I feel as though it has been a while since I’ve talked about arts education. The topic reached out and grabbed me last night when I stumbled upon a program in public television called Mambo Legends: The Music Never Ends.
This program is a part of a larger series called Voces.
About VOCES
Produced by Latino Public Broadcasting, the acclaimed PBS documentary series VOCES features the best of Latino arts, culture and history and shines a light on current issues that impact Latino Americans. Devoted to exploring the rich diversity of the Latino experience, VOCES presents new and established filmmakers and brings their powerful and illuminating stories to a national audience. - - PBS/mpt
This episode tells the story of the Mambo Legends Orchestra, a music ensemble “committed to keeping the sounds of the great Afro-Cuban bandleaders Machito, Tito Puente, and Tito Rodriguez alive for future generations.” The program is rich with engaging storytelling that invites the viewer into the history of the rise of mambo in the U.S. and the Afro-Cuban musicians who loved and championed it.
It’s also alive with the music itself: exciting rhythms, complex harmonies, a driving energy that makes you feel the entire orchestra might lift off and take flight. I’d encourage you to look them up on YouTube to get a sense of the music and how they perform together. An audio recording alone isn’t enough.
As I watched I realized there were two things percolating in my mind. One was that I was learning so much history and it bothered me that I hadn’t been exposed to any of it in school. This was a culture that none of my educational environments had deemed important enough to study. And, as a music major in college, this was a musical genre that I never encountered.
Of course, that was a while ago. Perhaps college music programs are broader these days.
The other thought I had was how cool it would be for schools to have their own mambo groups. Yes, we are all used to Jazz Bands but could students learn the same skills and gain new musical experiences by participating in a different kind of ensemble? Total immersion in mambo’s musical culture could be a beautiful thing, not just musically but also as an affirmation of cultural identity.
To be clear, this is not the same as having your Jazz Band do a piece with a “Latin flair” any more than one can claim to honor Black music by performing a spiritual once a year for Black history month. This kind of music is worthy of more than a token acknowledgment. The history and culture of the people who are keeping this music alive is worthy of study and celebration, and not just during National Hispanic Heritage Month.
We can’t ask our public schools to be all things to all people and I do believe that our music programs do amazing things. I’m excited about the developing Modern Band curriculum which is offering more opportunities to students who might normally opt out of participating in school music ensembles. But as I watched Mambo Legends: The Music Never Ends, it got me thinking about whose cultures we honor and how much we miss by continuing to do what we have always done.
What do you think?
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