The Museum of the Americas in San Juan, Puerto Rico, the Consulate General of Spain in Puerto Rico, and Acción Cultural Española (AC/E) have organized the exhibition A tres bandas. Mestizaje, sincretismo e hibridación en el espacio sonoro Hispanoamericano (S. XVI-S. XX), which offers a visual and sonic look at the indigenous, Hispanic, and African cultural roots of Latin American music through audiovisual materials and instruments from the three cultures and their blends.

This exhibition, curated by Albert Recasens and sponsored by the Abertis Foundation and Santander Puerto Rico, is structured as a material, sonic, and visual narrative of the musical fusion present in Latin America from the 16th century to the present day, attesting to the enormous wealth generated by this interethnic convergence. The unique feature of the production of A Tres Bandas—which arrives in Puerto Rico after passing through Colombia, Guatemala, Spain, El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Honduras—is that it revolves around music and is supported by visual and stage elements that frame, suggest, or emanate from it. The objective was to create an engaging and participatory exhibition in which the audience is the true protagonist. Thus, the convergence of several disciplines, such as music, stage design, and design, makes A Tres Bandas an innovative exhibition proposal, with creative direction by Natalia Menéndez and museographic design by Enrique Bordes.
A tres bandas is conceived around two fundamental axes: the first, theoretical, consists of the historical recognition of the races, beliefs, and fusions of traditional and modern elements that occurred in the convergence of Amerindian, African, and European cultures; and the second, practical, consists of the use of three fundamental elements: cities, instruments, and the social practices of music that explain where, how, and why music developed in this transnational region.

The exhibition offers a glimpse into the extraordinary cultural diversity of Latin America, which has always been recognized for the creative power of its music. Its territory is governed by a process of fusion, syncretism, and hybridization that generates tensions and distensions but, above all, creates multicultural identities that reveal a shared past, present, and future.

On display until July 14, 2013.