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Review: [untitled]Author(s): Steven LozaSource: Latin American Music Review / Revista de Música Latinoamericana, Vol. 11, No. 2(Autumn - Winter, 1990), pp. 296-310Published by: University of Texas PressStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/780129Accessed: 21/06/2010 16:48
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296: Reviews 296: Reviews
Duany, Jorge 1984 "Popular Music in Puerto Rico: Toward an Anthropology
of Salsa. " Latin American Music Review 5, no. 2: 186-215.
L6pez Cruz, Francisco 1967 La musicafolkl6rica de Puerto Rico. Sharon, Conn.: Troutman
Press.
Manuel, Peter 1987 "Marxism, Nationalism, and Popular Music in Revolu-
tionary Cuba." Popular Music 6, no. 2: 161-178.
Muhoz, Maria Luisa 1966 La musica en Puerto Rico. Sharon, Conn.: Troutman Press.
Quintero Rivera, Angel G. 1986 "Ponce, the Danza, and the National Question: Notes
toward a Sociology of Puerto Rican Music." Cimarron 1, no. 2:49-65.
1988 Patricios y plebeyos. burgueses, hacendados, artesanos y obreros. Las relaciones de clase en el Puerto Rico de cambio de siglo. Rio Piedras: Huracan.
1990 "El soneo salsero." Claridad (June 22-28): 20-21.
Singer, Roberta 1983 "Tradition and Innovation in Contemporary Latin Popular
Music in New York City." Latin American Music Review 4, no. 2: 183-202.
Jorge Duany, Universidad del Sagrado Corazdn (Puerto Rico)
Review-Essay
PEREZ FERNANDEZ, ROLANDO ANTONIO. La binarizacion de los ritmos ternarios
africanos en America Latina. Havana: Ediciones Casa de las Americas, 1986 [1987]. Bibliography, musical transcriptions, maps, 139 pp.
This highly acclaimed book (it was awarded the Premio de Musicologia, Casa de las Americas) demonstrates Rolando Antonio Perez Fernandez's
strong ethnomusicological background and a variety of interesting analyti- cal perspectives. Revolving around the thesis that numerous African
rhythmic patterns have evolved in Latin America through a process of "binarization" (from their original ternary structures), Perez Fernandez
organizes his study in an interdisciplinary format, presenting well- researched and -documented data that are analyzed in an ordered historical, musical, regional, and comparative way. His conclusions basically support
Duany, Jorge 1984 "Popular Music in Puerto Rico: Toward an Anthropology
of Salsa. " Latin American Music Review 5, no. 2: 186-215.
L6pez Cruz, Francisco 1967 La musicafolkl6rica de Puerto Rico. Sharon, Conn.: Troutman
Press.
Manuel, Peter 1987 "Marxism, Nationalism, and Popular Music in Revolu-
tionary Cuba." Popular Music 6, no. 2: 161-178.
Muhoz, Maria Luisa 1966 La musica en Puerto Rico. Sharon, Conn.: Troutman Press.
Quintero Rivera, Angel G. 1986 "Ponce, the Danza, and the National Question: Notes
toward a Sociology of Puerto Rican Music." Cimarron 1, no. 2:49-65.
1988 Patricios y plebeyos. burgueses, hacendados, artesanos y obreros. Las relaciones de clase en el Puerto Rico de cambio de siglo. Rio Piedras: Huracan.
1990 "El soneo salsero." Claridad (June 22-28): 20-21.
Singer, Roberta 1983 "Tradition and Innovation in Contemporary Latin Popular
Music in New York City." Latin American Music Review 4, no. 2: 183-202.
Jorge Duany, Universidad del Sagrado Corazdn (Puerto Rico)
Review-Essay
PEREZ FERNANDEZ, ROLANDO ANTONIO. La binarizacion de los ritmos ternarios
africanos en America Latina. Havana: Ediciones Casa de las Americas, 1986 [1987]. Bibliography, musical transcriptions, maps, 139 pp.
This highly acclaimed book (it was awarded the Premio de Musicologia, Casa de las Americas) demonstrates Rolando Antonio Perez Fernandez's
strong ethnomusicological background and a variety of interesting analyti- cal perspectives. Revolving around the thesis that numerous African
rhythmic patterns have evolved in Latin America through a process of "binarization" (from their original ternary structures), Perez Fernandez
organizes his study in an interdisciplinary format, presenting well- researched and -documented data that are analyzed in an ordered historical, musical, regional, and comparative way. His conclusions basically support
Reviews: 297
his thesis, although there exist some rather puzzling elements in sections of the book.
At the outset, Perez Fernandez posits an explicit, twofold purpose and
goal of the study:
El problema cientifico que nos planteamos resolver en esta investigaci6n es la contradicci6n existente entre el predominio absoluto de subdivisi6n binaria en la misica latinoamericana de origen africano no mantenida por cultos religiosos populares, por un lado, y el predominio de la subdivisi6n ternaria en la musica de los cultos afroamericanos, asi como en la musica africana, por otro lado. (p. 8)
Continuing his introductory essay, Perez Fernandez cites the problem of scholastic errors concerning the use of binary and ternary rhythms through- out Latin America. This, he claims, is due to the general ignorance con-
cerning African music and that of African origin. He adds that ternary rhythm has been characterized almost exclusively by the influence on it of Iberian musical forms, while its African origins have been associated only with binary rhythms. Referring to various examples in the literature sup- porting this conflict, the author cites numerous sources, including Garay (1930), Perez de Zarate (1975), Slonimsky (1946), and Vega (1944) in sup- port of his thesis. Vega's classification of the music of South America becomes Perez Fernandez's targeted object throughout the book, both
musicologically and ideologically. Vega, deceased since 1966, is not only discredited as a musicologist, but as a point of reference and metaphor for
prejudice and racism: "Vega admite que lo que el plantea como area del titulado cancionero binario oriental coincide con el area de mayor problamiento africano en America, pero su inveterado prejuicio misonegrista le hace afir- mar que tal coincidencia es 'peligrosamente resbaladiza' " ([1944:15] p. 9).
Perez Fernandez refers to his research approach as the "comparative method," "conocido tambien bajo las denominaciones de metodo hist6rico-
comparativo, metodo retrospectivo, metodo reconstructivo, y metodo de reconstituci6n hist6rica. Mediante la aplicacion del mismo, nos propusimos resolver las contradicciones a que hemos hecho alusi6n, y para ello ha sido necesario reconstruir las fases del proceso de transformaci6n que en America ha convertido los ritmos ternarios africanos en binarios, el cual hemos llamado proceso de binarizacion (p. 10)."
It is at this point that one begins to ask how Perez Fernandez is concep- tualizing this "process of binarization"; that is, who recognizes this pro- cess, besides Western-trained musicians and scholars? Is the reference only to notational, transcribed interpretations? Do not ternary rhythms still exist in many forms, notwithstanding their formal 2/4 or 4/4 time signatures? What of oral traditions, for example, guaguanco, and their constituents who
may not be concerned with this question?1
298: Reviews
Perez Fernandez has, however, reviewed quite well a substantial amount of literature related to the methodological problem of incorporating com-
parative method and historical reconstruction. He cites the work of Benveniste (1974a and b), Cohen (1974), Herskovits (1945), Jones and Kombe (1952), Kodaly (1960), Knepler (1977), Le6n (1974), Mintz
(1977), Moreno Fraginals (1980), Rona (1972), Saussure (1973), and Wachsmann (1981).
Perez Fernandez interprets two factors as the base of this binarization
process: the binarized (psychological) tendency, and the cultural (social) process. Alluding to this general process of transculturation of the African in America, he notes that "en estas circunstancias, la tendencia binariza- dora se manifest6, ciertamente; pero la misma fue inhibida o estimulada
segun cual fuera el componente etnico de la sociedad que predomin6 culturalmente en el medio donde tuvieron lugar tales prestamos (p. 15)."
He thus sees this change as structural and caused by social circumstances.
Through adaptation, African rhythmic concepts evolved physically in various environments throughout Latin America. Perez Fernandez also answers perhaps one of the previously raised questions when he alludes to the possibility of "semibinarization" (p. 15). I assume that he refers to those
binary meters that still retain the ternary rhythmic base. Also clarified is the
following important point: "Nuestra propia aplicacion del metodo com-
parativo al estudio del ritmo en la musica latinoamericana se ha realizado basicamente en relacion con la musica africana, pero teniendo muy en cuenta el factor hispanico asi como tambien el elemento indigena (p. 14)."
In chapter 1, the author surveys historical data relative to the African in Latin America, specifically with respect to musical practice as related to the sociohistorical environment. Making use of numerous and diverse data, he
points to the importance of evaluating the black African presence in the Peninsula before the discovery of America. Referring to substantial
scholarship on the subject, he proceeds to review data pertinent to the sociomusical impact and adaptation of the African in different regions of Latin America, that is, Cuba, Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Peru, and other countries. He offers some justification for emphasizing data related to
Mexico, Argentina, and Peru, on the grounds that these areas have been less studied from this point of view. Heavily tapped, therefore, is the work of Aguirre Beltran (1958, 1970, 1972), Bowser (1977), and Arrom (1955). Also cited are Moreno Fraginals (1980), Leon (1974a, b, c, 1975), and Mallafe (1973). It is from Aguirre Beltran that Perez Fernandez extracts various statistics and analyses (in larger amount than one might expect) concerning the African presence in Mexico, applying them as strong data in support of his thesis.2 In line with his explanation of the emphasis on
Argentina, Mexico, and Peru in the chapter, he attempts to demonstrate the extended impact of the African throughout Latin America.
Reviews : 299
Perez Fernandez observes various elements of bias in recognizing the African presence in Latin America; particularly problematic is the work of Carlos Vega. Perez Fernandez cites Vega's notable prejudice and quotes Aguirre Beltran (1970:2), who agreed that a bias existed. This bias is cer-
tainly not endemic, however, to the majority of scholarship related to the African presence in Latin America. To be sure, Perez Fernandez and
Aguirre Beltran express a problem that has existed in some of the literature, at times quite subliminally. Perez Fernandez supports his harsh criticisms with direct reference to and citations of the sources, that is, Vega's (1967) material (p. 36).
Another aspect of the issue of race is its historical variants. The author
postulates (through his absorption of Aguirre Beltran's observations) that class or ethnic segregation was perhaps more hinged to economic roles than to race. Again he utilizes a sociohistorical source and analysis to support the basic premise of his study-that binarization of African rhythms reflected the complete complex of basic processes occurring between the African and the Iberian throughout Latin America. As culture became an interaction in various modes, so did the individual planes of culture, especially music, in
form, space, and meaning. These latter notions are not specifically addressed, although they are, to me, logical extensions of the author's analytical direction.
Also interestingly applied, among various other theoretical concepts, is Moreno Fraginals's (1980) notion of "deculturation," that is, the con- scious process of uprooting the culture of a given group with the aim of economic exploitation. Elaborating on this notion the author points out that this process was resisted only through clandestine retention of original cultural values, culminating, therefore, in a form of reaction as a "resis- tance culture" whose original African patterns are subsequently trans- formed in the social struggle process. Also cited is Le6n (1975:111), who clarifies the process pragmatically. He notes that the cabildos3 in Cuba functioned as preservers of tradition and promoted a cultural synthesis.
Perez Fernandez incorporates into his first chapter much socioeconomic, demographic, and historical analysis. He thus develops a strong framework for ethnohistorical evaluation. Focusing on economics, social structure, racial prejudice, literature, attitudes, and ideology, he surmises the extended
impact of the African in Latin America. He also emphasizes Herskovits's theories of syncretism and reinterpretation and states:
Aunque en menor medida que en el caso anterior, en la reinterpretaci6n desempena un papel importante la semejanza entre las dos culturas en con- tacto; pero en este caso los rasgos culturales se perpetuan mas bien en su valor psicologico (Herskovits, 1945:20). Es este el tipo de proceso que ha ocurrido en la transculturaci6n interetnica o intertribal africana, en el aspecto del rit- mo, donde la tendencia a la transformaci6n binaria presente en la musica
300: Reviews
africana ha impedido que los rasgos originarios sobrevivan, o se perpetuen bajo la forma del sincretismo (p. 46).
Here, Perez Fernandez possibly infers the role that ideological, psycho- logical adaptation played in impeding the survival of certain African
rhythmic structures in their original forms. Structural change in musical form becomes the product of this transculturation.
In chapter 2, entitled "El sistema ritmico africano: su sincretismo con el sistema ritmico hispanico," the author's first inquiry rests on the great diversity of culture, and therefore languages and musical traditions, in
Africa, questioning further the implied homogeneity of "African music." For this, he seeks clues in the work of Rouget (1976), and Collaer (1970) who both recognized the great variety of African music. Citing Joseph Howard (1967), Perez Fernandez raises arguments alluding to various areas of homogeneity in the music of West Africa, the area of origin of so
many Africans brought to the Americas. He also cites Nketia's (1975: 125) notion of "diversity and unity" in African music, that is, that African musical traditions are more uniform in the selection and use of rhythms and rhythmic structures than in the selection and use of pitch systems.
Such debate in this book is significant, for it infers a greater problem, even if not addressed. While ternary rhythms are indeed characteristic of
Africa, their places of origin must be qualified, especially in light of the author's comparative method, which becomes the very framework on which he bases his thesis, constructs his analysis, and justifies his rationale. Cited are the recognition of Nketia (1975) andJones (1974) of both free and strict time in African music. Nketia's notions of time span, basic structural
units, basic time units, and regulative beats are clarified with notated ex-
amples. Perez Fernandez defines the purpose of chapter 2 as the juxtaposition of
basic aspects of the post-Renaissance Western European rhythmic system (also applicable to Latin American music). He invokes Carlos Vega's theory of "phraseology" (1941).
The rhythmic combination of hemiola, commonly referred to as ses-
quialtera in the practice of much Spanish and Latin American folk music, is
surveyed in terms of its traditional presence in both Africa and Spain as
precursors to Latin America. In the sesquialtera form of Spanish origin, the
rhythmic relationship of pulsation is 2:3 (Brandel, 1972:18). Perez Fernandez explains that, through the transculturation of African music in
America, an asymmetric or additive grouping is adopted, an important consequence of Afro-Hispanic musical syncretism.
The extensive musical analysis of various rhythmic relationships is
supplemented with many transcribed examples. In the following examples, Perez Fernandez (p. 64) clarifies the difference between the sesquialtera
I JIJ ,
JJ J.
Reviews : 301
and the "additive grouping." In so doing, he also introduces the basic
pulse, or "time line," concept originally proposed by Nketia (1975): "Time lines may constitute rhythmic patterns, or may consist in a regular sequence of percussions that mark the basic pulsation, or, yet, in some
cases, the beginning of the temporal passage."
Sesquialtera:
Additives:
I
Perez Fernandez proceeds to critique Vega's theory of the rhythmic phrase. According to Vega, the "phrase" is the minimal unit of musical
thought, equivalent to the motif of traditional theory. The phrase first
speaks rhythmically (Perez Fernandez: p. 64), that is,
8n n J j63 m j.j.
the first called compas capital, the second compas caudal. The first part infers a formula of conflict, the second, a formula of rest.
Perez Fernandez then designs an interesting analogy with the regular pulsation concept of Nketia. He affirms that Vega's phrase and conflict/rest formulas are not applicable to African music. Using Nketia's (1963a:4) musical examples, he demonstrates that the first rhythmic pattern that ap- pears in the exercises of African rhythms is in binary structure:
J J I i JJJ ,
, JJJ,
I JJ. I
I I I JJJ
302 : Reviews
In n JJ I
Another example from Nketia's (1963a:6) work appears in ternary rhythm:
if m JJJ i Perez Fernandez then ascribes his analogy (p. 66): "The formula conflict/
rest, illustrated by these schemes, is present in as many African songs of Ghana as in Solfeggio exercises especially created for the student to over- come gradually his rhythmic difficulties."
With respect to Vega's phrase theory, the author notes that for binary rhythm, Vega uses a 2 (4 ) meter. For ternary rhythm, he incorporates a 3 time signature, inferring 8 time and 3 superimposed (or vice versa). The6 meter is considered binary, interchangeable with the meter of three.
Perez Fernandez qualifies the Afro-Cuban clave time pattern as resulting from the binarization of a ternary rhythmic pattern of African origin, and in essential form the transposition of the African time line practice to music "as a metric reference" (p. 68). He also perceives this transformation as another example of syncretism of African ternary and Hispanic ternary rhythms. In addition, he provides some detailed musical analysis of the
punto cubano, highlighting some of its historical development, its time line
character, sesquialtera, and the practices of punto libre and punto fijo. This leads to another analogy to one of Nketia's frameworks, that of free rhythm and rhythm in strict time.
The remainder of chapter 2 includes more musical examples, three of which are tables of rhythmic patterns with variations that use both ses-
quialtera and additive patterns. Modification of the time line is thus demonstrated as an essential bridge from Africa to Latin America.
Chapter 3 is entitled "El proceso de binarizaci6n: su comportamiento y sus consecuencias." Emphasizing, with support from various sources, that the structured practices of African musical culture can become basically binarized in certain situations by outside culture contact, the author cites the case of Latin America as a very different context for African rhythms, "where the borrowing of cultural traits acquires a general character (p. 77)." He again uses this rationale to admonish Vega for another "loose end" in the latter's 1944 work. While Vega once more traces rhythmic structure to Europe, Perez Fernandez points to the existence in Argentine music of African rhythmic patterns, influenced by the participation of Africans in the development of such musical culture. He concludes that "the phenomenon referred to by Vega had its origin in the 'binarizing' tendency of the Africans and their descendants (p. 78)."
Major portions of this final chapter present a comparative examination
Reviews : 303
of various musical genres in different regions of Latin America. The focus of the comparative analyses is the binary transformation of ternary rhythms. Integrated as supportive data are explanations (with musical ex-
amples) of the rhythmic bases for punto panameno, mejorana; seis, joropo, tamunangue, aquinaldo, perrendenga, pato, golpe (Venezuela); seis chorreao, plena, danza (Puerto Rico); habanera, son cubano, guaracha, contradanza, danzon
(Cuba); chacarera, milonga, gato (Argentina); cueca (Chile); marinera (Peru); the traditional dances of the black population of Carmen (Ica, Peru); zorongo (Spain); candombe (Uruguay); and son mexicano, among numerous other examples and cross-references.
Dispersed within this sequence of comparative analyses and structural abstracts is substantial reference to Nketia and other scholars involved in the analysis of either Latin American or African music (Aretz, Campos, Courlander, Garay, Kolinski, Merriam, Muiioz, Ram6n y Rivera, Vega, Waterman). Perez Fernandez correlates Nketia's concept of multilineal
organization in African music (i.e., creating the effects of cross-rhythms and polyrhythms) with the Afro-Venezuelan as "birritmia horizontal clatsica."
It is Nketia, however, who has deeply influenced the comparative method employed by Perez Fernandez. The Ghanaian ethnomusicologist, cited repeatedly, has provided a sizable amount of material to work and ex- tract from, including sociomusical analysis, perception exercises, and clear musical transcription. These rich data are based on Nketia's methodical use of documentary sources and years of fieldwork and academic ex-
perience in Africa. In the last four pages of the book, Perez Fernandez enters an unexpected
mode. Relying on the work of Soviet scholar Konstantinov (1976), he ap- plies the notion of a dialectical negation, or the "law of negation of nega- tion." He considers this notion to be compatible with a Marxist-Leninist
ideological framework.
According to the basic premise, these laws of negation constitute the "universal method of cognitive human activity" (Konstantinov, 1976:30). Briefly expressed, these laws dictate that all development is conditioned by previous development, without which there would be no base for new forms. All development that is preserved from a previous step passes to the next step substantially transformed.
This type of theoretical thinking is clearly not very profound. I do not
quarrel with the application of Marxist analysis or relative, compatible theories. In this case, however, Perez Fernandez seems to be giving a benediction at the end of a ritual with various motives. In no manner has he threaded any aspect of this notion into the basic fabric of the book, until these last four pages. Such a drastic change in analytical approach appears as an afterthought. Nevertheless, the author attempts to incorporate the
304: Reviews
concept of dialectical negation in support of his central thesis about the
binary transformation. What affects me even more than this potentially simplistic exercise is the
fact that Perez Fernandez infers a subjective set of values in assessing the
quality of rhythms, which does not seem to complement the mechanical, post-evolutionist character of the "law of negation of negation."
Again citing Carlos Vega, and the "racist prejudice that always charac- terized him,"the author criticizes Vega's non-evaluation of African in- fluence in the Americas, contending that Vega maintained the opinion that Africans in the Western Hemisphere received with fervor the music of the European troubadours because it was binary, that is, "primitive in con-
cept." Conversely, Perez Fernandez continues to adulate Nketia in a man- ner also supporting this new subthesis of development through stages, when he quotes from Nketia's Preparatory Exercises in African Rhythm. Nketia con- siders binary rhythms simpler and therefore easier for the beginning stu- dent than the ternary rhythmic system.
I basically agree with Perez Fernandez's negative criticism of Vega's work, and I can understand his seesaw play with the dichotomy of Vega/ Nketia in the analysis of African music. But this juxtaposition of a leading contemporary scholar in the field of ethnomusicology with a long-gone musicologist mainly active in one sector of Latin American music can even be perceived as demeaning to the integrity of and method exemplified in the work of Nketia. Why this futile comparison, and why this need for cor-
recting fantasies that have already been largely ignored? To me, Nketia
(the Victor in this book) and Vega (the Victim) simply do not make good music together. They do, however, represent a "dialectical negation."4
I am quite impressed with the scholarship of Perez-Fernandez as ex-
emplified in this book. He has assimilated a diverse and voluminous set of the available literary sources and has applied them well to his study. He has
compiled and analyzed, on a comparative basis, numerous musical ex-
amples and individual perspectives concerning such material. In his use of transcribed musical examples, he seems to rely almost exclusively on the
transcriptions of others, or, when he notates his own transcriptions directly, on the field recordings of others. It is not clear whether he has applied any of the compiled data from his own fieldwork. If he has not, I might be con- cerned about the far-reaching implications of his theoretical premise in relation to the application of in-depth, ethnographic research techniques, especially in attempting to understand better the cognitive experience and
responses of the music's practitioners. To his credit, however, Perez Fernandez does notate in very useful form many of the general rhythmic schemes that he uses for comprehensive comparison.
The bridging of chapters 1 and 2 is quite abrupt, and much of the socio- historical material in chapter 1 is not subsequently applied. With his ex-
Reviews: 305
cellent knowledge of documentary sources, I see no use for Perez Fernan- dez's reference to Slonimsky's (1946) book as a comparative example. This was not a comprehensive analysis of music in Latin America, nor is it one that scholars would utilize as such. It was simply a compendium by a highly respected and noted musician/musicologist.
I think that Perez Fernandez could have speculated more on transcul- turated African influence through Andalucia and Spain in general. Although he provides extensive historical data in regard to this area of in-
quiry, he omits a more in-depth examination of sesquialtera and its Iberian connection.
At the conclusion of chapter 1, Perez Fernandez uses the phrase "white
music, originating from Western Europe" (p. 46). Although he also uses the terminologyfranja negra (lit. "black fringe") throughout the book as a
conceptual reference, I find this racial categorization somewhat generalized. The concept of a black America is to a great extent an important ideology, not simply a historical product.
In the last analysis, however, there can be no doubt that Perez Fernan- dez has made a valuable contribution to the field of musicology and to the
study of Latin America.
Notes
1. I refer to genres such as guaguanco (a rumba type) which is recognized to have a 6 meter although some forms can also be notated in 4. My query with the whole idea of a "binarization process" is that it is a Western, structural concept of interpretation and analysis. I do not see this as bad but I would also like to see Perez Fernandez using a broader concept which he applies throughout the book-that of transculturation, as a pro- cess of cultural transformation and evolution through a changing his- torical environment. The goal of understanding more cognitive processes inherent within this experience might be a more encompassing ideal.
How, for example, are some of these evolved rhythms conceptualized, perceived, and understood by the practitioners in terms of enculturated musical structure and performance technique.
Such an approach would necessitate ample field work or experience in the field. Perez Fernandez' musical analysis, although comparative, relies heavily on Western modes of transcription, often not an element in the cognition of the music's practitioners. If binarization has occurred, how has it changed basic values? Perez Fernandez does arrive at such
questions, thoughts, analyses, and conclusions at different points in the
306: Reviews
book, and he does attempt to correlate the musical analysis with the socio-historical analysis.
2. The author cites Cuban scholar Jose Luciano Franco who made the
following observations of Aguirre Beltran's book:
Alli, en un pais raramente, si no mas bien jamas mirado como posee- dor del menor elemento africano en su composici6n demografica, ese
investigador ha descubierto documentos explicitos que prueban la
importaci6n de numerosos centenares de miles de negros (1966:16). Later he adds that "las consecuencias musicales de esta interinfluencia no se le escapan a Aguirre Beltran, quien afirma categ6ricamente el caracter fundamentalmente afrohispanico del canto y del baile populares en Mexico" (p. 39).
3. Cabildos is the name traditionally given to the Afro-Cuban social groups or religious societies where a diversity of transculturated African prac- tices were practiced. Cabildos were specifically common within the Lucumi culture of Yoruba heritage.
4. Another point concerning Perez Fernandez' treatment of Vega that must be addressed is the categorization of the Argentine musicologist as a racist. I cannot vouch for this either positively or negatively. To do so, I would have to investigate the work and personal background of Vega much more so than I have done thus far. But it seems to me that more
diplomatic caution might be exercised for a scholar for whom two major institutes are named in Argentina, regardless of his description as a racist by Perez Fernandez.
References
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Aretz, Isabel 1952 Elfolklore musical argentino. Buenos Aires: Ricordi Americana. 1977 "Musica y danza en America Latina continental excepto
Brasil." Africa en America Latina. Mexico City: UNESCO, Siglo XXI, pp. 238-278.
Aretz, Isabel, and L. F. Ram6n y Rivera
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Bowser, Frederick P. 1977 El esclavo africano en el Perui colonial, 1524-1650. Mexico City:
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Brandel, Rose 1972 "Africa." Harvard Dictionary of Music. Cambridge: Harvard
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Campos, Ruben M. 1928 Elfolklorey la mu'sica mexicana. Mexico City: Publicaciones de
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Cohen, Marcel 1974 "Linguiistica y materialismo dialectico." El siglo de la Lin-
giizstica. Cuadernos H-Linguiistica, 1, pp. 157-179. Havana: Ed. Pueblo y Educacion.
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1944 Panorama de la musica popular argentina. Buenos Aires: Ed. Losada.
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Steven Loza, University of California at Los Angeles
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Roots, Rock, Reggae is as good an introductory survey of the Jamaican popular music scene as one could hope for in a fifty-five minute film. Com-
bining footage shot in 1977 with clips from earlier sources, it offers a rich
montage of public and behind-the-scenes musical activities, as well as numerous glimpses (mostly unsettling) of everyday life. I say "mostly unsettling" because the everyday life portrayed is largely that of the down- and-out sector of society, living in squalid shanty towns and scrounging in
garbage dumps for the means of existence. The film manages to touch on most aspects of the popular music process
in Jamaica: a string of young hopefuls auditioning in the yard of a promi- nent record producer; putting together a new song in rehearsal; laying down tracks in the studio, both on the floor and in the booth; public stage
Slonimsky, Nicolas 1946 Music in Latin America. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Com-
pany. Vega, Carlos
1936 Danzas y canciones argentinas, teorz'a e investigaciones. Buenos Aires: Eugenio Ferrero.
1941 La mutsica popular argentina. Fraseologza. Buenos Aires: Ed. de la Universidad de Buenos Aires.
1944 Panorama de la musica popular argentina. Buenos Aires: Ed. Losada.
1947 "La forma de la cueca chilena." Revista Musical Chilena 3, nos. 20-21 (May-June): 7-21.
1952 Las danzas populares argentinas. Buenos Aires: Ministerio de Educacion de la Nacion.
1967 "Tradiciones musicales y aculturaci6n en Sudamerica." In Music in theAmericas, ed. George List andJuan Orrego-Salas, pp. 220-250. The Hague: Indiana University Research Center in Anthropology, Folklore, and Linguistics, Mouton.
Wachsmann, Klaus 1981 "Applying Ethnomusicological Methods to Western Art
Music." The World of Music 23, no. 2: 74-86.
Steven Loza, University of California at Los Angeles
Roots, Rock, Reggae. A film by Jeremy Marre. Harcourt Films, 1988. Shenachie Records Corp., 1202, 1988. One VHS video cassette. "Roots, Rock, Reggae." InJeremy Marre and Hannah Charlton, Beats of the Heart. New York: Pantheon, pp. 155-166.
Roots, Rock, Reggae is as good an introductory survey of the Jamaican popular music scene as one could hope for in a fifty-five minute film. Com-
bining footage shot in 1977 with clips from earlier sources, it offers a rich
montage of public and behind-the-scenes musical activities, as well as numerous glimpses (mostly unsettling) of everyday life. I say "mostly unsettling" because the everyday life portrayed is largely that of the down- and-out sector of society, living in squalid shanty towns and scrounging in
garbage dumps for the means of existence. The film manages to touch on most aspects of the popular music process
in Jamaica: a string of young hopefuls auditioning in the yard of a promi- nent record producer; putting together a new song in rehearsal; laying down tracks in the studio, both on the floor and in the booth; public stage
