Laboring in the transnational culture mines: the work of Bolivian music in Japan

Since at least the 1970s Bolivian musicians have been touring Japan on short-term contracts, developing in that country one more niche market for an Other’s music, much like the cases of jazz (Atkins 2001), blue grass (Mitsui 1993), salsa (Hosokawa 2002), hip hop (Condry 2001), or tango (Savigliano 1995). For Bolivian musicians, these flexible transnational contracts with Japanese companies offer a remuneration that is near impossible for musicians to match within their home country. In this chapter, my ethnographic lens focuses on the intersection of Japanese and Bolivian interests as I follow a Bolivian music tour in Japan and consider both the Japanese contracting company and the contracted Bolivian musicians. In a double sense, my analysis is about the work of culture: the laboring processes that break sweats and raise creative juices, as well as the symbolic work that occurs so that Bolivian music can be appreciated by Japanese audiences.