Loud & Proud: The Music of a Mexilachian Future

The Nuestro South Loud & Proud series focuses on the Poder y Cultura that Nuestra Gente in the South can possess. From the comida que cocinamos, the music we play, and our labor which plants, cleans, and builds-- Nuestra Gente has grown deep roots in the south.

In this episode- What does it mean to be Half-Hillbilly and Half-Mexican? How do Latinx families come to settle in the Appalachian regions? How does our music and culture express a new vision for our communities future?

Like the broader US South, Appalachia is a vast region filled with its own history and nuances but it is still largely stereotyped as a particularly white space . The truth and history is much more nuanced, and just like in the deep South, Nuestra Gente has roots all across Appalachia  and  has enriched the region with their food, language, music, and culture. 

Tune in to discover the cultural bridges being formed through the Mexilachian music of the Lua Project, and the activist sounds of the Latingrass group Che Apalache as Sophia Enriquez walks us through her own family's journey and the significance of our music in the Appalachian-Latinx experience. 

Sophia is a scholar, teacher, and musician from Appalachian Ohio. She is a PhD candidate in ethnomusicology at Ohio State University. Her dissertation titled “Canciones de Las Apalaches: Latinx Music, Migration, and Belonging in Appalachia” sheds light on the long-standing contributions of Latinx people to Appalachian music. Sophia plays Appalachian and Mexican music styles—such as ranchera and bluegrass—and performs with the folk trio the  “Good Time Girls” in Columbus, Ohio. 

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The Nuestro South Loud & Proud Interview Series is produced by Axel Herrera, Julie Weise, and Erik Valera with generous sponsorship from the Whiting Foundation, the University of Oregon College of Arts and Sciences, and LatinxEd.