Group+6

The definitions of folk culture and mass culture.

Folk Cultures are traditions that were initially passed down orally from one generation to another to give sense to our community. Traditions that have a sense of meaning to them. For example in African American community during a wedding the bride and the groom jump over a broom as a symbolism that they were married. A tradition that was passed down from the slave era when slaves were not allowed to marry or to have ownership of anything. Tejano music is a form of folk culture. Each ethnic group has their own sense of folk culture, each with different songs and traditions.

Mass Culture is a set of cultural values and ideas that arise from common exposure of a population to the same cultural activities, communications media, music and art, etc. Mass culture becomes possible only with modern communications and electronic media. A mass culture is transmitted to individuals, rather than arising from people's daily interactions, and therefore lacks the distinctive content of cultures rooted in community and region. Mass culture tends to reproduce the liberal value of individualism and to foster a view of the citizen as consumer. The new style of jeans or music, clothes and etc.

(**Russell)** Folk Culture is based on preserving ones "traditions of old" in the face of social, national, or economic demands, whereas Mass Culture is predominantly tied to economic or ideological agendas such as social, political or religious objectives.

__Definition of Culture (**Russell From 1st day of class**)__ Two definitions: Humanities and Sociologist Humanities: Sociologist:
 * Outward form of the works and practices of intellectual and artistic population.
 * Represented in the forms of literature, music, philosophy and art
 * For the purpose of intellectual, spiritual and aesthetic development of the human being
 * To guide humanity from savagery (fool) to civilized (educated)
 * A mode of living, practice and rituals of a group of people
 * Encompasses three properties: It is deeply symbolic, socially constructed, and must be embodied in some form of recognizable form
 * A study of cultural objects or shared significance embodied in form.
 * Can be used to define certain periods in time, such as classical, industrial, modern, popular and present day

My definition is that Culture is defined as those ideas, customs, traditions, language and rituals held by a group of people during a set time period.

Above all one must understand that Culture is a socially constructed human invention.

Pop Culture is something that we as a society create for ourselves. The people around us affect pop culture. It is an Interactive Approach emphasizing the power of informal processes like word of mouth and peer influence. Is very much of the moment and can change quickly such as in fashion, fads, trends, and phenomenas.

High culture came about in 1850s through defining social classes as either High or low culture. Example was Shakespeare

Here are my top three pics from the list of archival subjects available. MS 158 Guadalupe Cultrual Arts Center Records 1981-2005 (Because I think it may show the prevailing cultural tones of the times) Or it may not. MS 315 A Guide to Veterans History Project 2004-2007 (Being retired militiary, I found this subject interesting. Mostly audio recording of former veterans from different wars/conflicts. MS 47 A Guide to the San Antonio River Walk Commission, David Straus Papers 1960-1994 ( Thought this might be interesting to see how the River Walk was developed) May also be nice to know information to have incase out of town relatives come to visit and you can give them a guide tour while walking the river or floating by on a barge. Russell
 * //Research Project Ideas//**

Luis : Solidarity .of how schools bring a solidarity feel to the institution. For example at the university of San antonio Texas. The university has events that highlight the Hispanic heritage that the city of San Antonio has. At the school it's self there is events such as La Sombrilla where the students come together and the faculty would serve them BBQ. Around the school there is statues of Mexican culture as the statue of the border crossing. Where it shows a wet back crossing the river. And the couple dancing with traditional clothes on. Utsa brings a solidarity feel of Texas and the hispanic background around the city and institution.

Functions of popular culture : functions of popular culture would be how more contemporary collective rituals serve to forge emotional bonds of recognition,identity, and trust within communities and other social groups. Also provides the source material that allows consumers to communicate with strangers in public just as popular television.

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 * __The Harlem Renaissance__--->** known as the "new negro movement", centered in the Harlem neighborhood of NYC, spawned a generation of African American musicians, poets, writers, composers and artists. The Great Migration was a contributing factor leading to the harlem Renaissance.======

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Harlem Stride Style was the new way of playing the piano, composed primarily of brass instruments and considered a symbol of the south. The most lasting physical legacy of the Harlem Renaissance is theApolloTheater, it was one of the first venues where most Harlem Renaissance figures found the start to their careers. The art that emerged from the Harlem renaissance encompassed a large variety of cultural elements and styles, high-culture, low-culture or low-life. Themes represented by Harlem Renaissance: how to convey the experience of modern black life in the urban north, the effects of institutional racism, the influence of the experience of slavery and emerging African American folk traditions on black identity, the dilemmas inherent in writing or performing for elite whit audiences.====== The legacy of the Harlem Renaissance: redefined the way America and the world viewed the African American population.

**__Punk Music Scene__--->**
[]
 * Russell Cantu:** The __**abstract expressionist movement**__ as a form of popular culture got its start inNew YorkafterWorld War II. It was represented by liberal applications of paint and overall messiness not generally seen as worthy of the name art. The process of creating these paintings was more of a work of art than the subject of the art itself. One of the most famous artists to come out of this style of painting was Jackson Pollock who worked out of an empty barn in East Hampton, now known as the Pollock-Krasner House andStudyCenter. The movement was also called The New York School of painting. Many of the artists met because of the Depression era Works Progress/Project Administration that paid artists to paint murals in government buildings.

Rituals of solidarity- would be rituals that we create to become part of a group. It could be in your community, high school footballteamor collegeteamor proteam. As in the way of sportsteamthat create an image for themselves with mascots, songs, rituals before the game. Rituals of solidarity can make a small town feel like it is the center of the world.

11. Critical Approach to Popular Culture: Emphasizes the darker aspects of popular culture. It takes a look at the rise of certain kinds of popular culture because of its ability to reflect and reinforce the economic and cultural power of the mass media industry, which is controlled by a select few multinational corporations or conglomerates. It defines the concept of cultural hegemony (popular consensus through power of persuasion) (Grazian p48) as a dominant force in its ability to create desires, perpetuate stereotypes and mold consumer's minds to serve the interests of the few powerful profit seeking media firms and the elite ruling class.
 * Russell Cantu: Terms Defined**

12. Interactive Approach to Popular Culture: Emphasizes how popular culture is created, diffused (distributed), and consumed as an outcome of social interactions experienced among small groups of individuals. The influence of one’s peer's neighbors and informal friendship networks on the spread of popular cultural tastes. It looks at the Micro-level, small-group processes such as interpersonal word-of-mouth communication and social interactions within local music scenes and artistic subcultures. It also acknowledges the importance of informal social groups and the influential power of certain individual people, groups (social, political, religious, business, intellectual), or mediums (Television, Radio, Internet, Telephone, Word of mouth) to propel popular culture.


 * Russell Cantu**: Postmodernism Definitions/Examples/Major Theorists

A movement away from modernism (which came to an end in the late 20th, early 21st Centuries. (1945-Present)) - Often associated with difference, plurality, sexuality, and skepticism instead of identity, unity, authority and certainty. - Characterized by the problem of objective truth and inherent suspicion towards global cultural narrative or meta-narrative. - Believes that apparent realities are only social constructs because they are subject to change over the course of time and place. - New ways of representing the world including television, film (especially after the introduction of color and sound), and the computer. - Is distinguished from modernism because of 1) extreme self-reflexivity, 2) irony and parody, 3) a breakdown between high and low cultural forms, 4) retro, 5) questioning of grand narratives, 6) visuality and simulacrum (something that replaces reality with its representation) vs. temporality, 7) late capitalism, 8) disorientation, and 9) secondary orality. - Our current period in history has been called by many the postmodern age (or "post modernity").

This site briefly defines the different eras of social/cultural history as: Oral Culture beginning of human existence to middle 16th Century Renaissance 1550-1660 Restoration/ Enlightenment 1660- 1789 Romanticism 1789-1832 Victorian Period 1832-1898 Modernism 1898-1945 Post Modernism 1945-Present

Examples of Post Modernism are Andy Warhol's Campbell's Tomato Soup (1968), Frank Gehry's Nationale- Nederlanden Building, Prague (1992-96), MTV, Reality TV shows, Avant Guard Theater, etc.

<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13px;">Major Theorists: <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13px;">Linda Hutcheon <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13px;">Fedric Jameson <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13px;">Jean Baudrillard

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">INTRODUCTION <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">TO POSTMODERNISM by //(Dino Felluga)// []

Posting my portion of the paper here just in case you all don't know where to find it. ** Cultural Arts Center (GCAC) ** ** (//Cultural implications of Tejano Conjunto Festival Posters//) **
 * __Russell Cantu__**

** By: Russell S. Cantu, Gabriela Chavez, and Luis Echavarria **

** UTSA IDS 3123-91J **

** Professor: Dentith **

** 7-10-2011 ** ** Thesis Statement **

As the leading Mexican American cultural organization in the greater San Antonio, Texas area, the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center (GCAC) has for over 30 years sponsored, “the Tejano Conjunto Festival en San Antonio, the largest festival of its kind in the world to an international audience of over 30,000.” (GCAC, Xicano, 2011). In examining some of the festivals’ annual poster contest entries and winners over the past 30 years we will demonstrate how folk, mass and popular culture serves as a collective voice and what the messages, desires, and values say about the socio-cultural atmosphere as well as the political environment of the times in San Antonio. We will also look at how Tejano Music has in turn been economically influenced or driven within a context of overlapping sets of social relationships between the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center, the artists creating the different artistic forms and the target audience. ** Introduction to Tejano/Conjunto ** The Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center was born from a cultural need to preserve, develop, promote and present Mexican American, also referred to “Chicano” or “Xicano” art and culture. Although the Tejano Conjunto Festival celebrates all things Tejano, it is important to note that not all Mexican American culture fits into the Chicano or Tejano label just as other ethnic groups and political groups not of Hispanic descent may lay claim to the Tejano identifier based on: historical influence; an ancestral descendent of a Texan; or on the basis of Texas citizenship. According to the //Texian Web//, the words “Texian”, “Tejano” and “Texan” have the same origin. Texian [means]//.// A word (in Spanish Tejano) describing both male and female citizens or the culture of the former province of Tejas, New Spain, the Texas section of the state of Coahuila y Tejas, Republic of Mexico, and the subsequent Republic of Texas. Government officials including Miguel Ramos Arispe, author of the Mexican Constitution of 1824,referred to the residents of Texas as Tejanos. President of the Texas Republic, Mirabeau B. Lamar, used the term Texian to promote national pride. The current term Texan eventually replaced both terms after annexation. (The Texian Web, 2007)

In fact, Tejano Conjunto Music, one of the most distinctive Tejano folk arts, is in fact a compilation of different ethnicities and musical styles which began when Northern Mexican “Rancheros” were synthesized with German polkas, waltzes and schottishes. <span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; text-align: justify;">“In the late 1800’s the Mexican population of South Texas and northern Mexico adopted the lively button accordion from the German settlers and combined it with the Spanish guitar, or bajo sexto (a 12-string bass guitar), to develop a new style of music known as Conjunto.” (GCAC //History,// 2011//).// The term “Conjunto” literally means group or ensemble.

The first Conjunto recordings were made in San Antonio in the late 20’s to mid 30’s at which time the radio industry popularized Conjunto music among the Mexican-American people. “Music was available to them via radio on stations such as KONO, WOAI, KMAC “Mexican Commercial Hour,” WOAI “Latin Melodies” and others (Sandoval, 2002 from Garcia, The Rise). Conjunto became the music of the Hispanic masses which were predominantly poor. With World War II came educational and fiscal opportunities for the Hispanic community. In 1939 at the start of WW II, there were approximately 2.7 million Americans of Mexican decent living in the U.S. Of that number about 500,000 most of them Mexican Americans served in the military during the war. These men saw a lot of combat, served in overseas locations, received a lot training, and were the most decorated ethnic group in the military. Kelly Air Force Base employed a lot of these returning veterans, which helped give rise to the Hispanic middle class. Much like the American middle classes of the late 1800s, this Hispanic middle class saw Conjunto music as the music of the small-town blue-collar workers and rural farm laborers. It w anted to distance itself from the peasantry of their past and grow closer to the educated (dominant) class of the future. John Storey would have referred to this resentment as the focal point for the creation of a “folk” culture.

San Antonian Juan Tejeda a Conjunto accordionist, organized the first Tejano/Conjunto music festival because of the hostility aimed at Conjunto by “an increasingly urban and expanding Chicano middle class” (Brooke, 2011) which emerged after World War II. Tejano Conjunto music grew in popularity and in form. It added bass and drums, then a second accordion, keyboards, synthesizers, saxophones, percussion and substituted guitars for bajo sextos. Vocal styles varied from solos to complex four-part harmonies. This new style became known as Tejano/Conjunto. The Tejano Conjunto Festival has grown into a six day event held at San Antonio’s Rosedale Park, with over 42 hours of live music. <span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; text-align: justify;">While the festival performances are the element that draws the attention, the festival includes much more. A Poster Contest, which is the means by which the official festival poster is selected, attracts larger numbers of entries each year. (Brooke, 2011). Over the years the influence of the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center has reached out to popular culture by expanding its repertory of folk, popular, and modern art forms. Their list of services encompasses six distinctive art disciplines: “Dance, Literature, Media Arts, Theater Arts, Visual Arts and Music” (The GCAC Brochure, 2011). Since the Annual Tejano Conjunto Festival is its largest cultural event it is fitting that we focus on this event as a means to examining popular culture.

** History of the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center ** The Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center was founded in 1980 as a nonprofit, multidisciplinary organization. Located in the heart of San Antonio's west side, it is the largest community-based, multi-disciplinary organization in the United States. It was in a Performance Artists Nucleus (PAN), Inc. Economic Impact Study, that the renovation of the Guadalupe Theatre into a Hispanic Visual and Performance Arts Center was first mentioned. “The Guadalupe Theatre which is optimally situated to accommodate the Hispanic Arts and its patronage,” (PAN, ca.1980) eventually became The Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center’s permanent home. <span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; text-align: justify;">“The Theatre opened its doors in the early 1940’s when Guadalupe Street first developed into a center of Hispanic cultural arts and entertainment. In its hey-day the Guadalupe Theatre featured Spanish movies and vaudeville which showcased local and Latin American talent.” The architectural style reflects a unique cultural influence which is of historic national significance. The architectural style of the building is Mission Revival. It became part of a bustling economic environment when Guadalupe Street developed as a major thoroughfare traveling from the center of the city towards Castroville.” (PAN, ca 1980) At the archives of the Institute of Texan Cultures, UTSA Libraries, Special Collections, we discovered a short organizational history seemingly produced around 1984 about the recently formed Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center. It began with a short introduction of the state of Mexican American, also referred to as "Chicano" arts and culture, in San Antonio and the importance of the Mexican American culture as an attraction for drawing visitors to the city. Where as, "The tourist literature produced by the Visitors and Convention Bureau exploits the uniqueness of Mexican American culture in its efforts to attract more visitors to the City....there has been little or no support for cultural arts funding from federal, state, or local agencies. The prevailing attitude has been one of cultural bias toward more traditional Anglo-European artists and arts forms" (GCAC, Organizational History, ca 1984). Chicano cultural arts were limited to "innocuous presentations" of ballet folklorico and mariachi music with artists and performers left to their own means and devices to train, develop, produce, and present their art forms As an example of the disparity between Mexican American/Chicano arts and cultural funding and Anglo-European arts and cultural funding, the history documents that between 1975 and 1980, the city of San Antonio appropriated over 4 million dollars for the arts and cultural funding. Of that total, Chicano arts and culture received a measly 150 thousand dollars or just over 3.7% of the total secured. In an effort to secure more sponsorship of Chicano arts and culture, the Performance Artists Nucleus (PAN) Incorporated, formed in 1979 to unite various Hispanic arts groups with no operating budget, and was totally dependent on volunteers who freely contributed their services and materials as possible. The purpose of the organization was described in Article II, Section I as: "Performance Artist Nucleus, Inc (PAN) is organized not for profit under the laws of the State of Texas, as a Xicano Arts corporation for the purposes of: 1) establishing a quality Xicano Cultural Arts Center with creative programs designed to develop, preserve, and promote the different arts disciplines (music, dance, literature, visual arts, and drama); 2) implementing quality Xicano arts programming and services for the community; 3) establishing a facility to showcase Xicano artists and create an educational environment for creative exchange between artists and community" (PAN, Articles, 1979).  With the percentages of money being allocated to Chicano arts and culture increasing from 6% in 1979-80, to 29% in 1981-82, PAN decided to join a loosely-knit group of Chicano organizations united as the San Antonio Consortium for Hispanic Arts (SACHA), and was selected as the administrative unit (or Umbrella organization) under which a number of other art groups which had been approved for funding but lacked tax-exempt status could be funded. In 1982 PAN changed its name to The Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center and was incorporated as a corporation under the Texas Non-Profit Act. “The Center consisted of the Xicano Music Program, the Visual Arts Program, the Literature Program, and the Drama Program.” (GCAC, Organizational History, ca 1984). ** Six Disciplines of Art **

The six disciplines currently offered: Dance, Literature, Media Arts, Theater Arts, Visual Arts and Music will be briefly covered below: <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16px;">The GuadalupeDance Company was founded in 1991 and is considered one of the leading professionalFolklorico and Flamenco dance groups in the nation. The goal for the danceprogram provided at the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center is to “preserve,present, and promote our cultural heritage through traditional and contemporarystyles of music and dance.” The nature at the center embraces our culture aswell as our history. Everyone is welcomed no matter the level of your danceskills which is great since there are no boundaries in order to experience whatour culture has in store for us. It also gives everyone an opportunity to learnabout history and tradition. The next program is Literature which basicallystrives to increase the interest of literature use. Literature seems to be weakif we think about it and so the Guadalupe Arts Center works on fixing thisissue and so supports all writers whos job is a big part in our community. Nextis the Media Arts Program which started in 1977 and presents the oldest and largestinternational Latino film and video exhibition in the nation. The goal of theMedia Arts is to preserve and promote Chicano and Hollywood Latino films in itsown Cine Festival and actually has a Premio Mesquite Award which recognizesexcellence. Next, we have the Theater Arts Program which presents, preserves,and develops Chicano Latino experience to our community. Opportunities areprovided for new creative works that reflect life and popular culture alongboth sides of the border through the Gateways Creation and Presentationprogram. The program also allows U.S. artists to work with Mexican artists todevelop multi-disciplinary works in the performing arts that take theirinspiration from the interplay between contemporary Mexican and Chicanocultures. The Theater Arts Program also works with international artists whocollaborate in the creation production of new work. Next, we have the VisualArts Program which is the oldest program. The goal is to promote and conservethe history and experiences of the Indigenous Chicano Latino. Technicalassistance as well as studio space is provided so that artists are able to givetheir ideas and information. Classes and workshops are also a part of theVisual Arts Program. Finally, the Xicano Music Program which promotes andpreserves traditional music of the Chicano Latino. Artists are helped intouring Latin America which then helps them cross geographic and culturaldivides to increase the traffic of fresh, challenging artistic work. Every yearthe Xicano Music Program sponsors the largest festival in the world, the TejanoConjunto Festival.

** Tejano Conjunto Festival en San Antonio **

** Tejano Conjunto Festival en San Antonio Poster Contests **

References: Brooke, B. 2011. //Tejano-Conjunto Music Festival//. 2camels.com. Retrieved from: [] Performance Artists Network, Inc. 1979. //PAN Articles of Incorporation//. Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center Records, 1981-2005, MS 158, Archives and Special Collections Library, Box 25, Folder 2, University of Texas at San Antonio. Performance Artists Nucleus (PAN) Inc. (ca. 1980). //Economic Impact Study//, Institute of Texan Cultures Archives: Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center Box 25, Folder 2. Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center. 2011. //Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center/About us//. Retrieved from: [] Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center. 1982. //GCAC Articles of Incorporation//. Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center Records, 1981-2005, MS 158, Archives and Special Collections Library, Box 25, Folder 2, University of Texas at San Antonio. Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center. (ca 2011). //The Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center// [Brochure], Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center, San Antonio, TX. Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center. 2011. //History of Conjunto Music//. Retrieved from: [] Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center. 2011. //Programs//. Retrieved from: [] Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center. 2011. Xicano Music Main. //Xicano Music Program//. Retrieved from: [] The Texian Web. 2007. //Texas// //History on the Internet.// Retrieved from: [] Sandoval, J. 2002. //San// //Antonio// //in the 1920’s. “The City of Opportunities for the Mexican and the Mexican American//” Retrieved from: []