Ladislao Ceja University of Oviedo, Spain)

“The Music Festivals of Morelia, Michoacán: Press, Ideology, and Transatlantic Circuits during the Second Half of the 20th Century.

Musical events such as festivals or competitions provide extremely valuable information for musicological studies. The city of Morelia, Michoacán is not unaware of this situation, as it is one of the Mexican cities with the most traditions in this regard. Events such as the "Alfonso Vega Núñez" Organ Festival (1969) or the "Miguel Bernal Jiménez" International Music Festival (1989) have had vital relevance to the cultural life and in the various heritage declarations of the city. Faced with the challenge of historiography or investigating these festivals, many fields for research emerge. In addition to analyzing the vastness of this field of analysis, this talk focuses on two fundamental elements: the press, as a constructor or shaper of audiences and perceptions; and on the other hand, the visualization of transatlantic circuits that connect Mexico, the USA, and some European countries.

Ladislao Ceja earned his degree in cello at the Veracruz Institute of Music. He completed his master's degree at the University of Sciences and Arts of Chiapas with research in the indigenous community of Chamula, Chiapas, on the importance of festivities such as the local carnival in the construction of hybrid cultural identities. Currently, he is pursuing his Ph.D. in Musicology at the University of Oviedo, Spain, writing a thesis that investigates the main music festivals of the second half of the 20th century in his hometown of Morelia, Michoacán (UNESCO Cultural Heritage since 1991).