Ask the Expert: World Cup music facts from Eduardo Herrera

Ask the Expert: World Cup music facts from Eduardo Herrera

Eduardo Herrera, an associate professor of folklore and ethnomusicology in the College of Arts and Sciences at Indiana University Bloomington, is a big soccer fan. But when he attends games or celebrates with other fans, he is also hard at work: He researches the sounds of the World Cup, specializing in the chanting practices of soccer fans in Argentina.

Eduardo Herrera is currently conducting anthropological research on the sounds of soccer fan practices in Argentina. Photo by Wendi Chitwood, Indiana University

Herrera combines oral history with fan observation and archival research to understand everything from official FIFA World Cup songs to the chants fans shout in the streets to the music circulated between friends on social media.

Herrera is currently in Argentina, where his fieldwork will focus on Argentine fan practices, including how supporters experience the remaining matches. If Argentina advances to the finals, he’ll study the team’s reception when they return home.

Impress your friends and family while you watch the next game with 10 fun facts about the soundscape of the World Cup, straight from the IU expert: