Tell us about your research project and why it is important to you.
The research that I carry out is around the musical teaching-learning processes, curricular design, and teacher training, both in school and community spaces of different musical traditions. My analysis is based on the ethnomusicological perspective, for which education is a cultural process. In particular, I address musical practices that have not been academicized or are in the process of being academicized, such as the music of the traditional wind bands of the southeastern region of Mexico, the mariachi of the western region of Mexico, and urban rock. I have recently focused on traditional wind bands made up exclusively of women and the tensions they experience at a social, educational, and work level when breaking with the gender stereotypes of that music scene.
The methodology from which I work is not only that of observation, recording, analysis, and documentation of their activities, but also involves collaboration, exchange, and co-creation of significant reflections for the practitioners of these kinds of music, as well as for my field of study. In this way, I distance myself from the extractivist practices that have traditionally permeated the ethnomusicological discipline and the anthropological perspective, seeking to mitigate the hierarchies of class, ethnicity, and schooling that normally accompany these research processes.
I believe that the various projects that I have developed in the academic and work spheres are relevant because they contribute to the recognition of musicians who have been discriminated against for reasons of class, ethnicity, schooling, and gender. This has resulted in their traditions also being excluded from training and work spaces, giving them a lower value than other practices such as those of a European tradition.
Have you presented or published your research anywhere? Tell us about the experience.
From 2011 to date, I have presented my work in various colloquiums, congresses, and forums organized by higher education institutions in Mexico, such as the Universidad Veracruzana, the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, the Escuela Nacional de Antropología e Historia, the Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana, the Universidad Autónoma de la Ciudad de México, the Universidad Autónoma de Aguascalientes, the Universidad Autónoma de Zacatecas, the Universidad Juárez del Estado de Durango, the Centro Nacional de Información, Documentación e Investigación Musical “Carlos Chávez” del INBAL, CONACULTA, and the Colegio de Jalisco. I have also made presentations for local associations of music educators such as the Foro Mexicano de Educación Musical, Latin American organizations such as the Foro Latinoamericano de Educación Musical, and international entities such as the International Society of Music Education. As a result of this participation, I have had opportunities to publish book chapters, articles in refereed journals, and proceedings of colloquiums and congresses in Mexico, as well as the publication of a co-authored book chapter for San Diego State University in the United States. I am currently in the final process of editing the manuscript tentatively titled Suena el viento entre las nubes: banda filarmónica, comunidad y aprendizaje musical (The Sounds Of Wind in the Clouds: Philharmonic Band, Community, and Musical Learning), my first book, for publication as part of the Postgraduate Collection for the Centro Nacional de Información, Documentación e Investigación Musical “Carlos Chávez” del INBAL.
The publication experience of these texts has been diverse. During the first years, I experienced it as a formative process, and later, as part of the consolidation of my work as a researcher. It is interesting how I realize looking back that some of the ideas that I have published have been transformed over time, after coming into contact with other readings, academic colleagues, and musical colleagues, and have even resulted in contradictions with the reflections which I have been building more recently. This has led me to appreciate that knowledge is not static and that in the light of new concepts and methodologies, we can refine the proposals we make on our research topics.
What would you say is something interesting about your area of study that most people do not know?
People normally see music schools as professional training spaces for instrumentalists and composers, as well as teachers, but within these venues, we also house people who research different aspects of making music. In the case of ethnomusicology, we approach the musical phenomenon from its cultural and social dimension, dialoguing with disciplines like anthropology. This leads us to spend seasons of fieldwork with the people we collaborate with so that we can immerse ourselves in their daily lives to understand the role that music plays in them. We can also conduct collaborative projects so that our work is meaningful to the people we interact with in these processes, and we can often move from academia to activism.
Working with living people, instead of sheet music or files, makes processes for research and collaboration in our field of study very complex. Each interaction triggers different reflections and actions on the part of our interlocutors, and for this reason, one of the fundamental principles when doing ethnomusicological research must be to not harm the people with whom we work or the links they maintain with their musical practices and their communities.
Tell us about your academic or professional collaborations with Mexico.
Before arriving at the University of Texas at Austin, I had the opportunity to collaborate as a trainer for university students and art teachers at the primary, secondary, and university levels in institutions such as the Universidad Juárez del Estado de Durango, the Centro Cultural Ollin Yoliztli of the Secretaría de Cultura in Mexico City, the Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Morelos, and the Sistema Nacional de Fomento Musical de CONACULTA, where I continue to maintain ties. At the community level, I am a member of the Network of Transborder Women Musicians. It is a space for transnational exchange between migrant Oaxacan indigenous women in California and academics on both sides of the border with whom I accompany training processes among women musicians.
I am currently part of the Texas Global Research Exchange with Guadalajara, a research team led by my advisor, Dr. Robin Moore, who is seeking the possibility of joint research projects and other academic collaborations between The University of Texas at Austin and the University of Guadalajara. This exchange has included a visit from the University of Guadalajara’s Master's Program in Ethnomusicology coordinator and her students, whom we received in April 2022. We had a trip to Guadalajara in August 2022 to explore collaborations and research interests with professors and graduate students from the University of Guadalajara. This was possible thanks to the fact that we have been recipients of the Texas Global Faculty Research Seed Grant with the project entitled “Collaborative Ethnomusicology and Digital Humanities of the Americas: Research, Transmission, and Pedagogies.”
In addition to the above, I have continued to participate in academic spaces in Mexico. I attended the seminar "Entreveramientos: Semiótica, Literatura y Música" at UAM Azcapotzalco, I spoke at the "I Colloquium on Canons, Narratives and Tropes in Mexican Pop(ular) Music" at the same university, I participated as an instructor in the "Research Seminar on Music and Sound” at the Universidad del Claustro de Sor Juana, as a speaker at the “VI Student Forum on Ethnomusicology” at the Universidad Veracruzana, and as a speaker at the “Permanent Seminar on Music and Gender” at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Mexico. All these meetings reaffirm my ties with Mexico and my interest in maintaining dialogue with my colleagues.
What drew you to Texas and UT Austin?
The UT Austin Butler School of Music doctoral program in Ethnomusicology has a history of nearly 40 years and a unique interdisciplinary perspective. It combines the Musicology and Ethnomusicology programs to enrich the repertoire of theoretical-methodological tools for its students. This seemed very attractive to me since both perspectives are often in contrast and I was interested in venturing into a more conciliatory vision between the two disciplines. In addition, the Ethnomusicology program was founded by Gérard Behágue, a French Latin American ethnomusicologist, who promoted the creation of the Latin American Music Review, one of the most important publications in the entire continent on Latin American music. The program's emphasis on Latin American music is central to my work.
What have been some good things you did not expect from Texas or UT Austin?
I did not expect such a warm reception from my advisor and fellow classmates. I have also had the pleasant experience of meeting faculty and colleagues from all over Latin America and from different disciplines in the classes that I have chosen outside of the music school. Being able to go through the different schools and departments while I put together my own doctoral program, adjusted to my theoretical-methodological needs and my area of study, has been a great surprise. I feel that I can really take advantage of the opportunities offered by a university as large and important as UT Austin. I can benefit from all available resources, such as the Benson Library, where a great wealth of archives and musical materials from Latin America—and especially Mexico—is concentrated.
On the other hand, I have realized that Austin is a very interesting city. It has a lively music scene, a great market for local breweries and distilleries, restaurants from all over the world, natural sites like Lady Bird Lake (which cuts the city from east to west) that are beautiful to walk through, and a population that is friendly to university students. I did not expect that I would have such a good time in the free moments that I have and that this would nourish my life so much outside of academics.
What have been the biggest challenges of studying at UT Austin and living in the United States?
Like many other people at UT Austin who are from abroad, I have had challenges adjusting to the culture of the United States. It has been especially difficult for me to process the dynamics of peer competition that society and universities promote, and the feeling of isolation that graduate programs focused on individual research sometimes produce. It has helped me to focus on my mental and physical health, as well as to find friends from outside of college to touch a bit of reality beyond the academic bubble.
How has the support of ConTex and Conacyt impacted you?
The support of ConTex and Conacyt allows me to focus one hundred percent on my studies since they give me a monthly stipend and medical insurance that guarantees me care if I need it. It is largely due to this agreement between The University of Texas System and Conacyt that I ended up deciding on my program since they offered me the opportunity to carry out my doctoral studies with broad support in order to dedicate myself fully to it. Last but not least, it makes it possible for me to attend an institution abroad that I couldn't otherwise afford without taking on huge long-term debt.
What kind of work do you hope to do in the future? How do you hope your research will benefit people in the United States and Mexico?
In the future, I am interested in continuing to do research at higher-level institutions on both sides of the border. I would like to continue to get involved with the processes of musical formation in diverse educational levels, musical traditions, and community processes. My greatest motivation is to strengthen the institutional programs to which I have the opportunity to belong and contribute to strengthening the academic field of musical studies both in the United States and in Mexico.
I believe that ethnomusicological research can contribute to the search for epistemic justice from the musical point of view, to the decolonization of musical academic spaces that have traditionally focused solely on academic repertoires of European origin, and to the recognition of the importance of the lives of the people who embody other identities, musical practices, and teaching systems. That is why I think that our work is extremely important both inside and outside academia.
What advice would you give to other Mexican students who are considering studying in Texas?
I would tell them that The University of Texas at Austin is a great school with many opportunities for both personal and academic growth. UT Austin has resources that are essential for people from all over Latin America to access, because its libraries protect files that our countries, unfortunately, could not keep. I would advise them not to hesitate to ask ConTex and Conacyt for support in order to achieve this. We are waiting for you on this side!
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