Javier F. León is an ethnomusicologist originally from Lima, Peru. He received his B.A. in astrophysics from the University of California, Berkeley and M.M. and Ph.D. in ethnomusicology from the University of Texas at Austin. Professor León taught at the Newcomb Department of Music and The Stone Center for Latin American Studies at Tulane University and joined Indiana University in 2007. His research has focused on contemporary Afroperuvian music making, criollo popular music and nationalism in early and mid-twentieth century Lima, and the politics of academic research. Since 1995 he has worked with prominent Peruvian artists such as Manuel Acosta Ojeda, Gabriel Alegría, Roberto Arguedas, Oscar Avilés, Eva Ayllón, Susana Baca, Félix Casaverde, Novalima, Peru Negro, Teatro del Milenio, and Abelardo Vásquez. He is currently conducting research on how neoliberal socioeconomic reforms are affecting Afroperuvian musical production and its ability to remain a symbol of Black identity.
