The USC Music Library has a large collection of monographs and sound recordings relating to the music of Central America. The collection covers both indigenous and popular music. To learn more on Central America and its music, click on the Grove link under each country's bibliography.
1.The Bahamas
2. Belize
3. Costa Rica
4. Cuba
5. Dominican Republic
6. El Salvador
7. Guatemala
8. Haiti
9. Honduras
10. Jamaica
11. Mexico
12. Nicaragua
13. Panama
14. Puerto Rico
15. Trinidad and Tobago
(Red): 1 to 3 Items - 
(Yellow): 4 to 6 Items - 
(Green): 7 or More Items
General Information
Calypso. Harrison, NJ: Waldorf Music Hall. LP. 195-.
LP 17246
Central America. RGNET 1077 CD World Music Network. CD. 2001.
Compact Disc 6127
Guilbault, Jocelyne, Gage Averill, Édouard Benoit, and Gregory Rabess. Zouk: World Music in the West Indes. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 1993.
ML 3485.5 .G84 1993 and Compact Disc 5796
Kuss, Malena, ed. Music in Latin America and the Caribbean: An Encyclopedic History. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press, 2004.
Ref ML 199 .M858 2004 v. 1 and Compact Disc 7262
Manuel, Peter L. Caribbean Currents: Caribbean Music from Rumba to Reggae. Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press, 1995.
ML 3563 .M36 1995
Mayer-Serra, Otto. Musica y Musicos de Latinoamerica. Vols. 1-2. Mexico: Editorial Atlante, 1947.
Ref ML 1999 .M3 v.1-v.2
The Music of Central and South American Indians: An Anthology. Smithsonian Folkways F-4542 and FE 4542. CD. 1992.
Compact Disc 6412
Olsen, Dale, and Sheehy, Daniel, eds. The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music. Vol. 2: South America, Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean. New York, NY: Garland Publishing, Inc., 1998.
Ref ML 100 .G16 1998 v.2
Zouk Attack. Cambridge, MA: Rounder Records. CD. 1992.
Compact Disc 5731
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Blind Blake and his Royal Victoria Calypsos. ALP-3 Art. LP. 1951.
Music Rec CSAM 103
Joseph Spence: The Complete Folkways Recordings. Smithsonian Folkways SF 40066. CD. 1992.
Compact Disc 5721
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Negro Work Songs and Calls. Cambridge, MA: Rounder Select. CD. 1999.
Compact Disc 4697
The Real Bahamas in Music and Song. Nonesuch Records, Explorer Series 79725-2. CD. 2003.
Compact Disc 5720
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Read about the music of The Bahamas at Grove Music Online.
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Traditional Music of the Garifuna (Black Carib) of Belize. Smithsonian Folkways F-4031. CD. 1982.
Compact Disc 6424
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Read about the music of Belize at Grove Music Online.
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Choral Songs of Latin America. Washington, DC: Inter-American Musical Editions. LP. 1980.
LP 6440
Contrastes. Costa Rica: [s.n.]. CD. 1991.
Compact Disc 5382
Read about the music of Costa Rica at Grove Music Online.
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Acosta, Leonardo. Cubano Be, Cubano Bop: One Hundred Years of Jazz in Cuba. Translated by Daniel S. Whitesell. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Books, 2003.
ML 3509 .C88 A2713 2003
Ayala, Cristobal Diaz. Musica Cubana: Del Areyto a la Nueva Trova. San Juan, Puerto Rico: Editorial Cubanacan, 1981.
ML 207 .C8 D5
Buena Vista Social Club. Milwaukee, WI: Hal Leonard Corporation, 1997.
M 1681 .C82 B84 2000
Buena Vista Social Club. Nonesuch Records, NS 79478-2. CD. 1997.
Compact Disc 4006
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A Carnival of Cuban Music. Cambridge, MA: Rounder Records 5049. LP. 1990.
LP 9681
Carpentier, Alejo. Music in Cuba. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press, 2001.
ML 207 .C8 C313 2001
__________. Ese Musico Que Llevo Dentro. Vol. 1. Habana, Cuba: Editorial Letras Cubanas, 1980.
ML 60 .C194 1980 t.1-t.3
__________. La Musica en Cuba. México: Fondo de Cultura Económica, 1972.
ML 207 .C8 C3 1972
Cuba: in Washington. Smithsonian Folkways SF 40461. CD. 1997.
Compact Disc 5722
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Cuban Counterpoint: History of the Son Montuno. Rounder Records, CD 1078. CD. 1992.
Compact Disc 5734
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Díaz Ayala, Cristóbal. Música Cubana del Areyto a la Nueva Trova. San Juan, PR: Editorial Cubanacán, 1981.
ML 207 .C8 D5
Farr, Jory. Rites of Rhythm. New York, NY: Regan Books, 2003.
ML 207 .C8 F37 2003
Fernandez, Raul A. From Afro-Cuban Rhythms to Latin Jazz. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 2006.
ML 3565 .F47 2006
Guitar Works by Various Cuban Composers. Riverdale, MD: Elan Recordings, 1997.
Compact Disc 3253
Ledón Sánchez, Armando. La Música Popular en Cuba. Oakland, CA: Ediciones El Gato Tuerto, 2003.
ML 3486 .C8 L43 2003
Malagueña: Music of Cuba. Columbia, CL 1267. LP. [n.d.].
LP 11487
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Manuel, Peter, ed. Essays on Cuban Music: North American and Cuban Perspectives. Lanham, MD: University Press of America, 1991.
ML 480 .E88 1991
Moldes, Rhyna. Música Folklórica Cubana. Miami, FL: Rhyna Moldes, 1975.
ML 3565 .M64
Morales, Ed. The Latin Beat: The Rythms and Roots of Latin Music from Bossa Nova to Salsa and Beyond. Cambridge, MA: Da Capo Press, 2003.
ML 3475 .M67 2003
Moore, Robin. Music and Revolution: Cultural Change in Socialist Cuba. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2006.
ML 3917.C9 M66 2006
__________. Nationalizing Blackness: Afrocubanismo and Artistic Revolution in Havana, 1920-1940.Pittsburg, PA: University of Pittsburg Press, 1997.
ML 3486 .C8 M66 1997
Music of Cuba. Smithsonian Folkways F-4064, 1978.
Compact Disc 6394
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Music of the World’s Peoples. vol 2. Smithsonian Folkways F-4505. CD. 1961.
Compact Disc 4728
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Musica Cubana: de Ayer… de Hoy… de Siempre! Miami, FL: Libreria & Distribuidora Universal, 2004.
M 1681 .C82 M8 1970
Orovio, Helio. Cuban Music from A to Z. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2004.
ML 106 .C8 O7613 2004
Percussions Cubaines Iluyenkori. Playa Sound PS 65084. CD. 1992.
Compact Disc 4450
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Sacred Rhythms of Cuban Santería. Smithsonian Folkways SF 40419. CD. 1995.
Compact Disc 5723
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Valverde, Umberto. Reina Rumba Celia Cruz. México: Editorial Universo, 1982.
ML 420 .C955 V3 1982
Works for Guitar. Elan Recordings 744198-2282-2. CD. 1997.
Compact Disc 3253
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Read about the music of Cuba at Grove Music Online.
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Austerlitz, Paul. Merengue: Dominican Music and Dominican Identity. Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press, 1997.
ML 3465 .A95 1997
Brown Girl in the Ring. Rounder Records CD 1716. CD. 1997.
Compact Disc 2369
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Hernandez, Deborah Pacini. Bachata: A Social History of a Dominican Popular Music. Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press, 1995.
ML 3486 .D65 P3 1995
Merengue & Bachata. World Music Network RGNET1039CD. CD. 1998.
Compact Disc 5679
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Morales, Ed. The Latin Beat: The Rythms and Roots of Latin Music from Bossa Nova to Salsa and Beyond. Cambridge, MA: Da Capo Press, 2003.
ML 3475 .M67 2003
Music from the Dominican Republic. Folkways FE 4281-84. LP. 1976-78.
LP 5242
Songs from the North: Music from the Dominican Republic. Ethnic Folkways Records, FE 4284. LP. 1978.
LP 5242
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Read about the music of Dominican Republic at Grove Music Online.
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Rivas, Jesús. Ranchero de Corazón. Roberto Quezada Producciones. CD. 2007.
Compact Disc 9251
Read about the music of El Salvador at Grove Music Online.
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Martínez-Sobral, Manuel. Acuarelas Chapinas. Unterhaching, Munich: MVD Music and Video Distriubution, 1994.
Compact Disc 1894
Read about the music of Guatemala at Grove Music Online.
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Averill, Gage. A Day for the Hunter, a Day for the Prey: Popular Music and Power in Haiti. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 1997.
ML 3486 .H3 A94 1997
Courlander, Harold. Haiti Singing. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 1939.
ML 3565 .C68 H2
Haiti. London, England: World Music Network, 2002.
Compact Disc 5803
McAlister, Elizabeth. Rara! Vodou, Power, and Performance in Haiti and Its Diaspora. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 2002.
ML 3565 .M384
Music of the World’s Peoples, vol 5. Smithsonian Folkways F-4508. CD. 1961.
Compact Disc 4632
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The Rough Guide to the Music of Haiti. World Music Network RGNET 1067 CD. CD. 2002.
Compact Disc 5803
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Read about the music of Haiti at Grove Music Online.
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Music of the World’s Peoples, vol 5. Smithsonian Folkways F-4508. CD. 1961.
Compact Disc 4632
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Read about the music of Honduras at Grove Music Online.
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Beckwith, Martha Warren. Folk-games of Jamaica, Collected by Martha Warren Beckwith, with Music Recorded in the Field by Helen H. Roberts. Poughkeepsie, NY: Vassar College, 1922.
M 1681 .J3 B4
Brown Girl in the Ring. Rounder Records CD 1716. CD. 1997.
Compact Disc 2369
Canciones Tradicionales del Caribe. Ediciones Interamericanas de Musica OEA-005. LP. 1979.
LP 6441
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Chang, Kevin O’Brien. Reggae Routes: The Story of Jamaican Music. Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press, 1998.
ML 3532 .C45 1998
King, Stephen A. Reggae, Rastafari, and the Rhetoric of Social Control. Jackson, MS: University Press of Mississippi, 2002.
ML 3532 .K55 2002
Music of the World’s Peoples, vol 5. Smithsonian Folkways F-4508. CD. 1961.
Compact Disc 4632
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Saakana, Amon Saba. Jeh Music: The Evolution of the Popular Jamaican Song. London, England: Heinemann Education, 1980.
ML 3486 .J3 C6
Steel Band Jump Up. Decca Records DL 8617. LP. [n.d.].
LP 12478
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Stolzoff, Norman C. Wake the Town and Tell the People: Dancehall Culture in Jamaica. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2000.
ML 3486 .J3 S76 2000
Read about the music of Jamaica at Grove Music Online.
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Ballet: Folklorico de Mexico. RCA Victor MKL-1530. LP. [n.d.].
LP 17841
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Densmore, Frances. Music of Acoma, Isleta, Cochiti and Zuñi Pueblos. Washington, DC: Bureau of American Ethnology, Smithsonian Institution, 1957. Reprint, New York, NY: Da Capo Press, 1972.
ML 3557 .D3583 1972
_________. Papago Music. Washington, DC: Bureau of American Ethnology, Smithsonian Institution, 1929. Reprint, New York, NY: Da Capo Press, 1972.
ML 3557 .D367 1972
_________. Yuman and Yaqui Music. Washington, DC: Bureau of American Ethnology, Smithsonian Institution, 1932. Reprint, New York, NY: Da Capo Press, 1972.
ML 3557 .D379 1972
Fiestas of Chiapas and Oaxaca. Nonesuch Records Explorer Series 79732-2. CD. 1976.
Compact Disc 5741
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Haywood, Charles. A Bibliography of North American Folklore and Folksong. 2nd. rev. ed. Vols. 1-2. New York, NY: Dover Publications, Inc., 1961.
Z 5984 .U5 H3 1961 v.1-v.2
Herndon, Marcia. Native American Music. Darby, PA: Norwood Editions, 1982.
ML 3557 .H56 1982
Loeffler, Jack, Katherine Loeffler, and Enrique Lamadrid. La Música de los Viejitos: Hispano Folk Music of the Rio Grande del Norte. Albuquerque, NM: University of New Mexico Press, 1999
ML 54.6 .L63 1999
Mariachi Mexico. Musart Marca Registrada, D 222. LP. [n.d.].
LP 17864
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Mayer-Serra, Otto. El Estado Presente de la Música en México. 3rd. ed. Translated by Frank Jellinek. Washington, D.C.: Pan American Union, 1946.
ML 210.5 .M35
Mendoza, Vincente. El Corrido Mexicano. México: Fondo de Cultura Económica, 1954.
M 1682 .M46 C56 1992
Music of the World’s Peoples, vol 3. Smithsonian Folkways F-4506. CD. 1961.
Compact Disc 4729
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Olsen, Dale, and Sheehy, Daniel, eds. The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music. Vol. 2: South America, Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean. New York, NY: Garland Publishing, Inc., 1998.
Ref ML 100 .G16 1998 v.2
Pedelty, Mark. Musical Ritual in Mexico City: From the Aztec to Nafta. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press, 2004.
ML 210.8 .M4 P43 2004
The Real Mexico in Music and Song. Nonesuch Records 79724-2. CD. 2003.
Compact Disc 5749
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Russell, Craig, ed. Santiago de Murcia’s Códice Saldívar no. 4: A Treasury of Guitar Music from Baroque Mexico. Vols. 1-2. Chicago, IL: University of Illinois Press, 1995.
M 128 .S224 1995 v.1-v.2
Spiess, Lincoln, and Stanford, Thomas. An Introduction to Certain Mexican Musical Archives. Detroit Studies in Music Bibliography, 15. Detroit, MI: Information Coordinators, Inc., 1969.
Ref ML 136 .M49 S7
Stevenson, Robert. Music in Mexico: A Historical Survey. New York, NY: Thomas Y. Crowell Company, 1952.
ML 210 .S8
Testimonio Musical de Mexico. Museo Nacional de Antropologica MNA-01. LP. 1967.
LP 12729
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!Viva Mexico! Mariachis & Marimbas. Playa Sound PS 65001. CD. 1985.
Compact Disc 4459
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Read about the music of Mexico at Grove Music Online.
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Read about the music of Nicaragua at Grove Music Online.
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Béhague, Gerard H., ed. Music and Black Ethnicity: The Caribbean and South America. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishers, 1994.
ML 3549 .M87 1994
Read about the music of Panama at Grove Music Online.
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Bloch, Peter. La-Le-Lo-Lai: Puerto Rican Music and its Performers. New York, NY: Plus Ultra Educational Publishers, Inc., 1973.
ML 207 .P8 B6
Cruz, Francisco López. El Aguinaldo en Puerto Rico (Su evolución). San Juan, Puerto Rico: Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña, 1972.
ML 3565 .P8 L65 1972
_________. La Música Folklórica de Puerto Rico. Sharon, CT: Troutman Press, 1967.
ML 3565 .L7 1967
Dower, Catherine. Puerto Rican Music Following the Spanish American War, 1888: The Aftermath of the Spanish American War and its Influence on the Musical Culture of Puerto Rico. Lanham, MD: University Press of America, Inc., 1983.
ML 207 .P8 D7
Juliá, Edgardo Rodríguez. Cortijo’s Wake: El Entierro de Cortijo. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2004.
ML 410 .C8245 R613 2004
Muñoz, María Luisa. La Música en Puerto Rico: Panorama Histórico-Cultural. Puerto Rico: Realidad y Anhelo, no. 3. Sharon, CT: Troutman Press, 1966.
ML 207 .P8 M8
Music of the World’s Peoples, vol 3. Smithsonian Folkways F-4506. CD. 1961.
Compact Disc 4729
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Thompson, Annie. An Annotated Bibliography about Music in Puerto Rico. MLA Index and Bibliography Series, no. 12. Ann Arbor, MI: Music Library Association, 1975.
Ref ML 125 .P8 T5
Thompson, Donald, and Annie Thompson. Music and Dance in Puerto Rico from the Age of Columbus to Modern Times: An Annotated Bibliography. Studies in Latin American Music, no. 1. Metuchen, NJ: The Scarecrow Press, Inc., 1991.
Ref ML 125 .P8 T55 1991
Read about the music of Puerto Rico at Grove Music Online.
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Brown Girl in the Ring. Rounder Records CD 1716. CD. 1997.
Compact Disc 2369
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Calypso Calaloo: Early Carnival Music in Trinidad. Rounder Records CD 1105. CD. 1993.
Compact Disc 6037
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Cowley, John. Carnival , Canboulay and Calypso: Traditions in the Making. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 1996.
GT 4229 .T7 C69 1996
Dudley, Shannon. Music from Behind the Bridge: Steelband Spirit and Politics in Trinidad and Tobago.Oxford, England: Oxford University Press, 2008.
ML 3486 .T7 D84 2008
Elder, Jacob. Song Games from Trinidad and Tobago. Publications of the American Folklore Society, v. 16. [S.l.]: J. D. Elder, 1962.
ML 3565 .E5
Engel, Lyle K., ed. Calypso Song Book. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, 1957.
M 1681 .T7 A8
Music of the World’s Peoples, vol 3. Smithsonian Folkways F-4506. CD. 1961.
Compact Disc 4729
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Panorama ‘99: A TTT Production in Association with Pan Trinbago. 1999.
VHS 291
Regis, Louis. The Political Calypso. True Opposition in Trinidad and Tobago, 1862-1987. Barbados: Press University of the West Indes, 1999.
ML 3565 .R46 1999
Stuempfle, Stephen. The Steelband Movement: The Forging of a National Are in Trinidad and Tobago.Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1995.
ML 3486 .T7 S78 1995
Trinidad Steel Band. New York: Audio Fidelity, AFLP 1809. LP. 1956.
LP 17710
Warner, Keith Q. Kaiso! The Trinidad Calypso: A Study of the Calypso as Oral Literature. Washington, DC: Three Continents Press, 1982.
ML 3565 .W37 1982
Read about the music of Trinidad and Tobago at Grove Music Online.
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