| Agustin Lara: A Cultural Biography Contributor(s): Wood, Andrew Grant (Author) |
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ISBN: 0199892458 ISBN-13: 9780199892457 Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA OUR PRICE: $77.90 Product Type: Hardcover - Other Formats Published: July 2014 |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Biography & Autobiography | Music - Music | Ethnomusicology - Music | Genres & Styles - Folk & Traditional |
| Dewey: B |
| LCCN: 2012029552 |
| Series: Currents in Latin American and Iberian Music |
| Physical Information: 1.1" H x 6.1" W x 9.3" (1.19 lbs) 320 pages |
| Themes: - Chronological Period - 20th Century - Cultural Region - Mexican |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: Few Mexican musicians in the twentieth century achieved as much notoriety or had such an international impact as the popular singer and songwriter Agustín Lara (1897-1970). Widely known as el flaco de oro (the Golden Skinny), this remarkably thin fellow was prolific across the genres of bolero, ballad, and folk. His most beloved Granada, a song so enduring that it has been covered by the likes of Mario Lanza, Frank Sinatra, and Placido Domingo, is today a standard in the vocal repertory. However, there exists very little biographical literature on Lara in English. In Agustín Lara: A Cultural Biography, author Andrew Wood's informed and informative placement of Lara's work in a broader cultural context presents a rich and comprehensive reading of the life of this significant musical figure. Lara's career as a media celebrity as well as musician provides an excellent window on Mexican society in the mid-twentieth century and on popular culture in Latin America. Wood also delves into Lara's music itself, bringing to light how the composer's work unites a number of important currents in Latin music of his day, particularly the bolero. With close musicological focus and in-depth cultural analysis riding alongside the biographical narrative, Agustin Lara: A Cultural Biography is a welcome read to aficionados and performers of Latin American musics, as well as a valuable addition to the study of modern Mexican music and Latin American popular culture as a whole. |