Cultural salvation and Music Education

This theoretical discussion deepens the data from my doctoral research and introduces new elements to reflect on the concept of Cultural Salvation (CS). It outlines key characteristics of CS identified through a review of literature in Music Education and the Social Sciences. Between January 2022 and July 2023, I conducted ethnographic fieldwork at the Ilha de Música Social Project, located in the África Community in Natal, Brasil. I identify three central elements of CS: the metaphysical veil of music’s power, the ritualistic order, and the transformation process. Understanding CS as an exercise of power is essential for music educators. This awareness supports a critical, inclusive approach to music education for children and adolescents living in socially unequal conditions. The text concludes by raising questions that seek to reconstruct musical practices within social projects, aiming to challenge and overcome the structural foundations of inequality embedded in the idea of Cultural Salvation.