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  • The Inevitable Bandstand: The State Band of Oaxaca and the Politics of Sound by Charles V. Heath
  • Bernardo Ramírez Ríos
The Inevitable Bandstand: The State Band of Oaxaca and the Politics of Sound. By Charles V. Heath. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2015. Pp. 232. $65.00 cloth; $30.00 paper.

Seldom does a monograph capture those historical moments in Latin America when the intersection of music, politics, and culture collide, but Charles V. Heath manages to create a symphony of Latin American political history with his recent book. The ability to combine the topic of music and politics is an accomplishment, especially for a diverse state like Oaxaca, Mexico, where regional ethnic identity has regularly caused cultural shifts in the formation of politics. Heath meticulously documents the historical moments in which music, as a form creative expression and political discourse, has been a cornerstone for political agendas during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries in Oaxaca. [End Page 590]

The sociopolitical outcomes that coincided with these most significant political shifts are complicated, given the historical development of Oaxaca as a state within the national identity of Mexico. Nonetheless, Heath uncovers the nearly 150-year history of the Banda de Música del Estado de Oaxaca (BME) in a way that shows the interweaving of music as philosophy, art, and performance into an elegant narrative of Oaxaca’s unique history. The intersections of music and politics are the central themes of this book, but the value to readers comes from Heath’s ability to detail Oaxaca’s unique political history and its governments’ relationships with the nation of Mexico. Marching bands and the individuals who play the instruments are the highlights throughout the book, but the discourse surrounding their music and performances is also a splendid introduction to politics and culture in Oaxaca. Heath’s use of music—as a political discourse that impacted sociocultural customs—is a clever and revealing method for showing the Oaxaca’s political development of municipalities. Here music and community celebrations became a symbol of homogeneity within the state, and also as served as representations of ethnic identity.

The creation of sound is a cultural characteristic that all humans share. The practice of manipulating objects to create distinct sounds and rhythm is an innovative method that humans have evolved over time. Similarly, the political systems, however large or small, is something that human groups form to organize themselves. Heath shows that sound and harmony have been useful in the process of forming political systems. He describes the BME’s evolution within Oaxaca as an “instrumental makeup” in which the combination of musicians creates an expression of homogenous identity.

The performance of music in a public space where the intentions are political is customary for most nation-states. For example, the playing of a national anthem for gold-medal winners is synonymous with the IOC Olympic Games. Athletes stand proudly on the podium and some sing along to words that represent a country of origin. Where do music and politics intersect? Why was the performance of music popularized and integrated into combative authoritarian violence in Mexico? Heath unpacks these questions by uncovering Mexico’s connection between music and war.

He opens the book with chapters that examine military battalions and their leaders. The detailed descriptions of marching bands that included drum majors and cornet players are insightful, but the examples of individual relationships to music—from Antonio de León, Benito Juárez, and Porfirio Díaz, who may be collectively described as some of Oaxaca’s most famous and influential heroes—is a contribution to history and the cultural significance of Oaxaca. Early on, Heath introduces the BME’s impact on the state development of Oaxaca during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, an effect that could simply be described as a harmonious serenade of political influence. The BME is performance, musically, socially; more importantly, it is a social tool to inform politics. “Almost immediately, the BME’s mission included didactic, nationalistic performances such as a patriotic festival, cultural missions, and special ‘Cultural Days,’ all of which included music, poetry, and speech and composition contests” (85). [End Page 591]

As a cultural practice...

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