The Routledge Handbook of Anthropology and the City

Abstract

This chapter treats sound and art as a human, social activity that helps construct the city. I bring together a selection of theoretical and methodological approaches from ethnomusicology, urban anthropology and human geography to argue that initially African sounds, traces, residential patterns, images and, later, more distinct Cape Verdean Creole sounds and presences have made Lisbon a black city. More than just a theoretical intervention, this chapter urges that the notion of ‘Lisbon as black’ would help mitigate against racialized violence by legitimating the public visibility of young Luso-Africans in Lisbon as commonsense. The value of music and other forms of expressive culture is not ephemeral; rather, it constitutes an important material dimension of the city. Moreover, the recognition of African mobility as part of ‘Luso’ culture and history should accompany a recognition of the mobility of Luso-Africans throughout the city.

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