Dale A.Olsen Prize

2004 Award Winner

Lara Greene

It is my pleasure to announce Lara Greene of Florida State University as the winner of the 2003 Dale Olsen Prize for the best student paper presented at the SEMSEC chapter meeting, held February 28-March 1 in Tarpon Springs. The award carries a $100 honorarium. Greene's paper, "Pa' que sepa la yuma entera; Cuban Popular Dance Music and the Process of Globalization," considers the case of timba as it undergoes the transition from local to global popularity. Timba is a Cuban popular dance music that emerged in the late 1980s. Today it enjoys a broad following on the island, largely due to elements that are distinctly local in character. The paper focuses on the activities of timba musicians now living in Miami and examines the changes that occur in their music as they work to connect with new audiences at local and international levels.

Judges for this year's prize consisted of the 2003 SEMESEC Program Committee: Laurie Sommers, Valdosta State University (chair); Chris Goertzen, University of Southern Mississippi; Larry Crook, University of Florida; and Steve Grauberger, Alabama Center for Traditional Culture. (An additional program committee member, Joyce Jackson of LSU, was unable to participate in the prize judging process). Thanks to all those who submitted papers and congratulations to Lara Greene! (submitted by Dr. Laurie Sommers, Program and Award Committee Chair, May 2003)

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