nd submission othetastes f a massAmerican udience. Musicianswho have beenactivefor tenyears rmore recallwithdistastewhattheyregardas thevapidness ftheLatin soulmusicwhichthey ontend heywerepressured o playduringthe short-livedoogaloo phaseofthenineteen ixties.Nevertheless,alsa musicians re stillquiteeagerto appeal to a non-Latindancing udience. The popularityofthe Latinhustle, dancewhichhashelpedto revivebodycon-tact n American ocialdancing, as inspired ome Salsa musiciansto modify heirmusicrhythmicallyo suit American nterpreta-tions fthisdance.The ideal crossoverunewould remaintipico n its essentials



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222 WESTERN FOLKLOREwhile capturing non-Latin udience through he judicioususeofsuchstrategiess thosementioned bove.Changes n themusicare determined othbya desireforartistic xperimentationndthe exigencies f the entertainment arket. alsa musicians on-front roblems imilar o those fother olk ndpopularmusicianswhoseek to sell records nd obtain iveengagementsn the argestmarket ossible. n remodelingheirmusicthey einterpretradi-tional dimensions f form s theymodify heseforms oresemblethoseformswhichare mostpopularwiththeirtarget udiences.Their situation s sharedbyotherfolk nd popularartistswho,asSaul Landau indicates, re involved n a market ulturewhereartistic rofessionalismecomes lso market rofessionalism.' 27Unlikeother thnicmusicians f theUnitedStates, erformersofSalsamusicare often mmigrantsrom rban rather hanruralareas.28While performingheantecedent orms f Salsa in Cuba,musiciansfirst ecame acquaintedwith the characteristicsndneedsofan internationaludience. n NewYorkCity,musicianshave continued o viewtheirmusicas a commoditynd seek tomarket heirmusicto non-Latins s well as to theloyalSalseros.They feel that the largeearnings f rockgroupswill be withintheir rasp fthey re able to find heright ormula or crossovertune.They regard n appeal to a mass American udienceas animperativefthey reto sell records nd performheirmusicwithsufficientrequencyndremunerationoas to earntheir ivelihoodsolelyfrom heirmusic.For themoreambivalentmusicians, hischoicenecessarilynvolvesheverymixedblessingsf commerciali-zation:

Therearetoomanymusicians hohave tohaveday obs tosup-porttheir amilies,nd I justwant to makea livingwithmymusic.., the nly olutions totryo reach ut for heAmericancrowd... commercializen order oappealto that udience.Weall loveLatinmusic nddon'twanttochange hebasicrhythmsbutwehave o start singnew nstrumentation.2927. Barbara Bick, Culture and Politics: Notes From a Conference Washington,1976),39.28. Nettl speaks of the rural characteristics f the ethnic music of cities in theUnited States. See Nettl,An Introductionto Folk Music in the United States (De-troit,1962).29. The Latin Music Crisis, Latin NY, February1974,p. 5.



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SYNCRETISM AND IDEOLOGY 223Syncretismsre theambiguous esults fthe mposition fnewmeaningsupon traditional ymbolswhich occursduringculturecontact. he ambiguityfthenewmeaningsmaybe seen tobe incontradiction,n opposition, r as partofa newly mposedwealthof meaningswhichreinforce nd enrichone another.Syncreticideologies fSalsamusicianspeakto thestrainwhichresults romthe ambiguity xperienced n the face of multiculturalismnddual valuesystemsn the situation f culture ontact n NewYorkCity.Folkloristsften eactwithdistaste owards he effectsfchangein traditionalmusic.RogerEllbournespeaksoftheprevalence fleprous metaphors sed tocharacterizehange.0oommercializa-tion is often eenas especially estructive. lan Lomax warnsofthe contemporaryray-outfcultures, f theoppressiveullness nd thepsychic istressfthose reaswherecentralized usic ndustries,xploitinghe star ystemnd con-trollinghecommunicationystems,aveputthe ocalmusicianout of work nd silenced olk ong, ribal itual, ocal popularfestivals nd regionalculture. . . Artists verywherere losingtheirocalaudiences,utout ofcountenanceythe tirelesslec-tronicystems anipulatedythecenter o increase tsculturalauthority.3'One neednotbe a Cecil Sharpe eeking fter he lastremnantsof thepeasantry ithin highly ndustrializedociety o remarkupon someofthedepressingffectsf theforces perating ponlocal traditions. omaxcalls for heopening felectronic ommu-nications ystemsothe various raltraditionsnd traditional er-formers f ocal cultures nd for fair hareof timeon theairand time in the classroom. 32Yet one mustalso allow fortheeffortsfperformersoencompasshehegemonyfthe controllersof thecentralizedmusic ndustries n theabsenceof (or, indeed,

in additionto) thoseenlightenednd equitable culturalpoliciesforwhichLomaxeloquentlyppeals.30. Roger Ellbourne, The Studyof Change in Traditional Music, Folklore 86(1975): 81-189.31. Alan Lomax, An Appeal forCultural Equity, The World ofMusic 14 (1972):3-4, 9.32. Ibid.,9-10.



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224 WESTERN FOLKLORERatherthanwholly amentingwhattheyrefer o as commer-cialization,Salsa musicians seek an accomodationwhich,while

predictably mbiguous, ontinues o leave a place for the tradi-tional.The evidenceof theiruses of tradition endssupport o adynamic onceptualizationf tradition uch as is proposedby Ray-mondWilliams.Williamspoints utthat radition asbeenfalselyviewed n literarytudies s an objectand projected eality atherthanas an active nd continuous election nd reselection. Heplaceschoiceat thecenter fanalysis f theworkingsftradition:Even at its latestpoint in time [tradition]s alwaysa specificchoice. 33 ather han eeing raditions an entitywhich ne maychoose orespect rdisdain, raditions itself efinednprocess,nterms fthe choiceswhichshape tsform. ignificantly,illiamsindicates hat raditionmustbe examined s part fa concernwithqualitative hangerather hantemporal ariation.Amongfolkloristsell Hymeshas offered processual iew oftraditionwhichseemsconnected o his emphasisupon the emer-gentqualitiesofperformance. e sees the traditional s a func-tional prerequisite in social life ... as naming a process. 34Twoessential onsiderationsn thestudy f folklores performanceretheperformances situated n a context, and] theperformanceas emergent,s unfolding r arisingwithin thatcontext. 35er-formances re uniquelyemergent, function f the particularinteraction etween thosepresent nd theirsituation. 36 ymesspeaksofa continuous ension etween raditionsnd situations,tradition efiningituations,ituations isplacing raditions,othinevitablyndmutuallyhanging. 37In emergence,hepast,present,nd future re analyticallyis-tinct t the same timeas they re inextricable n their nfluenceupon concretebehavior.Peter McHugh, drawingupon GeorgeHerbertMead, conceives f thisrelationships: The pastinflu-encesthesymbolic efinition f thepresent,he definitionf the

33. Raymond Williams, Literature and Sociology: In Memoryof Lucian Gold-mann, New LeftReview 67 (1971): 7.34. Dell Hymes, Folklore's Nature and the Sun's Myth, Journal of AmericanFolklore 88 (1975): 353.35. Hymes, Breakthrough into Performance, in Folklore: Performance andCommunication,Dan Ben-Amos and Kenneth S. Goldstein eds. (The Hague, 1975),13.36. Hymes, Folklore's Nature, 353.37. Ibid., 355.



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SYNCRETISM AND IDEOLOGY 225present s influencedby inference bout the future and theevents f thefuture econstructurdefinitionf thepast. 38Traditions ssume new meanings s emergencen folklore c-curs,both in the immediate ituation f performancend in alarger ocio-historicalituation. yncreticdeologies f Salsamusi-ciansare addressed o the latter ypeofemergence. hey seektoencompass he strains xperienced uringculturechangeas theymaintaincontinuitywith formsfromthe past while adaptingforms o a current ituationmarkedbyrapidculture ontact ndtheoften ntensepressuresowards ommercialization.UniversityfPennsylvaniaPhiladelphia, ennsylvania

38. Peter McHugh, Defining the Situation (Indianapolis and New York, 1968),24-25. Mead speaks of emergence n George Herbert Mead, The Philosophyof thePresent (Chicago, 1932).

ideology and salsa

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