Arsenio Rodru00edguez was one of the most important Cuban musicians of the twentieth century. In this first scholarly study, ethnomusicologist David F. Garcu00eda examines Rodru00edguez's life, including the conjunto musical combo he led and the highly influential son montuno style of music he created in the 1940s. Garcu00eda recounts Rodru00edguez's battle for recognition at the height of u0022mambo maniau0022 in New York City and the significance of his music in the development of salsa. With firsthand accounts from relatives and fellow musicians, Arsenio Rodru00edguez and the Transnational Flows of Latin Popular Music follows Rodru00edguez's fortunes on several continents, speculating on why he never enjoyed wide commercial success despite the importance of his music. Garcu00eda focuses on the roles that race, identity, and politics played in shaping Rodru00edguez's music and the trajectory of his musical career. His transnational perspective has important implications for Latin American and popular music studies.