ABSTRACT
This chapter draws the participant observation at clubs and dance lessons to illustrate the process whereby Latin bodies are constructed and then performed through the corporal movements, gender relations and sexuality. It explores the discourses through which musicians think of instruments in terms of certain ethnic characteristics. The chapter pays attention to how cultural identities are embodied during musicians' performance through the use of the voice and in particular the Spanish language. It focuses on how the musicians' actions involve an interaction with the dancers during which particular codes and conventions of performance style are drawn on to construct a particular type of Latin identity through salsa. The chapter addresses the process whereby Latin bodies are constructed and then performed in the clubs. It argues that the body is important for understanding how a Latin identity is constructed and communicated.
