Juan Diego Diaz Meneses

My research project examines the relationship between music and politics of black identities in Salvador, Bahia (Brazil), an epicenter of Afro-Brazilian culture. Such identities historically have been defined in polar opposition to white European or Western identities. The challenge of such dichotomous view is that black music and culture are assumed to be limited to certain traits that ostensibly oppose European values, thus overlooking the fact that blackness is constructed by reappropriating symbols and elements perceived as both African and Western. I propose a model that integrates discourses of black primitivism and empowerment with seven notions commonly associated with black and African music in the white/black binary – rhythmicity, percussiveness, spirituality, communalism, embodiment, traditionalism, and closeness to nature. My contribution lies on a Foucauldian interpretation of these notions for the formation of discourses of blackness, not on the notions themselves for they are all widely known. The model accommodates a wide range of interpretations of these themes offering more flexible views of blackness. A Bahian big band called Rumpilezz that blends various forms of Afro-Bahian music (such as candomblé and samba-reggae) with jazz, serves as my laboratory for applying this model. Aspects of public self-representation, performance practice, music structure, and musical reception are analyzed. Taking a constructivist approach, this study aims to respond to the following questions:

1. How do the most influential preconceived ideas about "African" music and culture impact musical activity in Bahia?
2. What happens when musical forms perceived as Afro-Brazilian encounter others seen as foreign?
3. How does music in Bahia express discourses of blackness?

This work, based on ethnographic research, historical, cultural, and musical analysis, demonstrates that, in promoting black empowerment:

1. these notions are frequently emphasized, thus reinforcing dichotomous views;
2. at times some notions like closeness to nature, percussiveness, or embodiment are deemphasized, challenging the binary; and
3. Instances when these notions are downplayed often require that others like rhythmicity and spirituality are strongly accentuated.

Black empowerment does not necessarily imply challenging primitivist views. They are both used to produce a sense of locality in Bahia.