Journeying with a musical practice : Existential mobility and transnational labour
Peer reviewed, Journal article
Published version
Permanent lenke
https://hdl.handle.net/11250/3115523Utgivelsesdato
2016Metadata
Vis full innførselSamlinger
- Publikasjoner fra Cristin [3418]
- SAM - Institutt for sosialfag [481]
Originalversjon
10.25364/08.2:2016.1.3Sammendrag
The relationship between migratory processes and the diffusion, appropriation and
hybridisation of cultural practices has been systematically documented in the scholarly
literature. Within these processes there are highly mobile people whose frequent travels and
short stays make them less visible as agents of cultural circulation. They often do not see
themselves as migrants, nor they are classified as such by national bureaucracies. Therefore,
their participation in the diffusion of cultural practices has not been fully considered. This
article focuses on the ways in which journeying with a musical practice entails forms of
informal transnational labour and, simultaneously, meanings of diffusion, promotion and
cultivation of regional cultures that are valued by geographically dispersed communities
of practitioners. This account is based on an ethnographic study on the circulation of a
traditional musical practice between Mexico and the US. It specifically focuses on the case
of a musician, workshop facilitator and luthier who travels several times a year between
these two countries performing, teaching and selling handmade instruments. Although his
journeying with a musical practice represents a way of making a living, a job, he does not
perceive himself as a labour migrant, but as a teacher, performer and cultural promoter.
Differing from the experiences of international migrants, this article shows how the meanings
of his mobility exhibits a distinct form of existential mobility.