Professor of Musicology and Ethnomusicology Dr. Ana Alonso-Minutti Distinguished Speaker at Prestigious Cátedra Jesús C. Romero

January 30, 20205 | By Melissa Ríos, UNM Musicology Graduate Student.
From January 13–17, Dr. Ana R. Alonso-Minutti, associate professor of musicology & ethnomusicology and recent recipient of the Robert M. Stevenson Award of the American Musicological Society for her book “Mario Lavista: Mirrors of Sounds,” (Oxford University Press, 2023) was the distinguished speaker at the Cátedra Jesús C. Romero, one of the most prestigious honors throughout Latin America and the highest recognition afforded to music scholars in Mexico.

The Cátedra Romero, created in recognition of Mexican music scholar Jesús C. Romero (1893–1958), is an annual event hosted by the National Center for Music Research (Cenidim), a division of the National Institute of Fine Arts and Literature (INBAL). It honors the professional trajectory of scholars—not limited to musicologists or Mexican academics—whose work centers on Ibero-American music, and consists of a week of lectures, a roundtable discussion, and a final concert.

For this iteration of the Cátedra Romero, Dr. Alonso-Minutti delivered four lectures addressing topics such as using affective approaches in musicology as a feminist practice, intersectionality and border studies, the resignification of Mexican experimental music, and how noise artworks by New Mexican and border artists provide relevant social and political commentary. She also coordinated a roundtable focused on the application of feminist methodologies in Mexican musicology, featuring prominent music scholars. Additionally, Dr. Alonso-Minutti directed four seminar sessions where twenty music scholars of different career stages presented their work. These participants joined virtually from thirteen countries across the Americas and Europe. Dr. Alonso-Minutti provided individual feedback to each of them, encouraging further conversations with virtual attendees on salient topics that are relevant not only to the academic field of musicology but also to everyday life.
Ever the champion of New Mexican music, Dr. Alonso-Minutti was featured during prime time on Canal 22, “El Canal Cultural de México,” Mexico’s leading cultural and arts channel. The segment highlighted her work with New Mexican sound artists, spotlighting both our state and The UNM Department of Music.

A wholehearted congratulations to Dr. Alonso-Minutti who now joins the formidable group of distinguished speakers of the Cátedra Romero which also includes Robert M. Stevenson (1996), Gerard Béhague (2000), Ana María Ochoa (2015), and Omar Corrado (2017), among others.

LEARN MORE
1. Videos of the livestreamed sessions can be accessed on the Cenidim YouTube channel:
https://www.youtube.com/@CenidimINBA/streams
2. Learn more about Associate Professor of Musicology and Ethnomusicology, Prof. Ana Alonso-Minutti, by visiting her faculty profile at https://music.unm.edu/faculty/ana-alonso-minutti/