Page - 28 - in Mobile Culture Studies - The Journal, Volume 2/2016

28 Mobile Culture Studies. The Journal 2 2o16 Alejandro Miranda | Journeying with a musical practice wherever I go, I also try to find a fandango and spend time with the community because that is what satisfies me [‘lo que me llena’]. That is because I learnt from there, from going to fandangos.” Pedro has been able to position himself in an informal musical market, combining different activities to meet basic economic needs. The cultural capital he accumulated throughout the years is not easily exchanged for economic capital, but still his travels allow him to earn an income while being existentially mobile. In journeying with this practice, he has seen how com- munities of practitioners grow and change, connect across symbolic and physical borders, and learn from each other. That musical traditions are produced by the interplay of forces in motion is an assertion that resembles the act of travelling. Similarly, moving existentially relies on the consideration of forces, infrastructures and the skilful arrangement of means and competencies. Conclusion This article has sought to analyse the ways in which informal transnational work is entangled with the mobilities of a musical practice. This relationship has been explored through the case of a practitioner involved within transnational networks of musicians across Mexico and the US. By tracing the development of his expertise as workshop facilitator, performer and luthier, I have examined how these activities become a meaningful way of making a living by diffu- sing and cultivating a musical tradition across communities of practitioners. These meanings, however, need to be understood in a context of precariousness, social disadvantage, chronic unemployment and increasing labour insecurity. The excitement of becoming increasingly able to move is in constant tension with the struggle to meet basic economic needs. Far from over- riding the physical and symbolic borders, asymmetries and differences between countries and regions, the journeying of this practitioner confirms them. In considering different forms of mobility, I have also addressed the tension between the unfolding of transnational/translocal networks of relationships and narratives of valorisation and preservation of a practice that is seen as endangered. Disseminating son jarocho through workshops, on stage performances and fandangos has been the main strategy that current prac- titioners use to reclaim a traditional identity. The systems of meaning that structure the recu- peration of this practice are at the core of these mobilities. Furthermore, the various forms of circulation, flow and physical displacement involved in these processes have provided resources for the appropriation and transformation of this practice. While journeying with this practice has been crucial in keeping ‘this culture alive’, this musical tradition is changing as it moves. These transformations are associated with the circulation of instruments and know-how across locations in the US and Mexico. Immobile infrastructures, assorted forms of telecommunica- tion and face-to-face interaction also enable these changes. Therefore, practitioner travel is one among many other elements that make possible to keep this practice ‘on the boil’. Finally, analysing multiple forms of mobility in relation to the unfolding of cultural prac- tice reveals significant relationships. Although practitioners have a key role in the circulation of cultural practices, the specific mechanisms by which informal labour becomes constitutive of transnational practices is shaped by a variety of forces in motion. By interrogating practices