Meaning Behind the Music

When watching a film or television program, music can often be just as memorable as the acting or dialogue. A score sets the pace and emotional rhythm of a scene, guides the viewer’s response and helps build entire worlds on screen.

The early 20th century marked the first time that dialogue, music and sound effects were synchronized to video. This was known as early sound cinema. During this time, film helped define popular music styles, influencing how cultures were understood both within their own communities and abroad. These portrayals continue to shape cultural narratives today, making it vital for scholars to examine how these sounds and images were crafted and what they left out. It is within this rich intersection of music, representation and media that Cary Peñate, assistant professor of music histories and cultures at Syracuse University’s College of Arts and Sciences, conducts her research.

Peñate studies how Afro-Cuban dance music was depicted in early film soundtracks across Cuba, Mexico, Argentina, Spain and Hollywood, with a particular focus on the figure of the mulata (a woman with African and European ancestry) and the cultural meanings projected onto her. Over time, the mulata became a stereotyped figure in film, music and literature, often exoticized, particularly in Cuban and Mexican cinema. Peñate’s work reveals how cinema has influenced global understandings of Afro-Cuban musical traditions and exposes the ways race, gender, politics and popular entertainment converged on screen during a pivotal era in transnational film history.

Distinguished Residency Supports Transformative Research

Peñate’s selection for a prestigious summer residency at the National Humanities Center (NHC) in North Carolina will further strengthen and expand this work. The competitive four-week program offers uninterrupted research time, dedicated writing space, full library services and weekly professional development sessions within an interdisciplinary scholarly community known for its lively exchange of ideas.

This opportunity was made possible through Syracuse University Humanities Center’s new membership to the NHC, initiated by Humanities Center Director Vivian May. Peñate's winning proposal was supported by extensive preparation and nomination efforts from both May and Sarah Workman, Director of Research Development for the Arts and Humanities.

"Sarah and I collaborated to identify this opportunity, prepare the nomination and ensure Syracuse could put forward a strong candidate in our first year of NHC membership," May says. "We’re committed to creating meaningful avenues of research support and making sure our humanities scholars have access to opportunities like this..." [Read the full A&S News story.]