Citation

Gerona C. Early Am. Stud. Interdiscipl. J. 2014; 12(1): 93-142.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2014, University of Pennsylvania Press)

DOI

10.1353/eam.2014.0002

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

During the late eighteenth century the commanders on Spain's northern frontier town of Nacogdoches conducted two trials against citizens who sang songs that offended them and challenged their authority. One group sang in French and the other in Spanish, and taken together the two trials offer a unique opportunity to observe and reconstruct the vibrant and original musical culture that developed in this contact zone. By placing the songs in a local, regional, and Atlantic context, this essay shows that the creole ranchers, farmers, and traders of east Texas and west Louisiana invented new songs to retain control of their communities. This essay also suggests that the singers and musicians shared ideas with each other while participating in the creative developments that flourished during the Age of Revolution. Both French and Spanish creoles incorporated subversive subjects into their music, though in the end their ribald and incendiary songs did not lead either group to overthrow the Spanish government. Nonetheless, because the musical compositions posed a threat to Bourbon authorities and foreshadowed future uprisings, an analysis of these cases can help us reimagine revolutionary Texas from a fresh perspective that is at once more Tejano and more transregional.