Review Of "Everynight Life: Culture And Dance In Latin/o America" Edited By C. Fraser Delgado And J. Esteban Muñoz

Document Type

Book Review

Publication Date

1-1-1998

Published In

Choice

Abstract

A welcome addition to the burgeoning literature that employs dance as a vehicle for investigating culture, this collection extends some concerns evident in Barbara Browning's Samba: Resistance in Motion (CH, Apr'96) and Yvonne Daniel's Rumba: Dance and Social Change in Contemporary Cuba (CH, Mar'96) and includes the work of 12 researchers, who approach a variety of Latin dance forms with a broad range of views. The lively dialogues that emerge encourage the reader to revisit Latin dance, its evolution, and its intersection with matters political, cultural, and economic. Some articles concentrate on particular dance forms--e.g., conga, rumba, salsa, and tango--and comment on constructions. Others explore the links between these dances and both performance and political practice. In their introductory essay, "Rebellions of Everynight Life," the editors provide a useful frame to investigate the ways that popular dance mingles and supports or subverts political and social agendas. Writing across disciplines, Delgado (English, Pennsylvania State Univ.), Muñoz (performance studies, NYU), and their contributors add to an increasingly rich and divergent dancing ground. Recommended for faculty, professionals, graduate students, and upper-level undergraduates in the fields of dance, cultural studies, gender studies, and Latin American studies.

Comments

This work is freely available courtesy of Choice Reviews. The review has been reproduced in full in the abstract field.

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