Family first: Yahritza y Su Esencia, family bands and the musical education of Mexican Americans | Intellect Skip to content
1981
  1. Home
  2. A-Z Publications
  3. Journal of Popular Music Education
  4. Online First Articles
  5. Online First Article
image of Family first: Yahritza y Su Esencia, family bands and the musical education of Mexican Americans

Abstract

Beginning with a description of música Mexicana’s rising stars, Yahritza y Su Esencia, a ‘family band’ of young Mexican American musicians, we suggest that school music educators become more informed of the musical interests, involvements and learning styles of Mexican American students at home, within their families and in the communities that surround them. Yahritza’s trademar sierreño style is described and contextualized in light of other notable genres such as mariachi, música nortena, son jarocho, banda, grupera and trap corridos. The phenomenon of family bands within Mexican American communities is explored as a means of children’s musical enculturation away from school, juxtaposed with a history of exclusion of Mexican American students from school music opportunities. The article addresses limitations of the American model of school music programmes, including (1) the need for opportunities for Mexican American (and other) populations to access meaningful musical education experiences, and (2) the gap between the music genres offered within the curriculum and those that Mexican American (and other) students experience at home and within their communities. Even as we acknowledge and applaud the presence of family bands and other strong music community music practices among Mexican Americans, we call for a national initiative among music educators to ensure that the music which students learn in school is at least germane to students’ home experiences.

© 2024 Intellect Ltd
Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journals/10.1386/jpme_00133_1
2024-04-08
2024-04-29
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

References

  1. Anon. (1971), ‘Tlatelolco field of study center’, El Gallo, 1 April, p. 10.
     [Google Scholar]
  2. Anon. (1974), ‘Order now!’, El Gallo, 1 January, p. 16.
     [Google Scholar]
  3. Caldera, Yvonne M., Velez-Gomez, Paulina and Lindsey, Eric W. (2014), ‘Who are Mexican Americans? An overview of history, immigration, and cultural values’, in Y. M. Caldera and E. Lindsey (eds), Mexican American Children and Families: Multidisciplinary Perspectives, New York: Routledge, pp. 3–12, https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315814612.
     [Google Scholar]
  4. Calì, Claudia (2017), ‘Creating ties of intimacy through music: The case study of a family as a community music experience’, International Journal of Community Music, 10:3, pp. 305–16, https://doi.org/10.1386/ijcm.10.3.305_1.
     [Google Scholar]
  5. Campbell, Patricia S. and Dahm, Clayton L. (2022), ‘A social history of music in US schools: The coalescence of research and practice’, Music Research Annual, 3, pp. 1–32.
     [Google Scholar]
  6. Campbell, Patricia S. and Soto Flores, Leticia (2020), ‘Mariachi music: Pathways to expressing Mexican musical identity’, in C. Grant and H. Schippers (eds), Sustainable Futures for Music Cultures, Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 271–302.
     [Google Scholar]
  7. Chase, Vera (1939), Instruction of Bilingual Children, Phoenix, AZ: State Department of Education.
     [Google Scholar]
  8. Dahm, Clayton L., Flesher, Jack, Cantarelli Vita, Juliana and Campbell, Patricia S. (2022), ‘Families as small-community quarantine pods of sociomusical engagement’, International Journal of Community Music, 33:2, pp. 211–29, https://doi.org/10.1386/ijcm_00060_1.
     [Google Scholar]
  9. DeConto, Jesse, J. (2015), ‘When it comes to worship music, Hispanic churches look within’, Sojourners, 26 August, https://sojo.net/articles/when-it-comes-worship-music-hispanic-churches-look-within. Accessed 15 March 2023.
     [Google Scholar]
  10. Elpus, Kenneth and Abril, Carlos R. (2011), ‘High school music ensemble students in the United States: A demographic profile’, Journal of Research in Music Education, 59:2, pp. 128–45.
     [Google Scholar]
  11. Fuller, Eric (2022), ‘Grupo firme is selling out stadiums: How did that happen?’, Forbes, 6 June, https://www.forbes.com/sites/ericfuller/2022/06/06/grupo-firme-is-selling-out-stadiums-how-did-that-happen/?sh=386664737c58. Accessed 21 March 2024.
  12. Gonzalez, Gilbert (1991), ‘Labor and community: The camps of Mexican citrus pickers in Southern California’, Western Historical Quarterly, 22:3, pp. 289–312.
     [Google Scholar]
  13. Hesburgh, Theodore M., Horn, Stephen, Freeman, Frankie M., Mitchell, Maurice B., Rankin, Robert S. and Ruiz, Manuel (1971), The Unfinished Education: Outcomes for Minorities in the Five Southwestern States, Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office.
     [Google Scholar]
  14. Hill, Merle E. (1928), The Development of an Americanization Program, San Bernardino, CA: Board of Education.
     [Google Scholar]
  15. Hipolito-Delgado, Carlos P. (2018), ‘Cultura y familia: Strengthening Mexican heritage families’, in P. Arredondo (ed.), Latinx Immigrants: International and Cultural Psychology, Champagne, IL: Springer, pp. 147–67, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-95738-8_9.
     [Google Scholar]
  16. Ilari, Beatriz, Perez, Priscilla, Wood, Alison and Habibi, Assal (2019), ‘The role of community-based music and sports programmes in parental views of children’s social skills and personality’, International Journal of Community Music, 12:1, pp. 35–56, https://doi.org/10.1386/ijcm.12.1.35_1.
     [Google Scholar]
  17. Lopez, Julyssa (2022), ‘How Mexican sounds are shaping the most popular music in the world’, Rolling Stone, https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/musica-mexicana-1365794/. Accessed 25 March 2022.
     [Google Scholar]
  18. Kelly-McHale, Jacqueline L. and Abril, Carlos (2015), ‘The space between worlds: Music education and Latino children’, in C. Benedict, P. Schmidt and G. Spruce (eds), The Oxford Handbook of Social Justice in Music Education, Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 156–72.
     [Google Scholar]
  19. Koops, Lisa H. (2019), ‘Listening to families’ musical hopes and dreams’, International Journal of Community Music, 12:1, pp. 145–59, https://doi.org/10.1386/ijcm.12.1.145_1.
     [Google Scholar]
  20. Lum, Chee H. and Campbell, Patricia S. (2009), ‘El Camaleon: The musical secrets of Mirella Valdez’, in J. L. Kerchner and C. Abril (eds), Musical Experience in Our Lives: Things We Learn and Meanings We Make, Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, pp. 113–26.
     [Google Scholar]
  21. Madrid, Alejandro (2008), Nor-Tec Rifa! Electronic Dance Music from Tijuana to the World, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
     [Google Scholar]
  22. Madrid, Alejandro (2012), Music in Mexico, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
     [Google Scholar]
  23. McDowell, John H. (2015), Corrido! The Living Ballad of Mexico’s Western Coast, Albuquerque, NM: University of New Mexico Press.
     [Google Scholar]
  24. Mendenhall, Warren O. (1937), ‘A comparative study of achievement and ability of the children in two segregated Mexican schools’, doctoral dissertation, Los Angeles, CA: University of Southern California.
     [Google Scholar]
  25. Payne, Ida (n.d.), The Training Schools: Arizona State Teachers College, Tempe, AZ, Hayden Archives, Tempe, AZ: Arizona State University.
     [Google Scholar]
  26. Pena, Manuel (1985), The Texas-Mexican Conjunto: History of a Working-Class Music, Austin, TX: University of Texas Press.
     [Google Scholar]
  27. Rodriguez, Mary, A. V. (2019), ‘Parents’ perceptions of early childhood music participation’, International Journal of Community Music, 12:1, pp. 95–110, https://doi.org/10.1386/ijcm.12.1.95_1.
     [Google Scholar]
  28. Ruiz, Elizabeth (2005), ‘Hispanic culture and relational cultural theory’, Journal of Creativity in Mental Health, 1:1, pp. 33–55, https://doi.org/10.1300/J456v01n01_05.
     [Google Scholar]
  29. Sanchez, Maykol (2022), ‘A new generation of artists is reinventing Mexican music and captivating listeners around the world’, For the Record, 16 September, https://newsroom.spotify.com/2022-09-16/a-new-generation-of-artists-is-reinventing-mexican-music-and-captivating-listeners-around-the-world/. Accessed 10 March 2023.
  30. San Miguel Jr, Guadalupe (2016), ‘Huelga schools in Houston: Community-based education in the struggle for legal recognition, 1970’, Journal of Latinos and Education, 15:4, pp. 266–74.
     [Google Scholar]
  31. Scheckel, Benita L. (2019), ‘Language learning through music: Bridging the opportunity gap in the American ELD classroom’, doctoral dissertation, Azusa, CA: Azusa Pacific University.
     [Google Scholar]
  32. Sheehy, Daniel J. (2006), Mariachi Music in Mexico, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
     [Google Scholar]
  33. Soto, Amanda C. (2012), ‘Bimusical identity of children in a Mexican American school’, doctoral dissertation, Seattle, WA: University of Washington.
     [Google Scholar]
  34. Soto, Amanda C. (2015), ‘New faces in old spaces: Mexican American musical expressions and music equity within the music curriculum’, in C. Benedict, P. Schmidt and G. Spruce (eds), The Oxford Handbook of Social Justice in Music Education, Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 631–43.
     [Google Scholar]
  35. Stevenson, Robert (1952), Music in Mexico: An Historical Survey, New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Company.
     [Google Scholar]
  36. Sturman, Janet (2016), The Course of Mexican Music, New York: Routledge.
     [Google Scholar]
  37. United States Commission on Civil Rights (1971), ‘The unfinished education: Outcomes for minorities in five southwestern states’.
  38. Vallejo, Polo (2012), ‘Georgian (Caucasus) children’s polyphonic conception of music’, in P. S. Campbell and T. Wiggins (eds), Oxford Handbook of Children’s Musical Cultures, Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 164–78, https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199737635.013.0010.
     [Google Scholar]
  39. Walker, Mary J. (2008), ‘Family music and family bands in New Mexico music’, doctoral dissertation, Champaign, IL: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
     [Google Scholar]
http://instance.metastore.ingenta.com/content/journals/10.1386/jpme_00133_1
Loading
  • Article Type: Article
Keywords: conjunto ; Mexican American ; musical identity ; family bands ; sierreño ; musical enculturation ; community music practices

Most Cited Most Cited RSS feed

This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was a success
Invalid data
An error occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error