Intangible heritage and intelectual property in the P'urhépecha lyrical and musical tradition, Mexico

Abstract

This text deals with processes of change in the music cultural practices of the Purépecha, an indigenous people, located in western Mexico, in the state of Michoacan. The main focus is on aspects of musical creativity, property and authorship linked with feelings of grievance felt by Purépecha composers. These changes have partly been related to indigenist, cultural and tourist policies of the last century, and, more recently, with the inclusion of the pirekua, the lyrical-musical tradition of the Purépecha, on the Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of the UNESCO. Along with these policies we should add the global legal frameworks of intellectual property and copyright, which determine not only the individualist conceptions of authorship and creativity but also the valuation and orientation of the practices as regards the regional musical market. Although these changes revendicate the figure of the Purépecha composer as opposed to a collectivist discourse which leaves the subject of musical creation in anonymity, at the same time they have strengthened individualism, competition and conflicts between Purépecha singers and musicians. Faced with this situation a community musical ethic could be visualised as a possible alternative to these global hegemonic processes.