Appropriating Otherness. Afro-Caribbean Music in the State of Quintana Roo, Mexico

Hierba Santa, Santa Chan Roots, Korto Circuito, Roots and Wisdom, 16 Squadron: these are some of the many groups of Afro-Caribbean music in the state of Quintana Roo, in the southeast of Mexico, on the border with Belize. While the region is traditionally associated with a dominant Maya culture or with the first mestizaje in Mexico, I will study the emergence and disappearance of Afro-Caribbean music throughout the 20th century in order to better understand socio-historical mechanisms of inclusion, transformation and elimination of otherness. Focusing the research on the local music scene (musicians, public, organization, etc.), I will analyze the meaning of a "black music without Blacks" and its consequences on the definition of Mexican mestizaje.