"Argentina is cumbia": Socio-cultural trajectories of young cumbieros in urban peripheries. From constraining structure to emancipating agency

MALVINA SILBA

Journal of World Popular Music

Equinox Publishing Ltd.

Lugar: Londres; Año: 2017 vol. 4 p. 166 - 185

2052-4900

This paper analyzes the socio-cultural trajectories of a group of low SES young men, all cumbia musicians and producers. The cumbia is one of Argentina?s most popular music genres, due to its mass dissemination and the class belonging of the public that have historically enjoyed it.The tension between agency and structure and the relationship between class and culture will be the main themes. By delving into the family, educational and work trajectories of these youth, we examine their relationship to music. Who chooses to become a cumbia musicians and why? We also examine how the meanings of ?good? vs. ?bad? music? and the aesthetic and moral parameters used for this definition. This brings us to class belonging and how it shapes musical choices and facilitates disruptive trajectories. Based on biographical interviews conducted between 2012 and 2014 in Greater Buenos Aires and participant observation at cumbia dance clubs.