Habanera in Rio de Janeiro’s press: Revisiting musical practices from the 19th century through Brazilian Digital Newspapers Library

Abstract

This presentation is part of a broader doctoral research that investigates the circulation of the musical genre known as habanera in the cities of Rio de Janeiro and Buenos Aires in the second half of the 19th Century. In this paper I will focus on the search of the term “habanera” in the newspapers and magazines that circulated in the city of Rio de Janeiro during the years between 1860 and 1880 in published articles of journals that were digitalized and made available through the Brazilian Digital Newspapers Library. After a brief bibliographic review of the habanera’s place in the History of Brazilian Popular Music, I will present the results of the research in the digital newspaper library in order to discuss some “historical milestones”, and revisit the complex musical environment of the 1800s.