A recent book chapter co-authored by KLI group leader Cristina Villegas analyses the genealogy of two different variants of Mexican son jarocho traditional music from a cultural evolutionary-developmental biology point of view. It argues that many of the musical features that characterize each of these variants are explained by their distinct sociomaterial mechanisms of reproduction—social roles, dissemination strategies, learning and cognitive dimensions, instrumental variants, etc. Unlike classical approaches to the cultural evolution of music, which tend to picture music variation in informational terms, this work exemplifies how the social and material aspects of music transmission and learning processes deeply influence the variability of musical practices.

Publication:

Villanueva, L. A. and Villegas, C. (2026), ‘Mecanismos de reproducción musical en el son jarocho: un enfoque evo-devo’, in M. Cruz Zuleta and A. Martínez de la Rosa (eds.), ¡Quisiera, pero no puedo, con los ojos platicarte! Estudios sobre el son mexicano, 119-151. Ediciones del Lirio. ISBN: 978-968-9760-15-3