Blog Post 11: How do you experience translocality in the music that you consume in your daily life?

Translocality can be defined as identifying with one or more places. This is how Latin-American’s identify with American music but also with music produced in their homeland if they still have that strong connection. That is how so many famous artists like Pitbull, for example, sings partly in Spanish and in English. He has that connection to his home roots by incorporating the Spanish and even the beat of the songs has some qualities of traditional Latin American music.

I personally do not have a connection with another homeland like some individuals do. My last name, Barbee, is German, however, my family does not practice any type of German culture. I do not know when and how this started but for as long as we can remember we have not celebrated any other national identity since our family came to America. It is also hard for families to practice nationality when looking back at my roots I have many different cultures running in my blood. Barbee is no longer mostly German but it is what I would consider a melting pot last name because all the men in the family married women from various states, cultures, and traditions of their own. Even though my family does not participate in any kind of tradition other than religious traditions like Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.  It is hard for me to talk about the translocality on a daily basis just because I don’t regularly identify with two different nationalities. But when thinking about translocality in a bubble of just the United States, I think back to my southern roots. Since I have moved to Pittsburgh, I have realized that country music isn’t as popular as it is around home for me. So when I play or hear a popular country song being played around me, I quickly identify with the people around me listening to the music (my teammates), who are from up North where country music is not as popular as it is down South. So not only am I connected to the people around me at Pittsburgh but I also feel a connection to the people back home that listen to the same type of music. I know this isn’t the typical definition of translocality, but this is how I experience translocality in music on a daily basis.