Public Lecture: Juan Eduardo Wolf “When the Devil Dances Differently: Borderlands, Migration and Intangible Cultural Heritage in Arica, Chile”

Ed Wolf

Collier House, Room 103
1170 East 13th Avenue
Eugene, OR 97403
UO campus

A presentation of the THEME colloquium. A talk by Juan Eduardo Wolf, assistant professor of ethnomusicology at the University of Oregon.

Wolf will discuss the ritual dance genre known as the Diablada (the Devil’s dance).

In 2001 UNESCO declared this expression to be part of Bolivia’s Intangible Cultural Heritage, but for many years the Diablada has also been performed in Chile and Peru. Accusations of cultural theft tend to ignore historical processes of migration and local aesthetics of performance that could complicate the idea that these might even be the same expression. Using examples of diablada performance in Arica, Wolf considers how the case of diablada questions key aspects of Intangible Heritage.

Founded by Professor Steve Larson at the University of Oregon, THEME is an interdisciplinary colloquium of faculty and student researchers in music theory, musicology/music history, ethnomusicology, and music education.

Tags: CLLAS, Diablada, Ed Wolf, UO