Arsenio Rodriguez and the Transnational Flows of Latin Popular Music

Arsenio Rodriguez was one of the most important Cuban musicians of the twentieth century. In this first scholarly study, ethnomusicologist David F. Garcia examines Rodriguez's life, including the conjunto musical combo he led and the highly influential son montuno style of music he created in the 1940s. Garcia recounts Rodriguez's battle for recognition at the height of &quote;mambo mania&quote; in New York City and the significance of his music in the development of salsa. With firsthand accounts from relatives and fellow musicians, Arsenio Rodriguez and the Transnational Flows of Latin Popular Music follows Rodriguez's fortunes on several continents, speculating on why he never enjoyed wide commercial success despite the importance of his music. Garcia focuses on the roles that race, identity, and politics played in shaping Rodriguez's music and the trajectory of his musical career. His transnational perspective has important implications for Latin American and popular music studies.