Abstract

DIAZ FRENE, Jaddiel. Words are no longer carried by the wind: Notes on a cultural history of the phonograph in Mexico (1876-1924). Hist. mex. [online]. 2016, vol.66, n.1, pp.257-298. ISSN 2448-6531.

This article studies the impact of phonographs on Mexican society through the analysis of the contemporary press and the consumer experiences of different social sectors. The first part of the article studies the debates on the machine’s role in the nation’s progress, alongside modern medicine and the postal service. It then addresses everyday practices such as the rental of phonographs, which allowed sectors without abundant resources to access this technology for their own enjoyment and that of their family, but also as a survival strategy. Finally, it examines testimonies and statistical data that show the consumption of phonographs by different social groups, from rich landowners to poor, illiterate peasants. In the second half of the 19th Century, humanity lived through an age of technological miracles. Inventions such as film, the telegraph, the telephone and the phonograph brought with them new sensory experiences that influenced the social reception of information and perceptions of time, distance, sound and images.

Keywords : cultural history; the phonograph; Mexico; 19^th Century.

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