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Call for Papers: Edited Volume on the Mexican New Song

The Snake, the Roses, and the Thorns: Unfolding the Mexican New Song in the 60s-90s

Mexico, a country living under the “perfect” dictatorship in the 1960s-1990s, lacked the structure-changing, spectacular events —coups d’état, military dictatorships, socialist revolutions, civil wars— that propelled socially engaged artists to stardom in Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Cuba, and Spain during the second half of the 20^th century. Nonetheless, cultural resistance ­to the hegemonic power of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) in Mexico was significant. Singers, songwriters, and performers spent the decades between 1960 and 1990 denouncing poverty and corruption; condemning governmental violence against students, activists, women, workers, and peasants; and supporting civil rights movements both nationally and internationally. The story of these artists has remained unknown for English-speaking audiences for too long. Few critics have approached the topic; and more often than not, this has been done from a partisan, non-critical standpoint. The Snake, the Roses, and the Thorns: Unfolding the Mexican New Song in the 60s-90s will examine the Mexican protest-song phenomenon from a variety of disciplines, which can include: history, ethnomusicology, music, postcolonial studies, gender studies, Latin American and Mexican studies, spatiality, popular culture, visual culture, as well as literary and cultural studies. The book will be a much-needed volume in English that will potentially become the academic reference regarding the emergence, development, and critical study of the Mexican Nueva Canción. The editor is interested in new and engaging approaches to songs’ lyrics, as well as innovative investigations on the social and spatial interactions of its protagonists both in Mexico and abroad. Of particular interest is the work of Amparo Ochoa, Gabino Palomares, Oscar Chavez, and the group Los Folkloristas; as it is the history of the record labels that helped promote the movement: Pentagrama and Discos Pueblo.

Abstracts of maximum 500 words can be sent to Prof. Claudio Palomares Salas (cps1@queensu.ca) by October 15th, 2017. The language of publication will be English; however, abstracts can be sent in Spanish, and support could be provided for the translation of articles once approved. Please include in your abstract the title and main thematic focus of your paper, as well as your c.v. and affiliation (if applicable). Every abstract submitted will be assessed and authors will be contacted by Nov 1st. Final acceptance will be based on completed articles, which are due July 30, 2018. Finished articles must be 6000-8000 words, including all notes and references.

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