The rock music scene on the US/Mexico border: cultural translation and adaptation

This study addresses how rock music integrat-ed into the local culture of a region where the dominant music genres were Tejano and other Mexican-influenced forms. Using a series of in-depth, qualitative interviews with long-practicing musicians, we discuss how rock was shaped and melded into local customs and practic-es. Musicians discussed being flexible in their live performances, playing British invasion songs right after a corrido, being pushed to the margins, and performing at ranches outside the city limits when clubs would not feature them. Nevertheless, the local rock music scene developed in South Texas and became a unique cultur-al hybrid. We use this example to discuss what cultur-al hybridity looks like in the context of music performance, the role of new media in advancing it, and what it means for border identity

Fluid music scenes -- Local music and new media -- Methodology -- Adaptation and growth: the rock music scene in south Texas -- The early scene -- Competing with tejano music from the margins -- Changing audiences and tastes -- The role of new media -- Discussion: hybrid identities and culture in the borderlands -- Conclusion