This dissertation argues that the process of institutionalizing traditional música llanera (plains region music) education in Venezuela is informed by a hierarchical spatialization of the capital, Caracas, and the historically agricultural- and livestock-producing region known as the llanos, or the plains. Drawing on Lefebvre’s The Production of Space (1991), I argue that the representations of space that have defined the llanos region and música llanera often obscure the lived space of music-making and dwelling in the llanos. This dissertation is based on fieldwork in Guárico state between 2016-2018, where I observed the state-funded Alma Llanera program, which had been recently added to Venezuela’s famed national system of orchestral music education, El Sistema. Many critiques of the institutionalization of traditional musics draw on theories of race and coloniality developed in the academy of the Global North. Instead, my ethnography demonstrates that the production of local spatial categories is more salient for understanding how música llanera is practiced in these programs. I demonstrate that the formation of the llanos as a periphery and as a racialized “natural” region to be preserved for nationalism informs how Venezuelans outside the llanos conceive música llanera. This conceptualization is distinct from how música llanera is defined, valued, and performed in the llanos, which in turn informs Alma Llanera’s pedagogical practices of orchestration, use of music notation, and extra-musical technique. I argue that these practices evidence local concepts of justice which include access to state oil wealth, granting authorship to musicians, and promoting self-sufficiency in daily llanos life.
","abstract_html":"<p>This dissertation argues that the process of institutionalizing traditional <em>música llanera </em>(plains region music) education in Venezuela is informed by a hierarchical spatialization of the capital, Caracas, and the historically agricultural- and livestock-producing region known as the <em>llanos</em>, or the plains. Drawing on Lefebvre’s <em>The Production of Space </em>(1991), I argue that the representations of space that have defined the llanos region and música llanera often obscure the lived space of music-making and dwelling in the llanos. This dissertation is based on fieldwork in Guárico state between 2016-2018, where I observed the state-funded Alma Llanera program, which had been recently added to Venezuela’s famed national system of orchestral music education, El Sistema. Many critiques of the institutionalization of traditional musics draw on theories of race and coloniality developed in the academy of the Global North. Instead, my ethnography demonstrates that the production of local spatial categories is more salient for understanding how música llanera is practiced in these programs. I demonstrate that the formation of the llanos as a periphery and as a racialized “natural” region to be preserved for nationalism informs how Venezuelans outside the llanos conceive música llanera. This conceptualization is distinct from how música llanera is defined, valued, and performed in the llanos, which in turn informs Alma Llanera’s pedagogical practices of orchestration, use of music notation, and extra-musical technique. I argue that these practices evidence local concepts of justice which include access to state oil wealth, granting authorship to musicians, and promoting self-sufficiency in daily llanos life.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Sandoval, Elaine"],"institution":"The Graduate School and University Center of The City University of New York","degree_name":"Doctor of Philosophy","degree_level":"Doctoral","degree_discipline":"Music","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":["Peter Manuel"],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":["Eliot Bates","Julie Skurski","Ludim Pedroza"],"year":2022,"date_issued":"2022-02-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2022-02-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:59:54Z","subjects":["Ethnomusicology","Latin American Studies","Music Education","Music Pedagogy","Social and Cultural Anthropology","Venezuela","llanos","musica llanera","joropo","orchestra","space"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/4651","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.advisor","label":"Advisor","values":["Peter Manuel"]},{"key":"dc:contributor.committeemember","label":"Committee Member","values":["Eliot Bates","Julie Skurski","Ludim Pedroza"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Sandoval, Elaine"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2023-02-01T08:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Music"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Doctoral"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Doctor of Philosophy"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["The Graduate School and University Center of The City University of New York"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Ethnomusicology","Latin American Studies","Music Education","Music Pedagogy","Social and Cultural Anthropology","Venezuela","llanos","musica llanera","joropo","orchestra","space"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/4651"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["This dissertation argues that the process of institutionalizing traditional música llanera (plains region music) education in Venezuela is informed by a hierarchical spatialization of the capital, Caracas, and the historically agricultural- and livestock-producing region known as the llanos, or the plains. Drawing on Lefebvre’s The Production of Space (1991), I argue that the representations of space that have defined the llanos region and música llanera often obscure the lived space of music-making and dwelling in the llanos. This dissertation is based on fieldwork in Guárico state between 2016-2018, where I observed the state-funded Alma Llanera program, which had been recently added to Venezuela’s famed national system of orchestral music education, El Sistema. Many critiques of the institutionalization of traditional musics draw on theories of race and coloniality developed in the academy of the Global North. Instead, my ethnography demonstrates that the production of local spatial categories is more salient for understanding how música llanera is practiced in these programs. I demonstrate that the formation of the llanos as a periphery and as a racialized “natural” region to be preserved for nationalism informs how Venezuelans outside the llanos conceive música llanera. This conceptualization is distinct from how música llanera is defined, valued, and performed in the llanos, which in turn informs Alma Llanera’s pedagogical practices of orchestration, use of music notation, and extra-musical technique. I argue that these practices evidence local concepts of justice which include access to state oil wealth, granting authorship to musicians, and promoting self-sufficiency in daily llanos life.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Music Pedagogy in Venezuela’s Plains: Making Space in Alma Llanera"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.advisor":["Peter Manuel"],"dc:contributor.committeemember":["Eliot Bates","Julie Skurski","Ludim Pedroza"],"dc:creator":["Sandoval, Elaine"],"dc:date.available":["2023-02-01T08:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["This dissertation argues that the process of institutionalizing traditional música llanera (plains region music) education in Venezuela is informed by a hierarchical spatialization of the capital, Caracas, and the historically agricultural- and livestock-producing region known as the llanos, or the plains. Drawing on Lefebvre’s The Production of Space (1991), I argue that the representations of space that have defined the llanos region and música llanera often obscure the lived space of music-making and dwelling in the llanos. This dissertation is based on fieldwork in Guárico state between 2016-2018, where I observed the state-funded Alma Llanera program, which had been recently added to Venezuela’s famed national system of orchestral music education, El Sistema. Many critiques of the institutionalization of traditional musics draw on theories of race and coloniality developed in the academy of the Global North. Instead, my ethnography demonstrates that the production of local spatial categories is more salient for understanding how música llanera is practiced in these programs. I demonstrate that the formation of the llanos as a periphery and as a racialized “natural” region to be preserved for nationalism informs how Venezuelans outside the llanos conceive música llanera. This conceptualization is distinct from how música llanera is defined, valued, and performed in the llanos, which in turn informs Alma Llanera’s pedagogical practices of orchestration, use of music notation, and extra-musical technique. I argue that these practices evidence local concepts of justice which include access to state oil wealth, granting authorship to musicians, and promoting self-sufficiency in daily llanos life.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/4651"],"dc:subject":["Ethnomusicology","Latin American Studies","Music Education","Music Pedagogy","Social and Cultural Anthropology","Venezuela","llanos","musica llanera","joropo","orchestra","space"],"dc:title":["Music Pedagogy in Venezuela’s Plains: Making Space in Alma Llanera"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Music"],"thesis:degree_level":["Doctoral"],"thesis:degree_name":["Doctor of Philosophy"],"thesis:institution_name":["The Graduate School and University Center of The City University of New York"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:59:54Z"}