Latin American Music as Resistance

This lesson plan is part of our “Art through a Social Studies Lens” lesson plan series. Click here to view all 8 lessons.

This kit contains:

• Cuban Music

  • Experiencing Latin American music

  • Cold War Video

  • Jose Marti Biographical Sketch

  • Guantanemera lyrics

  • Peter Seeger Guantanemra lyrics

  • Peter Seeger video

• Brazilian Music

  • Brazilian Music Resistance

  • Zelao history

  • Musical Protest Artists

  • Veroso video

  • Veroso profile

  • Portuguese Lyrics

  • English lyrics

• Dance

  • Capoeira Dance

  • Black Lives Matter Capoeira

  • Capoeira video

Lesson Objectives

1. Learn about different forms of musical resistance in Latin America, both through song and dance.

2. Explore historical circumstances for emergence of artistic resistance form.

Essential Questions

• How do resistance movements start? Why do they start?

• How has song and dance in Latin America impacted culture and identity?

Introduction

Music has been a vehicle for collective resistance in Latin America for centuries. Whether through dancing or protest songs, music has a deep cultural and political history in Latin America. This lesson plan will explore the role of song and dance throughout different Latin American resistance movements and cultures, from the Cuban Revolution’s famed song, “Guantanamera,” to Brazil’s Capoeira Dance. Students will have the opportunity to connect these historical musical resistance movements to modern day social justice movements.

Lesson plan created by Valentina Moreno