Ephemeral Aurality

Media, Performance, and Sound Archives in (Greater) Mexico

Bibliographic Data

ID17744028
AuthorsTamara L Mitchell (0000-0001-9163-2393, Duke University, corresponding author)
Year2026
Volume35
Issue1
Pages1-15
Publication date2026-04-28
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Latin American Cultural Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1356-9325 • E-ISSN: 1469-9575
PublisherTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/13569325.2026.2636913
OpenAlexW7157594261
LanguageEN
References cited22

This essay reviews three recent monographs at the intersection of Mexican cultural studies and sound studies. Spanning sonic media and archives from the postrevolutionary period to the postnational present, the books by Christina Baker, Alejandro L. Madrid, and Sonia Robles participate in a broader exchange that interrogates how sound and listening shape culture, configure politics, and produce regimes of knowledge in modern Mexico. With shared attention to both disciplinary listening practices that seek to regulate sensory perception and the unruly sonorities that exceed the state’s aural control, these works propose new methodologies for understanding how sound mediates power, identity, and politics in (Greater) Mexico. The essay closes by surveying recent scholarship from Mexico that brings a listening ear to a wide array of sonic phenomena and cultural forms, including work by Roger Bartra and Ana Lidia M. Domínguez Ruiz.

Ephemeral key · Loudspeaker · Sound (geography) · Sound production · Latin American and Latino Studies · Latin American history and culture · Sound Studies and Aurality

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Open DOIOpen Access