Why read Sounds of Crossing?

Book cover of Sounds of Crossing: Music, Migration, and the Aural Poetics of Huapango Arribeño

Book description

In Sounds of Crossing Alex E. Chavez explores the contemporary politics of Mexican migrant cultural expression manifest in the sounds and poetics of huapango arribeno, a musical genre originating from north-central Mexico. Following the resonance of huapango's improvisational performance within the lives of audiences, musicians, and himself-from New Year's festivities…

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Why read it?

1 author picked Sounds of Crossing as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Jada Benn Torres and Gabriel A. Torres Colón

Author

Alex Chávez is a cultural anthropologist, but he is also a musician, and his artistic abilities are on full display in this beautifully narrated and analytically sharp ethnography of huapango arribeño across the US-Mexican social spaces. Chávez allows us to reimagine Mexican migrants as much more than the protagonists of the social problem of migration. Instead, we can see how expressive culture is a significant aspect of migrant lives. This book is also a theoretical heavyweight for those looking for more than a beautifully crafted ethnographic description.

From Jada's list on what happens when biology and culture collide.