Ireri Chávez Bárcenas

Ireri Chávez Bárcenas is a musicologist specializing in the cultural and sonic landscapes of early modern New Spain, with a particular focus on vernacular song traditions across Spanish-speaking territories in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Her research integrates historical and anthropological methods with the study of literature, religion, and early music paleography to investigate how the performance of vocal music in public festivals is informed by constructs of race, social hierarchy, and structures of power in viceregal societies. She is an Associate Professor of Music at Bowdoin College and holds a Doctorate in Musicology from Princeton University and a Master of Arts in Religion from Yale University. Her book, Sounding Race, Identity, and Devotion in Puebla de los Ángeles (Oxford University Press) and its companion recording by La Boz Galana and Concerto Scirocco (Outhere Music) are forthcoming in 2026.