Voice and cultural memory in Litoral: "Reseña de una vida inútil" (1926-1959), by Luis Palés Matos

Abstract

This article analy­zes the representation of sound and music in a selection of writings by Porto Rican poet Luis Palés Matos (1898-1959) through their relation with cultural memory in the Antilles. It exa­mines the significance of musicality in two different levels: at the level of aesthetic form – of sound and rhythm – and at the level of so­cial and political representations – of popular culture, African and mestizo heritage, which had been considered marginal until then. These two levels of the musical phenomenon point to Palés Matos’ intent to transform the re­lation between aesthetic discourse and social collectivity through the creation of a new un­derstanding of Antillean culture, language and religious ritual in the context of modern Puer­to Rico.