The Mexican Jazz Boom
An Ecological and Comparative Approach to a Niche in Mexico City in the Digital Age
Compared to the jazz ecosystems of the United States and Europe, Mexican jazz matured relatively late. The socio-cultural and media contexts of the 1990s, before the widespread adoption of the Internet, played a decisive role in inhibiting its development.
However, in the early 2000s, as Mexico’s small jazz community fully embraced the digital age, a radical transformation took place, both in terms of quantity and quality. During the following decade, from 2010 to 2019, Mexican jazz established itself as an ecosystem and gained new vigour and visibility.
The factors behind this transformation are multifaceted, but the Internet and the broader digital environment appear to have been the main catalysts. This does not imply the disappearance of longstanding challenges, but it does mark a significant before-and-after moment in the history of this musical niche in Mexico City.
From a cultural-history perspective, incorporating an ecological and comparative temporal approach (1990–2010), this research explores the key elements that created the conditions for the Mexican jazz boom, examines what this transformation consisted of, and considers its primary contributions.
Academic Presentation by Luis Felipe Ferra
Luis Felipe Ferra is a filmmaker, writer, and creative professional, and co-founder of the independent cultural film company Polytropos AC.
He has directed documentaries, series, digital apps, teasers, music videos, cultural features, and advertising projects for local and international companies.
Mexican jazz has been a substantial part of his audiovisual work, notably Resiliencia por una nota (2012), the two series of Nota Dominante (2014 and 2019), and Bicho Raro (2020–present).
Ferra has contributed to various magazines through popular science articles, interviews, and literary works. In 2023, he published De Puertas para adentro. Diálogos en las industrias creativas (Ágata Libros). His latest book, Nota Dominante, la serie de TV sobre jazz mexicano. Vol. 1 (2026), explores the importance of audiovisual preservation.
He holds a degree in Communication Studies from Ibero, a Master’s in Humanities from the Hellenic Cultural Institute, a Master’s in Arts and Culture Management from the University of Melbourne, and a Master’s in Film from Queen’s University Belfast.
His grants and fellowships include the AFPE Grant from the Secretariat of Culture (2024), the RMIT-Mexico Grant (2022), the Global Cultural Fellowship from the Institute for International Cultural Relations in Edinburgh (2017), and a Fonca-Conacyt grant for overseas studies in cultural management (2015).
He is currently pursuing a PhD at RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia, where his research focuses on the relationship between the rise of Mexican jazz and the digital environment.
