Jamaica Brasileira: the Politics of Reggae in São
JAMAICA BRASILEIRA: THE POLITICS OF REGGAE IN SÃO LUÍS, BRAZIL, 1968-2010 by Kavin Dayanandan Paulraj B.A. in History, Pomona College, 2003 M.A. in History, University of Pittsburgh, 2006 Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of Pittsburgh 2013 UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH DIETRICH SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES This dissertation was presented By Kavin Dayanandan Paulraj It was defended on March 18, 2013 and approved by Lara Putnam, Associate Professor, History Andrew N. Weintraub, Professor and Interim Chair, Music Alejandro de la Fuente, UCIS Research Professor, History George Reid Andrews, Distinguished Professor and Chair, History Dissertation Advisor: Lara Putnam, Associate Professor, History ii Copyright © by Kavin Dayanandan Paulraj 2013 iii JAMAICA BRASILEIRA: THE POLITICS OF REGGAE IN SÃO LUÍS, BRAZIL, 1968-2010 Kavin Dayanandan Paulraj, Ph.D. University of Pittsburgh, 2013 Residents of São Luís like to say that reggae music reached their island city in Maranhão state in northeast Brazil “through the back door,” into makeshift venues deep in urban slums. In time, audiences in São Luís cultivated a cosmopolitan music scene and an innovative cultural industry that earned their city the title of Jamaica Brasileira, or the Brazilian Jamaica. Based on interviews, archival research, participant-observation, and material sources including musical records, this dissertation explores how and why reggae developed local roots in São Luís and its subsequent role in local socio-economic and political developments. This study finds that Jamaican rhythms of the late 1960s and 1970s arrived primarily through the global music industry via the economic metropoles of the north Atlantic and southeast Brazil alongside other popular international styles.
[Show full text]