Introduction
Culture refers to the ideas, conventions, behaviors, and ideals that a specific group of people embraces. On the other hand, identity is about recognizing what is suitable and authentic for oneself. When humans unconsciously interpret and combine signals from their surroundings into their individuality, they establish a cultural identity.
Discussion
Cultural identity can change since culture is adaptive. While some individuals go through life without assuming their cultural identity, people usually become aware of it when it is challenged. This grasp usually occurs when individuals are in different regions of the world or among people with different cultural standards. Nevertheless, cultural identity is significant because it determines how one understands and responds to such events.
One of the instances of elements of life associated with identity is music. If one takes one particular example of music closely related to cultural identity, it could be blues. According to the statistics about the preferences of Americans in musical genres in 2018, only a fifth of the population listened to blues (Statista, 2021). However, blues is especially important for African Americans. When Africans immigrated to the United States, they developed music that communicated their experiences of isolation and agony, as well as stories and sounds that recreated community, identity, and speech (Delgado-Norris, 2020). Moreover, blues songs still contain linguistic and cultural elements related to African Americans’ ancestry.
Conclusion
Therefore, cultural identity can be expressed and recognized in multiple aspects of daily life. Often, such elements resonate or conflict with the identities and experiences of other people. As such, blues music is not particularly popular throughout America, yet it remains a significant part and a distinctive aspect of the cultural identity of African Americans, bringing awareness of their roots and making African ancestry alive again.
References
Delgado-Norris, E. (2020). African linguistic elements and cultural practices in American blues.National Social Science Association. Web.
Statista. (2021). Music genres preferred by consumers in the U.S. 2018. Web.