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¡Que Viva el Mariachi!
Music, Meaning, and Movimiento
Mexican mariachi music is made to move you. It is direct, driving, and designed to instill emotion. Happy, sad, proud, angry, desolate, romance-stricken, and rebellious are some of the moods...
Latino Chicago
Music and community
The Latino presence in Metropolitan Chicago offers us a distinctive window into Latino culture in the United States and the role music plays in creating communities...
La Nueva Canción
The New Song Movement in South America
The 1970 victory of the Popular Unity government led by Salvador Allende in Chile marked the rise of the first democratically elected socialist government in Latin America. After years of social and political unrest, the election of the Allende government was seen as a beacon of hope...
Música Latina
Exploring Hispanic Heritage through Music
Latin America, including Latino communities in the United States, is one of the most diverse, dynamic musical regions of the world, marked both by longstanding traditions and by unceasing creativity. Music is central to Latino cultural life, and the richness of Latinos' musical activity in North America reflects both their large population and their complex cultural makeup.
Puerto Rican Bomba and Plena
Shared Traditions - Distinct Rhythms
Bomba and plena are percussion-driven musical traditions from Puerto Rico that move people to dance. Often mentioned together as though they were a single musical style, both reflect the African heritage of Puerto Rico, but there are basic distinctions between them in rhythm, instrumentation, and lyrics. You can hear the difference in these songs.
In Our Own Voice
Songs of American Indian Women
Very little is known and appreciated about American Indian women's songs and voices, even among people who are familiar with American Indian music...
From the Andes to the Arctic
Exploring Indian Heritage Through Music
Smithsonian Global Sound offers many archival recordings of American Indian music, as well as contemporary pieces by innovative and traditional musicians. Each track illuminates the central role that music plays in American Indian culture and is evidence of both difference and similarity across a hemisphere of Native peoples.
Say it Loud
African American Spoken Word
The spoken word occupies a central and indispensable position in African American history and culture. As a vessel for remembrance, the oral tradition carried African narratives to a new continent and sustained them through...
Voices of Struggle
The Civil Rights Movement, 1954 to 1965
We honor African-American history and music with a look at the profound cultural contribution of the Civil Rights Movement, called by Guy Carawan "the greatest singing movement this country has experienced." The African American struggle for civil rights and equality inspired the many other socio-political movements in the USA and around the world.
Women Breaking Music Barriers
She Isn't Supposed to Play That
Although recordings by women fill the archives of Smithsonian Global Sound, gender discrimination and gender segregation have posed considerable barriers to women's musical talent. Still, many women musicians around the world challenge traditionally held beliefs about gender and women's social status simply by playing a certain instrument or singing a certain song.
Connecting Cultures
Music of the Mekong River
Like the Yangtze, the Nile, and the Mississippi, the Mekong River in Southeast Asia is a giver of life; countless communities depend on it for their existence. Like these other rivers as well, the Mekong River means more than environmental and economic stability...
Na Leo Hawai'i
Musics of Hawai'i
Asians and Pacific Islanders make up the majority of the population of Hawai'i. Music has always played a central role for all these communities. In early Hawai'i, mele, or chant, was the most important means of remembering myths of gods and deeds of powerful people. Today, Hawaiians continue to use music to define themselves and celebrate aloha 'aina, or love of land. And thousands of immigrants have adapted their lives as well as their music to this delicate land.
Islands of Song
Music of The Bahamas
For hundreds of years along the 700 scattered limestone islands in the Caribbean Sea that make up The Bahamas, the human voice has been raised in melodious strains to a rhythmic pulse that is deeply influenced by the African ancestry of most Bahamians. Centuries of colonial domination, and the nearness of American and Caribbean cultures have also shaped the character of Bahamian music. As a result of these merging influences, Bahamian music is uniquely rich, reflecting generations of joy, hardship, innovation, and artistry.
