Latin American Music

Fall 2025
LAS 3930
SECTION TBA, CLASS # 28096

Days: Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays
Times: 11:45 am - 12:35 pm
Location: TBA

Course description

Latin American Music covers selected musical cultures from Latin America and the Caribbean within their cultural and geographical contexts in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Over the semester, you will become familiar with the different cultures, musical styles, and sounds of Latin American such as the bolero, ranchero, marimba de tecomates, bossa-nova, choro, Latin pop, merengue, baião, bachata, wayno, bambuco, rumba, salsa, samba, son, bachata, milonga, and others. We will also study the historical background and social functions of these styles, as well as the region's relevant composers, performers, and musical instruments. 

  • To fully appreciate Latin American music, its role, and relevance to the understanding of Latin American society
  • To acquire a broader, critical, and sensitive understanding of Latin American music
  • To look at various Latin American musical styles and be able to identify and associate them with specific geographical regions
  • To recognize the impact of Latin American music in the development of its people and their political and cultural identity
Professor

Dr. Welson Tremura
Professor
Center for Latin American Studies
College of Music
Center for Arts, Migration, and Entrepreneurship
E-mail: tremura@ufl.edu 
Tel: 352-273-4728

Research Interests
Ethnomusicology, Brazilian jazz, classical and vocal music

Geographic Expertise
Brazil and Latin America