Question

How does the prevalence of bilingual (Spanish and English) contemporary albums and new styles such as “nortec” reflect the contemporary cultural situation of Mexican Americans? What elements in the legendary career of Carlos Santana illuminate this situation?

Answer 1

Note: This response is in UK English, please paste the response to MS Word and you should be able to spot discrepancies easily. You may elaborate the answer based on personal views or your classwork if necessary.

(Answer) A salad bowl society is one where there are different cultural elements present in the society that coexist but not necessarily would absorb each other’s cultural influences. This is known as “pluralism.” This is a term coined by J. S. Furnivall to describe a situation where varied individuals would only interact with each other on a civic or economic and market platform.

On the other hand, a melting pot society would entail that individuals from different communities and ethnicities not only mix about but also absorb each other’s cultures to form an amalgamation of new ideologies. When the arts and culture of an ethnic group begin to forge itself with the culture of other groups that are around them, it would result in a “melting pot” situation. This is synonymous with the contemporary culture of the Mexican Americans simply because these individuals have managed to adapt to the American culture while still withholding their roots in their own.

This is clearly evident in the “Nortec” music style which first originated in Tijuana and contains hints of electronic dance music (EDM) and South American hints like Norteño. If one takes a look at the work of Carlos Santana throughout his career, such amalgams are clearly visible in his music style. His work in “Caravan Serai” and his popular pieces like “Maria Maria”, “Smooth” and others are reminiscent of Banda sinaloense and even classic rock hints in his guitar solos that might evoke the work of Eric Clapton or Jimmy Hendrix.