Sonic Survival and Resistance through Performance and Memory Among Women in Latin America and Korea
Chair(s): James Gabrillo (The University of Texas at Austin)
This panel discusses the multifaceted expressions of marginalized women's identities across diverse geographical and cultural contexts in Latin America and Korea. On one hand, long histories of urban violence in Caracas, Venezuela have led to the stigmatization of young racialized men’s cultural practices and aesthetics as malandreo (thuggery) (Caraballo 2015, Duque 1996, Ferrandiz 2003, Pedrazzini y Desrosiers-Lauzon 2011). This presentation, however, focuses on the resignification of this notion given women’s increasing identification as malandras and participation in the urban music scene. Then, through an ethnography of the DMZ soundscape and a study of contemporary projects in South Korea, Lee explores how immersive listening technologies contribute to understanding and mediating (post)wartime experiences, challenging established dichotomies and advocating for a more accountable approach to the victims of ecological destruction and colonialist practices. Regarding the all-women’s band “Mujeres del Viento Florido” in Oaxaca, Mexico, the transformations in its configuration as an ensemble and the alliances between members of different indigenous nations will be analyzed as strategies of resurgence and survival (Diamond 2006, Starblanket 2017, Keme 2018). By navigating the challenges of patriarchal systems and colonial settler capitalism (Speed 2017), these women form strategic alliances, utilizing creative tactics to redefine their roles as musicians and political agents. Collectively, these presentations contribute to a broader understanding of sonic expressions as vehicles for remembering marginalized pasts, challenging established dichotomies, and advocating for social justice.
Presentations of the Symposium
Gendered Memories and Sounding Silence in the Korean Borderland
Jeong-In Lee
The University of Texas at Austin
This paper explores the creative engagement of artists with the obscured narratives and haunting histories concealed within the ruins of the Korean borderland, with a particular focus on the abandoned Monkey House building near the US camp town in South Korea. Through an ethnography of the DMZ (Demilitarized Zone) soundscape, I investigate the uncanny soundscape of the Monkey House, employing ruin-listening to uncover the significance of the silence it resonates. The aftermath of the Korean War has systematically marginalized the stories of individuals in camp towns, particularly obscuring women's experiences in collective silence. Drawing on recent scholarly discussions on "silence," the paper offers a concise overview of how listening serves as a conduit for understanding, bridging gaps between human/non-human, real/imaginary, and nature/culture dynamics within the Korean borderland. More specifically, I focus on the two projects, Rainbow 99’s “Monkeyhouse, Night” (2019) and Gina Kim’s Tearless (2021), to investigate how contemporary immersive listening technologies have contributed to envisioning and mediating (post)wartime experiences and memories. By providing an immersive sound experience, I argue that these projects not only provide a substitute for the physically inaccessible DMZ but also facilitate affective engagement through empathic “listening” for spectators. In so doing, this paper reconsiders the potential for an embodied re-membering of the past, challenging established dichotomies and advocating for a more accountable and just approach to the victims of ecological destruction and colonialist practices.
Women in Malandreo: Aesthetics, Violence and Urban Sociability in Caracas
Victoria Mogollon Montagne
University of Cincinnati - CCM
Can malandreo (thuggery) be heard? Although violence as a social issue and the imposed or voluntary identification of youth as malandros (thugs) are not new topics, the cultural expressions that consolidate a malandro aesthetic in Venezuela have been considered sparingly (Alvarado and Mena 2018, Fernandes 2012). Many studies argue that malandreo (thuggery) is a pride system created by young men in impoverished areas of Caracas to exert control through violent behavior. In this presentation, I expand discussions on the (re)construction of the malandro as a social figure by considering the feminine malandra, and malandreo both as a creative practice and form of sociability among Venezuelan youth. My work is indebted to that of Brazilian musicologists and anthropologists on the role of samba in the emergence of malandros in Rio de Janeiro (Candido 1970, Hertzman 2010, Marques da Silva 2019, Thomaz et al. 2016). However, in Venezuela the musical influences are different, and I will focus primarily on raptor house, hip hop and música urbana. Even if violence is embedded in the notion of malandreo, I demonstrate that many times this connection is achieved at the level of aspirational narrative rather than direct participation in criminal activities. In this way, I argue that by identifying as malandras, these young women are not seeking to deny the vulnerability and marginalization they experience. Instead, they capitalize on their ingenuity to craft strategies for survival, joy and power under dire circumstances (Caraballo 2015, Duque 1996, Ferrandiz 2003, Pedrazzini y Desrosiers-Lauzon 2011).
Polyphony of Indigenous Identities in ‘Mujeres del Viento Florido’: Strategic Alliances in the Face of the Labor Dynamics of Colonial Capitalism
Mercedes Alejandra Payán Ramírez
The University of Texas at Austin
The Regional Women’s Band “Mujeres del Viento Florido” is an ensemble formed in 2006 in Santa María Tlahuitoltepec Mixe, with which I have collaborated since 2018. Its main objective has been to open a safe space to meet, direct, compose, educate, and play the music of the Oaxacan (Mexico) philharmonic band tradition. Since then, its members have faced several challenges, starting with the difficulties of entering a space dominated by men, the competition between peers that the patriarchal system has fostered, the lack of resources in terms of funding and access to professional musical training, as well as incorporation into a paid labor circuit in a world shaped by the dynamics of settler capitalism (Speed 2017). They have designed a creative set of strategies in response to these challenges. These include expanding band membership beyond its regions of origin, establishing political alliances between members of various indigenous nations (Starblanket 2017, Keme 2018), organizing workshops to replace competition with peer education, joining circuits of paid musical performances while maintaining local community exchanges, and collaboration with academics from the United States and Mexico to strengthen their ties. Moving from identity studies to alliance studies in ethnomusicology (Diamond 2006, Giroux 2018), I seek to comprehend how these women interconnect to achieve their objectives as an ensemble and as political agents. This paper explores the characteristics of their tactics, the transformation of the band’s configuration, its implications concerning the role of musicians in their communities, and the relationships between women from different indigenous peoples.
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