Fandango at the Wall: Creating Harmony between the US and Mexico

Summary

Multi-Grammy Award–winning producer and bestselling author Kabir Sehgal examines the relationship between the US and Mexico, accompanied by music from Grammy–winning musician Arturo O’Farrill and special guests, along with an extended foreword from historian Douglas Brinkley and afterword by Ambassador Andrew Young.

It’s a history that has involved periods of great friendship with robust trade and loose immigration policies. But the US–Mexican relationship has also been beset by wars, drug trade, and human trafficking. And with the latest Trump-induced xenophobia towards Mexico, this book contextualizes how it is the latest swing in the up-and-down, two-hundred-year history between these countries.

In a lyrical narrative reflecting on Fandango Fronterizo, an annual musical celebration held on both sides of the border wall, Sehgal addresses how the broken US–Mexico relationship has been repaired in the past and continues to adapt today. Fandango at the Wall provides clarity to the current debate regarding construction of the wall and America’s posture toward immigration. Sehgal and his artistic collaborators brought over thirty musicians from various traditions to the San Diego and Tijuana border to record a musical repertoire composed of son jarocho songs from Veracruz, Mexico, and Latin jazz.

With these tunes accompanying a call-to-action narrative, Fandango at the Wall demonstrates how music can heal and provide a soundtrack for the United States, Mexico, and beyond.