RSS FeedUpcoming EventsMusic Studies Colloquium: Juan Diego Díaz, April 5https://events.berkeley.edu/music/event/236388-music-studies-colloquium-juan-diego-daz

From Bumba Meu Boi to Burrinha: the Drama of Brazilian Identity in Brazil and Benin.

For nearly two centuries a folk theatre genre of Brazilian origin called burrinha has been performed in present-day Benin, Togo, and Nigeria. Emerging through the migration of victims and victimizers of slavery from Brazil to West Africa in the early nineteenth century, burrinha has become one of the most important symbols of Brazilianness in Benin. In Brazil, where burrinha has become marginal, a related folk theatre genre called bumba meu boi is also considered part of national folklore, representing a romanticized cowboy culture from the Brazilian northeast. How does burrinha enable individuals who identify today as Brazilian-descendants in Benin negotiate their multiple allegiances to Brazil, Benin, and local ethnic groups such as the Fon? In what ways does the Brazilianness expressed by burrinha practitioners in Benin contrasts or aligns with that enacted by bumba meu boi performers in Brazil today? And how can these cultural exchanges and transformations expand our understanding of transatlantic diasporas? This presentation explores these questions through a combination of historical, ethnographic, and performance practice analysis. Focusing on the Beninois case, I show how the multimedia nature of burrinha, which includes music, dance, costumes, acting, masquerades, and storytelling, and its flexible format, have facilitated the accommodation of multiple references.

A reception will follow.

https://events.berkeley.edu/music/event/236388-music-studies-colloquium-juan-diego-daz
Music Studies Colloquium: Elizabeth Montano, April 12https://events.berkeley.edu/music/event/242689-music-studies-colloquium-elizabeth-montano

One Publication, King of Soca (2022), and Two Stories: The Strategies and Challenges of a Black Male Singer (Machel Montano) and a Black Female Manager from the English-speaking Caribbean

Elizabeth Montano is a graduate from the University of the West Indies with a Bachelor degree in Education, a Master of Philosophy degree in Cultural Studies, and a Diploma in ACEM (Entertainment Management). In addition to her forty years of experience as a manager, she straddles the roles of mother, author, and director of several companies in the Montano empire.

A reception will follow.

https://events.berkeley.edu/music/event/242689-music-studies-colloquium-elizabeth-montano
Music Studies Colloquium: Benjamin Ory, April 19https://events.berkeley.edu/music/event/235944-music-studies-colloquium-benjamin-ory

Bukofzer vs. Lowinsky: Heinrich Besseler’s Students at UC Berkeley

Benjamin Ory is a musicologist interested in the intersection of early music and historiography. 

https://events.berkeley.edu/music/event/235944-music-studies-colloquium-benjamin-ory