Sounding Indigenous Authenticity in Bolivian Music Performance

Sounding Indigenousexplores the relations between music, people, and places through analysis of Bolivian music performances: by a non-governmentalorganization involved in musical activities, by a music performing ensemble,and by the people living in two rural areas of Potosi. Based on researchconducted between 1993 and 1995, the book frames debates of Bolivian national and indigenous identities in terms of different attitudes people assume towards cultural and artistic authenticity. The book makes uniquecontributions through an emphasis on music as sensory experience, anexamination of authenticity in relation to music, a combined focus on different kinds of Bolivian music (indigenous, popular, avant-garde), and an interpretation of local, national, and transnational fieldwork experiences.

Michelle Bigenho is Assistant Professor of Anthropology and Latin American Studies at Hampshire college. Her field research has focused on music performance in Bolivia and Peru.