Música Típica: Cumbia and the Rise of Musical Nationalism in Panama

Abstract

In this book, Sean Bellaviti explores a musical genre that is still largely unknown outside Panamanian borders: música típica. By analyzing the historical development and current performances of this particular genre, Bellaviti aims to study the relationship of music with ideas of nation and nationalism in Panama. With an engaging narrative that combines anecdotes, photographs, and musical notation, Bellaviti situates the reader in a cultural history of Panama, and even when the book involves the unavoidable references to the canal, it mostly focuses on transregional circulations of musical influences and internal sociocultural interactions among Panamanians.The ideas of the book are supported by extensive ethnographic work: in-depth interviews, detailed descriptions, images, and secondary sources allowed Bellaviti to write an analysis that would appeal to specialists from different disciplines. For historians, the author offers a study of a country that is often overlooked in explorations about the construction of nationalisms in Latin America as well as in the history of material and popular culture. Unlike musical genres of some other countries in the region, Panama's música típica has not become a globally identifiable national symbol, like the case of rancheras and Mexico, for example. This is, perhaps, one of the most interesting contributions to the historiography, because Bellaviti explores the deep significance of música típica but also the conflicting negotiations about what should or could be considered as characteristically Panamanian and what should or could change in order to export those local national symbols to the world—including the name of the beloved musical genre, which has very specific meanings inside Panama but does not resonate abroad. One interview illustrates this point: when popular musicians Samy and Sandra Sandoval performed on the widely watched show Sábado Gigante, the host asked them which kind of music they played. When they answered “música típica,” the response they received was, “But what kind of música típica? Every country has música típica” (p. 248).A constant question when examining the construction of nationalisms is who gets to decide what would be part of the national heritage. In Panama, as in some other Latin American countries, the state played a central role. The first two chapters explore the work of folklorists, sponsored by the government, who saw as a central part of their work to “rescue” and “preserve” what they considered to be the main components of Panamanian cultural heritage (p. 23). Some of the national symbols refer back to the Azuero Peninsula, a geographical region located at a significant distance from the multiculturally traveled canal. However, nationalism is not a process that only comes from the top down. The location of the peninsula, its economic development, and its labor interactions shaped the components of música típica while also creating a fan base of listeners and dancegoers. As part of this work, the author also analyzes the major political developments in the history of nineteenth- and twentieth-century Panama, detailing how the specific geopolitical situation of the country shaped specific meanings of nationhood.In regard to the history of material and popular culture, Bellaviti's discussion of the instruments used in música típica performances is particularly interesting. The book explains in detail the transition from the violin to the accordion as the primary melodic instrument, as well as the technological developments that changed the way that music was played and enjoyed in the last century. Bellaviti also touches on gender interactions inside the bands and in bailes, lyric analysis, and the relationship between performances and political events. Regarding this last topic, the author explains what would seem to be a contradiction: musicians avoid openly expressing their political opinions but often perform at rallies and have increasingly played an active role in political events that seek to engage voters.There are a few aspects that need further exploration, because they are part of the rich analysis offered and catch the attention of the reader: For instance, how have performances of music and nationalism incorporated and celebrated (or not) Afro-Panamanian populations and their cultural heritage in recent years? What does it mean for música típica composers and musicians to feel as outsiders when traveling inside their own country due to their rural origins? These questions pave the way for future research, which would further situate Panama and its complexity as part of comprehensive studies of nationalism and popular culture in Latin America, as Bellaviti has in this book.