Tania León's Stride

Alejandro L. Madrid is a professor of musicology at Cornell University. He is the author of the award winning In Search of JuliÁn Carrillo and Sonido 13 and coauthor of DanzÓn: Circum-Caribbean Dialogues in Music and Dance.

"This books is well conceived, well written, and a great companion text to Robin Moore's books on Cuban music. . . . A major contribution to the scholarship of Afro-Cuban and Afro-Latin women composers and musicians, but also transcends these categories by showing how a woman of color navigated exile and migration to make a new life while maintaining her identity and growing personally and artistically." --New West Indian Guide Winner of the Bronze Medal in the category of Best Biography in English at the 2022 International Latin Book Awards"The story Madrid tells is not only coherent, but also captivating, opening new avenues of scholarly inquiry about LÉon's life, work, and the worlds she has inhabited. I look forward to seeing those kernels sprout in different and unexpected directions and develop into still more fascinating narratives." --Journal for the International Alliance of Women in Music "Madrid's biographical counterpoint masterfully portrays the polyrhythmic life of Tania LeÓn. His use of photos and personal interviews vividly tells LeÓn's life story. The prevalence of this intimacy adds flavor -- a taste of memoir -- inviting readers to devour the book like linear notes. The juxtaposition of firsthand accounts with historical context and political drama creates a page turner -- a biography containing strides that many outside of music will find illuminating." --Notes "Highly recommended." --Choice "There is incredible beauty and power in the way this book attends to aesthetics and artists with rigor and care. What sets it apart are Madrid's stunning interviews conducted over several years with LeÓn and her family, peers, and students. An essential document about an extraordinary artist."--Alexandra T. Vazquez, author of Listening in Detail: Performances of Cuban Music

• List of Figures ix List of Music Examples xiAcknowledgments xiiiIntroductionNotes on a Biographical Counterpoint 1Chapter 1 Tonic: The House on Salud Street 11Chapter 2 Modulation and Displacement: cubana de adentro . . . cubana de afuera 33Chapter 3 Syncopation and Color: Adapting to New Life Rhythms 59Chapter 4 Direction: Leading in Music, Leading in Life 93Chapter 5 Voice: Style and Idea in the Music of Tania LeÓn 126Chapter 6 Canon: Representation, Identity, and Legacy 166Epilogue Tania LeÓn’s Stride: An Echo that Reaches Our Ears 181Appendix A List of Works 185Appendix B Tania LeÓn’s Life 193Notes 203Bibliography 229Index 241