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"MÏsica Mexicana: On both sides of the border," is a
broad-based 2-phase project which draws on the scholarly, cultural, and
technical resources of a newly formed consortium. The University of
Missouri-Kansas City serves as the lead institution, which also includes
The School of Mexican Popular Music in Mexico City and Center for the
Study of Peoples of the Americas/Department of Chicano Studies at
California State University-Northridge (CSU-N).
Traditional and folkloric Mexican musical genres are
highly regionalized and directly reflect Mexican culture and history.
While interest in Mexican studies is high in U.S. colleges and
universities, no text exists which is dedicated to the music's of
Mexico. The initial phase of this project is to conduct extensive
research in Mexico and California. A WWW site will be created, thus
forming a broad outline of the music and dance which is being studied.
With this technology being employed as a point of departure, a book will
be authored (with an accompanying CD-ROM), entitled "MÏsica Mexicana: On
both sides of the border.
An essential aspect of this project (which is directly
reflected in the title) is to highlight and recognize some of the
foremost practitioners of these musical genres who reside in the United
States. Paradoxically, some of the purest performance practice of
Mexican music takes place north of the political boundary. In that
regard, this project will attempt to draw a new cultural map showing
that Mexican folkloric and traditional musical genres exist without
borders. Most significantly, traditional and folkloric musical genres
(which are not best represented on paper) are being transformed into
interactive media that will significantly enhance classroom teaching of
traditional Mexican music. Furthermore it will permit self-study
vis-ö-vis the Internet throughout the United States, as well as in
Mexico and other nations, thus empowering a broad range of students,
scholars, and those who wish to further their knowledge in this area.
Phase I of this project was supported by a generous
grant from the University of Missouri Research Board, the Center for
Studies of Peoples of the Americas and the Schools of the Humanities of
California State University-Northridge, as well as La Escuela de la
MÏsica Mexicana, S.A.
Laurence Kaptain, Coordinator and Project Director,
MÏsica Mexicana: On both sides of the border,
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Professor of Percussion,
Conservatory of Music,
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