Salsa Blogs: Musical Tradition and Virtual Collecting in Cali

Abstract

A 'new' and growing population of salsa listeners and collectors has emerged in Cali known as 'los bloggers.' Through mass diffusion on the internet and thanks to the dynamics of circulation and conservartion of digital musical materials, the subjects and practices of consumption of Afro–Caribbean musics has begun to change drastically. Utilizing ethnographic and cartographic exercises, this article explores the ways in which these 'new collectors,' los bloggers, use virtual media to create and produce mechanisms that serve as a continuation of musical traditions of salsa in Cali.