Tuesday, April 06, 2010
Reguetón en Ñ
Pulse aquí para leer el artículo sobre reguetón que publicó el pasado viernes 2 de abril la Revista Ñ del periódico argentino Clarín. El artículo cita nuestra antología Reggaeton y se vale de la familiaridad con la "cumbia villera" que tiene el público argentino para explicar los origenes de clase del reguetón.
Monday, March 22, 2010
Liberation Mythologies: Art, Spirit & Justice
What follows is the paper I presented on 3-19 at Duke University's symposium Dislocated Performances: Reimagining Latino Hip-Hop in the 21st Century.
Liberation Mythologies:
Art, Spirit and Justice
Abstract: “Liberation Mythologies” is my working term to explore the intersections between Latino hip-hop (and reggaeton) artistic practice, spiritual belief and grassroots activism. Taking my cue from Robin D.G. Kelley, I focus on the “dreams of freedom” at the root of myth-making. And taking another cue from Joseph Campbell and Robert Segal, I look at myths not as stories or beliefs that are (necessarily) untrue but as tropes that poetically attempt to explain or get us closer to the unexplainable, and most importantly, as tropes that give individuals and communities the strength to keep crafting and pursuing their dreams of freedom. I will focus on one example: the integration into hip-hop and reggaeton of Afro-Caribbean roots music and spiritual practices.
The moment I received the invitation to this symposium and read the description, I was happy for many reasons. The most obvious, of course, is the amazing folks that I get to share the mic with. Another of those reasons is that the invitation presented a great opportunity to talk about my most recent work on what I am tentatively calling “liberation mythologies”.
Until recently, my work on hip-hop and reggaeton had been primarily concerned with exploring the porous boundaries between blackness and latinidad, as well as connecting those porous border zones with social justice activism. Those topics are still of great interest to me, but I have become increasingly engaged in looking at the spiritual dimension of political action—and most specifically in looking at the use of spirit-based myth-making as a component of political action. I focus on Afro-Caribbean spiritual practices like espiritismo, santería, voudoun and palo; but keep in mind that with this idea of “liberation mythologies” I’m trying to develop a way to understand any other spiritual or religious practice that is invested in social justice activism.
I will begin by explaining how I started developing my thoughts around “liberation mythologies” as I was writing not about hip-hop or reggaeton but about Caribbean roots music like Puerto Rican bomba, Dominican palos and Haitian-Dominican rara or gagá. Supposedly, I was taking a breather from focusing on heavily commercialized genres like hip-hop and reggaeton. But, ironically, writing about spirituality, myth-making and activism in Caribbean roots music, I wound up having to talk about hip-hop and reggaeton anyway. Why? Because the dominant sounds in the contemporary social justice movement soundtrack tend to be at opposite ends of the traditional/contemporary music spectrum, particularly for the younger generations of activists. So at rallies, fundraisers, workshops and cultural events organized by folks in this social justice network there tends to be a lot of roots music on the one hand, and hip-hop on the other. Another reason why I couldn’t escape writing about hip-hop and reggaeton, even in this newer work focused on roots music, is all the collaborations and fusions happening, as this next example shows.
It’s a collaboration of the reggaeton/hip-hop group Del Patio with roots music group Ilú Ayé. I don’t know that Del Patio is involved in the social justice movement, but Ilú Ayé definitely is. The song has many references to Dominican religious practices such as the palos music that precedes the recognizably reggaeton-ey part of the song, and also it mentions specific loas or deities of the Afro-Dominican santería pantheon.
About a year ago, as I was writing a paper on Puerto Rican bomba and Dominican palos musicians in New York City, I kept noticing at least three powerful characters or references that kept popping up in the music: maroons or cimarrones who escaped slavery, the so-called kongos of Central Africa who have a reputation for rebelliousness in Afro-Caribbean lore, and references to Haiti and Haitians. All of these are tropes that point to a centuries long history of resistance and liberation struggles in the Caribbean. I was writing about bomba and palos, but some of these same tropes show up in hip-hop and reggaeton as well. One example is Sietenueve’s song “Cimarrón”, which is another good example of the incorporation of roots music into hip-hop since it starts with batá drums:
Here is an excerpt and translation of the lyrics:
Me hice libre por la fuerza / sin el miedo del cañon / como un salvaje en el monte siguiendo a mi corazón / por mi raza por mi sangre por la fe de mi tambor / con una marca en la espalda reflejo de mi color / yo me llamo Libertad, mi apellido es Cimarrón / y es que tengo a mis ancestors dándome direcciones, limpiándome los caminos, aguantando los azotes
I became free by force / without fearing the cannon / wild in the woods, following my heart […] my name is Freedom, my last name is Maroon / my ancestors are giving me directions, clearing the roads for me, putting up with the lash of the whip
This is a great example of how the maroon is invoked as a heroic figure from the past that is connected by ancestry to artists of the present.* Something very similar happens with the tropes of the kongos and Haitians. They symbolize struggle and freedom and are the “ancestors” clearing the path for those fighting for justice in the present.
Sietenueve’s “Cimarrón” track is part of the recent Puerto Rican Freedom Album, a 2 CD compilation that aims to raise funds for the Puerto Rican political prisoners presently in US jails. A great number of the tracks on the Freedom Album are either hip-hop or roots music (bomba, guaguancó, palo, batá) and they provide great examples of these symbols or tropes of liberation that I have referred to. There are three songs in that album that just by looking at the titles one can tell that they are heavily invested in the kongo theme: Alma Moyó’s “Antonio Kongo”, Angel Rodríguez’s “Kongo Bendito” and Ilú Ayé’s “Meta pa Siete Rayos – Tiñosa”.
So as I was looking into the presence of these tropes of the maroon, the kongo and Haiti in roots music and also in hip-hop and reggaeton, I kept thinking about how these tropes are intricately connected, and how they share many basic assumptions and impulses. There was a larger picture that I was trying to understand.
Putting a slight spin on “liberation theology,” I started thinking about “liberation mythology” as a potential guiding concept.** Taking my cue from the work on mythologies of Joseph Campbell (1991) and Robert Segal (2004), I look at myths not as stories or beliefs that are (necessarily) untrue but as tropes that poetically attempt to explain or get us closer to the unexplainable. The myth may or may not be true; my aim is not to determine if it is or if it isn’t true, but to explore the “dreams of freedom” at the root of myth-making. I am interested in these myths as strategic tools deployed by musicians & activists to give individuals and communities the strength to keep crafting and pursuing their dreams of freedom. According to the way I’m developing the concept, what makes “liberation myths” different from just plain “myths” is that their purpose is to describe and understand the world but more importantly to change it—change, in turn, is defined in terms of personal and collective liberation from oppression, injustice, sadness and/or fear. In other words, the goal of this myth-making is redemption—individual and collective. This concept of “liberation myths” is quite similar to Robin D.G. Kelley’s (2002) notion of “freedom dreams” and the black radical imagination but one key distinction is that I focus on spirituality and religiosity in the process of freedom dreaming or myth-making so that the “mythology” part in “liberation mythology” serves a similar purpose as “theology” in “liberation theology.”***
Now, if we were to take literally these claims of collective kongo, maroon or Haitian heritage, we would have to take them to task for being distortions of history. Obviously not all of us have kongo, maroon or Haitian heritage. Furthermore, as Kristina Wirtz (2007) has pointed out, the reconstruction of "roots" in Afro-diasporic music is often closer to a "divination of the past"—more a poetic than a historical interpretation.
Lets take as an example the way a young New York-based Dominican bomba drummer, activist and educator argues that the Haitian “roots” of bomba serve as a bridge between Puerto Ricans and Dominicans.
"My spirit called me to bomba, early. I had access to [Dominican] palos and I loved it, but then something happened with bomba where it was a new beginning. I always felt like it was mine and it’s strange cause I’m Dominican. But its like my spirit is like “no, this is a big part of who you are.” So when I started hearing about the Haitian roots [of bomba] I got really excited. I’m like “oh, the point of connection was like three generations ago with my Haitian ancestors and your Haitian ancestors and they’re on both islands!” Lets celebrate that. It’s important to get rooted in those spaces where the cultures overlap, the times overlap, descendancies overlap."
Notice the reference to “ancestors” and “roots”. Notice also the invocation of ancestry as a way to bridge the gap between Dominicans and Puerto Ricans through “our” common Haitian roots—a “myth” with the liberatory political purpose of building a sense of unity among Puerto Ricans, Dominicans and Haitians.
Here is where Kelley’s ideas in Freedom Dreams are crucial. Kelley’s recollections of being a “junior Afrocentrist” as an undergraduate, provide much insight into the issues at stake in weaving “liberation mythologies” or, in his words, “freedom dreams” that are invested in looking backward into history to claim something necessary in order to go forward.
"We looked back in search of a better future. We wanted to find a refuge where ‘black people’ exercised power, possessed essential knowledge, educated the West, built monuments, slept under the stars on the banks of the Nile, and never had to worry about the police or poverty or arrogant white people questioning our intelligence. Of course, this meant conveniently ignoring slave labor, class hierarchies, and women’s oppression, and it meant projecting backwards in time a twentieth-century conception of race, but to simply criticize us for myth making or essentialism misses the point of our reading. We dreamed the ancient world as a place of freedom, a picture to imagine what we desired and what was possible." (29)
Kelley’s work shed a lot of light on my own mixed feelings regarding these liberation mythologies. On the one hand, I was (and I am) inspired by their beauty and power. On the other hand, I can’t help but be turned off by the idealization of the past and the essentialized assumptions about who our ancestors are. But through Kelley’s work I have been better able to understand the beauty and potential of liberation mythologies.
I am still wary of their reductiveness and essentialisms, though. But is it possible to celebrate the sacredness and power of these liberation mythologies, without necessarily taking them literally? Can we spread, for example, the myth of the shared Haitian roots of Puerto Ricans and Dominicans without literally believing that we all share Haitian ancestry? I think so.
Ivor Miller's work on "spiritual ethnicity" (2004) explores the poetic/mythical dimension of what is often also an obsessive and literalist "summoning of the past" (Verges 2003). Miller writes:
"Although creolization is often used to describe the creation of something new, implying the loss of ties to an original homeland, in fact African-derived ritual traditions have maintained a centeredness in mythical Africa. That is, in spite of enrichment through cultural contact, many African-derived practices have maintained their conceptual rootedness in African spirituality.[…] African-derived identities in the Americas flourish because of—not in spite of—their origins in mythic history.” (202)
The pull of those beliefs is not just due to the strength of inherited cultural traditions. Oftentimes it is political beliefs and activism that leads people to “reclaim” African-derived spiritual traditions they may not have grown up with or paid much attention to when they were growing up—the case for many of the young musicians I focus on. According to Miller:
"In a context in which African histories and philosophies rarely form part of educational curricula, participating in African-derived religions is a method of maintaining historical counternarratives in which the present generation has direct links to an African past.[…] Since epics of the descendants of Africans have not been included in official histories, many historical narratives are maintained within families and ritual lineages. Conserving cultural inheritance is a form of historical survival.” (Miller 2004, 215)
It is of great importance to acknowledge the spiritual or, to quote Robin D.G. Kelley (2002), the “surreal” elements in these liberation mythologies. Past and present are not altogether separate realms: such a presupposition makes no sense in a context of Afrodiasporic beliefs and practices where the living have just as much impact on our present lives as the dead. The heroes and heroines of the Haitian revolution and the maroons who escaped plantation economies to establish manieles and palenques are not just protagonists of myths. They are believed to be powerful ancestors whose help is indispensable to heal, subvert modern-day injustices and escape modern-day captivity.
So, considering the lofty and powerful impulses holding up these "liberation mythologies", I'm more inclined to explore the "freedom dreams" that feed these mythologies and the liberatory practices inspired by these mythologies rather than stay stuck on arguments regarding literalist vs. poetic interpretations of mythical truth.
* Two more examples of the cimarrón trope: (1) hip-hop/ reggaeton artist La Sista’s song “Anacaona” who rhymes "Aquí está tu cimarrona / versión africana, yo soy tu Anacaona" (2) bomba group Bataklán’s “El cimarrón”: "Ahora sí, trabaja no / A fuerza yo no trabaja / Yo me va de cimarrón." Bataklán has a strong hip-hop/reggaeton connection, most notably through their collaborations with Tego Calderón and the fact that one of Bataklán’s lead singers is reggaeton artist Abrante.
** Though both “liberation theology” and “liberation mythology” are concerned with the connections between spirituality and social justice, the history of “liberation theology” as a concept is so firmly grounded in Christian traditions that (though in theory what I’m talking about is a type of liberation theology) in practice for me to use “liberation theology” would create more confusion.
*** Kelley has one chapter called “Keeping It Surreal” that deals with the surreal or mythological aspects of freedom dreaming, but his book doesn’t just focus on the surreal.
Liberation Mythologies:
Art, Spirit and Justice
Abstract: “Liberation Mythologies” is my working term to explore the intersections between Latino hip-hop (and reggaeton) artistic practice, spiritual belief and grassroots activism. Taking my cue from Robin D.G. Kelley, I focus on the “dreams of freedom” at the root of myth-making. And taking another cue from Joseph Campbell and Robert Segal, I look at myths not as stories or beliefs that are (necessarily) untrue but as tropes that poetically attempt to explain or get us closer to the unexplainable, and most importantly, as tropes that give individuals and communities the strength to keep crafting and pursuing their dreams of freedom. I will focus on one example: the integration into hip-hop and reggaeton of Afro-Caribbean roots music and spiritual practices.
The moment I received the invitation to this symposium and read the description, I was happy for many reasons. The most obvious, of course, is the amazing folks that I get to share the mic with. Another of those reasons is that the invitation presented a great opportunity to talk about my most recent work on what I am tentatively calling “liberation mythologies”.
Until recently, my work on hip-hop and reggaeton had been primarily concerned with exploring the porous boundaries between blackness and latinidad, as well as connecting those porous border zones with social justice activism. Those topics are still of great interest to me, but I have become increasingly engaged in looking at the spiritual dimension of political action—and most specifically in looking at the use of spirit-based myth-making as a component of political action. I focus on Afro-Caribbean spiritual practices like espiritismo, santería, voudoun and palo; but keep in mind that with this idea of “liberation mythologies” I’m trying to develop a way to understand any other spiritual or religious practice that is invested in social justice activism.
I will begin by explaining how I started developing my thoughts around “liberation mythologies” as I was writing not about hip-hop or reggaeton but about Caribbean roots music like Puerto Rican bomba, Dominican palos and Haitian-Dominican rara or gagá. Supposedly, I was taking a breather from focusing on heavily commercialized genres like hip-hop and reggaeton. But, ironically, writing about spirituality, myth-making and activism in Caribbean roots music, I wound up having to talk about hip-hop and reggaeton anyway. Why? Because the dominant sounds in the contemporary social justice movement soundtrack tend to be at opposite ends of the traditional/contemporary music spectrum, particularly for the younger generations of activists. So at rallies, fundraisers, workshops and cultural events organized by folks in this social justice network there tends to be a lot of roots music on the one hand, and hip-hop on the other. Another reason why I couldn’t escape writing about hip-hop and reggaeton, even in this newer work focused on roots music, is all the collaborations and fusions happening, as this next example shows.
It’s a collaboration of the reggaeton/hip-hop group Del Patio with roots music group Ilú Ayé. I don’t know that Del Patio is involved in the social justice movement, but Ilú Ayé definitely is. The song has many references to Dominican religious practices such as the palos music that precedes the recognizably reggaeton-ey part of the song, and also it mentions specific loas or deities of the Afro-Dominican santería pantheon.
About a year ago, as I was writing a paper on Puerto Rican bomba and Dominican palos musicians in New York City, I kept noticing at least three powerful characters or references that kept popping up in the music: maroons or cimarrones who escaped slavery, the so-called kongos of Central Africa who have a reputation for rebelliousness in Afro-Caribbean lore, and references to Haiti and Haitians. All of these are tropes that point to a centuries long history of resistance and liberation struggles in the Caribbean. I was writing about bomba and palos, but some of these same tropes show up in hip-hop and reggaeton as well. One example is Sietenueve’s song “Cimarrón”, which is another good example of the incorporation of roots music into hip-hop since it starts with batá drums:
Here is an excerpt and translation of the lyrics:
Me hice libre por la fuerza / sin el miedo del cañon / como un salvaje en el monte siguiendo a mi corazón / por mi raza por mi sangre por la fe de mi tambor / con una marca en la espalda reflejo de mi color / yo me llamo Libertad, mi apellido es Cimarrón / y es que tengo a mis ancestors dándome direcciones, limpiándome los caminos, aguantando los azotes
I became free by force / without fearing the cannon / wild in the woods, following my heart […] my name is Freedom, my last name is Maroon / my ancestors are giving me directions, clearing the roads for me, putting up with the lash of the whip
This is a great example of how the maroon is invoked as a heroic figure from the past that is connected by ancestry to artists of the present.* Something very similar happens with the tropes of the kongos and Haitians. They symbolize struggle and freedom and are the “ancestors” clearing the path for those fighting for justice in the present.
Sietenueve’s “Cimarrón” track is part of the recent Puerto Rican Freedom Album, a 2 CD compilation that aims to raise funds for the Puerto Rican political prisoners presently in US jails. A great number of the tracks on the Freedom Album are either hip-hop or roots music (bomba, guaguancó, palo, batá) and they provide great examples of these symbols or tropes of liberation that I have referred to. There are three songs in that album that just by looking at the titles one can tell that they are heavily invested in the kongo theme: Alma Moyó’s “Antonio Kongo”, Angel Rodríguez’s “Kongo Bendito” and Ilú Ayé’s “Meta pa Siete Rayos – Tiñosa”.
So as I was looking into the presence of these tropes of the maroon, the kongo and Haiti in roots music and also in hip-hop and reggaeton, I kept thinking about how these tropes are intricately connected, and how they share many basic assumptions and impulses. There was a larger picture that I was trying to understand.
Putting a slight spin on “liberation theology,” I started thinking about “liberation mythology” as a potential guiding concept.** Taking my cue from the work on mythologies of Joseph Campbell (1991) and Robert Segal (2004), I look at myths not as stories or beliefs that are (necessarily) untrue but as tropes that poetically attempt to explain or get us closer to the unexplainable. The myth may or may not be true; my aim is not to determine if it is or if it isn’t true, but to explore the “dreams of freedom” at the root of myth-making. I am interested in these myths as strategic tools deployed by musicians & activists to give individuals and communities the strength to keep crafting and pursuing their dreams of freedom. According to the way I’m developing the concept, what makes “liberation myths” different from just plain “myths” is that their purpose is to describe and understand the world but more importantly to change it—change, in turn, is defined in terms of personal and collective liberation from oppression, injustice, sadness and/or fear. In other words, the goal of this myth-making is redemption—individual and collective. This concept of “liberation myths” is quite similar to Robin D.G. Kelley’s (2002) notion of “freedom dreams” and the black radical imagination but one key distinction is that I focus on spirituality and religiosity in the process of freedom dreaming or myth-making so that the “mythology” part in “liberation mythology” serves a similar purpose as “theology” in “liberation theology.”***
Now, if we were to take literally these claims of collective kongo, maroon or Haitian heritage, we would have to take them to task for being distortions of history. Obviously not all of us have kongo, maroon or Haitian heritage. Furthermore, as Kristina Wirtz (2007) has pointed out, the reconstruction of "roots" in Afro-diasporic music is often closer to a "divination of the past"—more a poetic than a historical interpretation.
Lets take as an example the way a young New York-based Dominican bomba drummer, activist and educator argues that the Haitian “roots” of bomba serve as a bridge between Puerto Ricans and Dominicans.
"My spirit called me to bomba, early. I had access to [Dominican] palos and I loved it, but then something happened with bomba where it was a new beginning. I always felt like it was mine and it’s strange cause I’m Dominican. But its like my spirit is like “no, this is a big part of who you are.” So when I started hearing about the Haitian roots [of bomba] I got really excited. I’m like “oh, the point of connection was like three generations ago with my Haitian ancestors and your Haitian ancestors and they’re on both islands!” Lets celebrate that. It’s important to get rooted in those spaces where the cultures overlap, the times overlap, descendancies overlap."
Notice the reference to “ancestors” and “roots”. Notice also the invocation of ancestry as a way to bridge the gap between Dominicans and Puerto Ricans through “our” common Haitian roots—a “myth” with the liberatory political purpose of building a sense of unity among Puerto Ricans, Dominicans and Haitians.
Here is where Kelley’s ideas in Freedom Dreams are crucial. Kelley’s recollections of being a “junior Afrocentrist” as an undergraduate, provide much insight into the issues at stake in weaving “liberation mythologies” or, in his words, “freedom dreams” that are invested in looking backward into history to claim something necessary in order to go forward.
"We looked back in search of a better future. We wanted to find a refuge where ‘black people’ exercised power, possessed essential knowledge, educated the West, built monuments, slept under the stars on the banks of the Nile, and never had to worry about the police or poverty or arrogant white people questioning our intelligence. Of course, this meant conveniently ignoring slave labor, class hierarchies, and women’s oppression, and it meant projecting backwards in time a twentieth-century conception of race, but to simply criticize us for myth making or essentialism misses the point of our reading. We dreamed the ancient world as a place of freedom, a picture to imagine what we desired and what was possible." (29)
Kelley’s work shed a lot of light on my own mixed feelings regarding these liberation mythologies. On the one hand, I was (and I am) inspired by their beauty and power. On the other hand, I can’t help but be turned off by the idealization of the past and the essentialized assumptions about who our ancestors are. But through Kelley’s work I have been better able to understand the beauty and potential of liberation mythologies.
I am still wary of their reductiveness and essentialisms, though. But is it possible to celebrate the sacredness and power of these liberation mythologies, without necessarily taking them literally? Can we spread, for example, the myth of the shared Haitian roots of Puerto Ricans and Dominicans without literally believing that we all share Haitian ancestry? I think so.
Ivor Miller's work on "spiritual ethnicity" (2004) explores the poetic/mythical dimension of what is often also an obsessive and literalist "summoning of the past" (Verges 2003). Miller writes:
"Although creolization is often used to describe the creation of something new, implying the loss of ties to an original homeland, in fact African-derived ritual traditions have maintained a centeredness in mythical Africa. That is, in spite of enrichment through cultural contact, many African-derived practices have maintained their conceptual rootedness in African spirituality.[…] African-derived identities in the Americas flourish because of—not in spite of—their origins in mythic history.” (202)
The pull of those beliefs is not just due to the strength of inherited cultural traditions. Oftentimes it is political beliefs and activism that leads people to “reclaim” African-derived spiritual traditions they may not have grown up with or paid much attention to when they were growing up—the case for many of the young musicians I focus on. According to Miller:
"In a context in which African histories and philosophies rarely form part of educational curricula, participating in African-derived religions is a method of maintaining historical counternarratives in which the present generation has direct links to an African past.[…] Since epics of the descendants of Africans have not been included in official histories, many historical narratives are maintained within families and ritual lineages. Conserving cultural inheritance is a form of historical survival.” (Miller 2004, 215)
It is of great importance to acknowledge the spiritual or, to quote Robin D.G. Kelley (2002), the “surreal” elements in these liberation mythologies. Past and present are not altogether separate realms: such a presupposition makes no sense in a context of Afrodiasporic beliefs and practices where the living have just as much impact on our present lives as the dead. The heroes and heroines of the Haitian revolution and the maroons who escaped plantation economies to establish manieles and palenques are not just protagonists of myths. They are believed to be powerful ancestors whose help is indispensable to heal, subvert modern-day injustices and escape modern-day captivity.
So, considering the lofty and powerful impulses holding up these "liberation mythologies", I'm more inclined to explore the "freedom dreams" that feed these mythologies and the liberatory practices inspired by these mythologies rather than stay stuck on arguments regarding literalist vs. poetic interpretations of mythical truth.
* Two more examples of the cimarrón trope: (1) hip-hop/ reggaeton artist La Sista’s song “Anacaona” who rhymes "Aquí está tu cimarrona / versión africana, yo soy tu Anacaona" (2) bomba group Bataklán’s “El cimarrón”: "Ahora sí, trabaja no / A fuerza yo no trabaja / Yo me va de cimarrón." Bataklán has a strong hip-hop/reggaeton connection, most notably through their collaborations with Tego Calderón and the fact that one of Bataklán’s lead singers is reggaeton artist Abrante.
** Though both “liberation theology” and “liberation mythology” are concerned with the connections between spirituality and social justice, the history of “liberation theology” as a concept is so firmly grounded in Christian traditions that (though in theory what I’m talking about is a type of liberation theology) in practice for me to use “liberation theology” would create more confusion.
*** Kelley has one chapter called “Keeping It Surreal” that deals with the surreal or mythological aspects of freedom dreaming, but his book doesn’t just focus on the surreal.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Reimagining Latino Hip-Hop in the 21st Century
Tomorrow I'll be speaking at the Dislocated Performances: Reimagining Latino Hip-Hop in the 21st Century symposium at Duke University organized by the Program for Latino/a Studies in the Global South. I'm looking forward to listening and dialoging with my amazing co-presenters!Dislocated Performances:
Reimagining Latino Hip-Hop in the 21st Century
March 19, 2010
East Campus Union, Upper East Side
Duke University
9:30 am-5:00 pm
Free and open to the public.
How does Hip Hop speak to the day-to-day existence of Latinos in the present age of multiculturalism, globalization, and Obama? How might we read Hip Hop in different ways now, examining how it also dislocates and recalibrates Latinidad? As older and newer generations of U.S. Latinos together redefine the stakes of political action, they elucidate the margins, borders, and crossroads that U.S. Latinos inhabit. These "interstitial spaces" leave room for broader notions of Latino identities, incorporating those “others” who are also always dislocated and "out of place." This one-day workshop will engage the work of activists and prominent scholars in performance and cultural studies, examining the performances of race, gender, sexuality and Latinidad within Hip Hop and the political possibilities of "dislocation."
Featuring:
Rosa Clemente, 2008 Green Party VP Candidate, Hip Hop activist, journalist and radio host (WBAI 99.5 Fm, NYC)
Pancho McFarland, author of Chicano Rap: gender and violence in the postindustrial barrio (2008)
Jose Munoz, author of Disidentifications (1999) and Cruising Utopia: the then and there of queer futurity (2009)
Mark Anthony Neal, co-editor of That’s the joint! The Hip Hop Studies Reader (2004) and author of New Black Man (2005)
Raquel Z. Rivera, author of New York Ricans from the Hip hop zone (2003) and co-editor of Reggaeton (2009)
Alexandra T. Vazquez, author of the forthcoming Instrumental Migrations: The Critical Turns of Cuban Music, and co-editor of a forthcoming anthology on La Lupe (Duke University Press).
Program:
9:30 am Continental breakfast
10:15-12:00 pm
Panel I: Over Turn-ing Tables: Sex, Gender,and Trespassing in Latino Hip-Hop
Pancho McFarland: “Quien es Mas Macho? Quien es Mas Mexicano?:Chicano Identities in Rap”
Jose Munoz: “Browness, Aesthetics and Contagion”
Alexandra T. Vazquez: “We Don’t Live for Latino Studies, (Latino Studies) It Lives For Us”
12:00-1:15 pm Music and Lunch
1:15-3:00 pm
Panel II: Los suenos de los fantasmas que marchan: The Liberation Dreams of an Un-seen Army
Rosa Clemente: “when a black puerto rican woman ran for vice president and nobody knew her name"
Mark Anthony Neal: “History of Hip-Hop Before Hip-Hop”
Raquel Z. Rivera: “Liberation Mythologies: Art, Spirit and Justice”
3:00 pm-5:00 pm Music and Reception featuring DJ Miraculous
Location: Duke University, East Campus Union, Upper East Side. (See map: http://maps.oit.duke.edu/building/136. Building is labeled in Red as “Marketplace.”)
Parking reserved on East Campus quad for conference attendees. Turn onto Campus Drive from Main Street and follow traffic to move straight forward, past the bus stop, to the long, oval grassy area in between buildings. Look for signs and a parking attendant.
Presented by the Program in Latino/a Studies in the Global South, Duke University
Monday, March 08, 2010
Reggaeton & Its "Radical Feminist Queer Sex Positive Potential"
How did I miss this provocative post from 9/09 at the Post Pomo Nuyorican Homo blog?!
Marisol LeBrón offers a short and insightful take on La Performera's video "Tortillera". The back and forth comments at the end between Marisol and "n" are equally insightful.
Here's La Performera's video, but make sure you check Marisol's blog post on it.
Marisol LeBrón offers a short and insightful take on La Performera's video "Tortillera". The back and forth comments at the end between Marisol and "n" are equally insightful.
Here's La Performera's video, but make sure you check Marisol's blog post on it.
Wednesday, February 03, 2010
New Muslim Cool: NYU Screening/Discussion
Yet another angle on Puerto Rican / Latino experiences in hip hop! I was only able to catch part of the documentary when it aired on PBS, so I'm definitely looking forward to more at this event.
New Muslim Cool: Screening/Panel Discussion
Friday, February 5th, 4:00 pm- 7:00 pm, The King Juan Carlos Center Screening Room, 53 Washington Square South
New Muslim Cool follows the story of Hamza Perez, a Puerto-Rican American young Muslim hip-hop artist confronting the realities of the post-9/11 world. Followed by a panel discussion with the filmmaker, Hamza Pérez, Zaheer Ali (Columbia U), and artist Popmaster Fabel. Moderated by Imam Khalid Latif (NYU Islamic Center). This event is sponsored by: Center for Media, Culture and History, Center for Religion and Media, The Center for Multicultural Education and Programs, The Center for Spiritual Life, Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies, Hemispheric Institute of Performance and Politics, Kevorkian Center, NYU’s Islamic Center, Department of Social & Cultural Analysis/Program in Latino Studies.
New Muslim Cool: Screening/Panel Discussion
Friday, February 5th, 4:00 pm- 7:00 pm, The King Juan Carlos Center Screening Room, 53 Washington Square South
New Muslim Cool follows the story of Hamza Perez, a Puerto-Rican American young Muslim hip-hop artist confronting the realities of the post-9/11 world. Followed by a panel discussion with the filmmaker, Hamza Pérez, Zaheer Ali (Columbia U), and artist Popmaster Fabel. Moderated by Imam Khalid Latif (NYU Islamic Center). This event is sponsored by: Center for Media, Culture and History, Center for Religion and Media, The Center for Multicultural Education and Programs, The Center for Spiritual Life, Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies, Hemispheric Institute of Performance and Politics, Kevorkian Center, NYU’s Islamic Center, Department of Social & Cultural Analysis/Program in Latino Studies.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Reggaeton's 'Hurban Renewal'
Here's yet another example of why I'm a fan of ethnomusicologist/blogger/DJ (plus my dear compi and co-editor) Wayne Marshall. Check his most recent blog post titled "Hurban Renewal" where he again focuses on reggaeton: it's qué fue, qué es and qué será.
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
El reggaetón ya está en la academia pero [...]
Me complazco en compartir un artículo reciente sobre nuestro libro Reggaeton. Lo escribió Eduardo Corrales para www.iblnews.com. Corrales es de los pocos periodistas que se ha tomado la molestia de leer el libro y escuchar mis planteamientos con detenimiento. ¡Gracias Eduardo!
Raquel Z. Rivera: El reggaetón ya está en la academia pero todavia demanda una mayor exploración
26/12/2009 - 17:42
EDUARDO CORRALES, IBLNEWS
Para leer el artículo completo, haga click aquí.
Raquel Z. Rivera: El reggaetón ya está en la academia pero todavia demanda una mayor exploración
26/12/2009 - 17:42
EDUARDO CORRALES, IBLNEWS
Para leer el artículo completo, haga click aquí.
Monday, November 23, 2009
Nación reggaetón (Nueva Sociedad no. 223)
La revista Nueva Sociedad de Argentina (no. 223) acaba de publicar el ensayo "Nación reggaetón" que co-escribí con Frances Negrón-Muntaner. ¡Aprovechen, que el artículo se puede descargar GRATIS! Es una versión traducida y actualizada del artículo "Reggaeton Nation" que publicamos en la revista de NACLA.
Aquí un resumen del artículo:
Nacido en los barrios pobres de Puerto Rico, el reggaetón fue combatido en sus inicios, acusado de corruptor y de promover el perreo, un baile considerado soez. Pero con el tiempo se ha ido expandiendo y sofisticando hasta convertirse en un éxito mundial y en el principal producto de exportación musical de Puerto Rico. El género pone en evidencia la centralidad de las diásporas africanas en la cultura local y sugiere que lo local está compuesto de culturas globalizadas.
Aquí un resumen del artículo:
Nacido en los barrios pobres de Puerto Rico, el reggaetón fue combatido en sus inicios, acusado de corruptor y de promover el perreo, un baile considerado soez. Pero con el tiempo se ha ido expandiendo y sofisticando hasta convertirse en un éxito mundial y en el principal producto de exportación musical de Puerto Rico. El género pone en evidencia la centralidad de las diásporas africanas en la cultura local y sugiere que lo local está compuesto de culturas globalizadas.
Friday, November 13, 2009
Marisol LeBrón on Reggaeton's Future
Check Marisol LeBrón's insightful take on "Reggaeton's Futurity."
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Ivy Queen vs. Victoria Sanabria
Finally! A Trovatón episode that I've actually enjoyed and hasn't made me squirm. I usually suffer an acute case of "pena ajena" (feeling ashamed for somebody else) because the trovadores tend to leave the reggaetoneros in the dust. But, I have to admit, sometimes it's been the trovadores that make their own selves look bad. Plus those disrespectful low blows from either side also kill any potential joy for me.
But this episode had plenty of respect flowing from both sides. Victoria held her own when she rapped. And Ivy Queen sang jíbaro style and did pretty good, though not holding herself tightly to the complicated constraints of the décima. I wonder if the loose interpretation was on purpose or if its just that improvising in true décima style was beyond Ivy's means. Whatever the case may be, much respect to both these women.
But this episode had plenty of respect flowing from both sides. Victoria held her own when she rapped. And Ivy Queen sang jíbaro style and did pretty good, though not holding herself tightly to the complicated constraints of the décima. I wonder if the loose interpretation was on purpose or if its just that improvising in true décima style was beyond Ivy's means. Whatever the case may be, much respect to both these women.
Sunday, November 01, 2009
November 12, 2009: Princeton University, NJ
Roundtable at Princeton University, NJ, featuring scholars and artists Raquel Z. Rivera, Wayne Marshall, Marisol LeBron, Miguel Luciano, Ines "Deevani" Rooney and DJ El Niño.
Friday, October 09, 2009
Afro-Dominicana: Music from the Other Dominican Republic
A few months ago I blogged about "Regaeton Roundup" on the AfroPop Worldwide radio show. Well, AfroPop just came out with a groundbreaking new program titled Afro-Dominicana: Music from the Other Dominican Republic.
While Afro-Cuban and Afro-Brazilian traditions get a lot of shine on the world stage, and Afro-Puerto Rican traditions have been getting a bit more shine recently, the celebration of Afro-Dominican music and culture has been notably lagging behind.
A few years back reggaeton/hip-hop group Del Patio did a collaboration with Ilú Ayé titled "Lo palo." Ilú Ayé, as usual, did a great job. And I was happy to see an urban music group like Del Patio link themselves to Dominican roots music through their collaboration with Ilú Ayé. I won't say much about the many reasons why I think that production left a lot to be desired. Judge for yourself. I'll just say I'm not feeling the use of Afro-Dominican music as a splash of color on otherwise drab and cliché urban music formulas.
What I'm hoping is that shows like AfroPop's Afro-Dominicana: Music from the Other Dominican Republic and the Quijombo Festival this week in the Bronx and the Afro-Dominican drumming/dance classes organized by The Legacy Circle in Harlem will motivate and challenge urban music artists to do excellent and inspired productions that draw from the roots.
Here's a plug for an artist that does an amazing job at fusing urban and roots music: Rita Indiana. Ok, so Rita might not be primarily a hip-hop or reggaeton artist but she definitely draws from that type of urban music. She's one of the artists featured on AfroPop's Afro-Dominicana show. Here's one of her songs, "Encendía," from her earlier work as part of the duo Miti Miti.
And a more recent song, as frontwoman of Rita Indiana y Los Misterios, titled "El Blu del Pin Pon."
Not that Rita holds all the answers. But she definitely has a great one.
P.S.
Found two more, for good measure: dembow and palos inflected to boot!
I can't say enough about the lyrics. How can that childhood tale of sharing in "Da pa lo do" be so tender, heartwrenching and hilarious at once?
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
When Hip-Hop and Reggaeton Collide
Check out Allison Desir's piece "When Hip-Hop and Reggaeton Collide" in The Mantle: A Forum for Progressive Critique. The article pays close attention to issues of race and ethnicity, and features interviews with music industry executives. Plenty of fascinating stuff here!
Friday, September 04, 2009
Parodiando la cultura urbana latina
Tato Torres just posted this on my FaceBook page:
And this is the conversation that followed:
Raquel Z. Rivera
Annoying, smug and misinformed... yes. And at the same time I had to laugh out loud a few times. It also had a few witty moments. I can't help thinking how we ("Latinos" in the US, urban music artists and fans...) leave ourselves open to this kind of caricature for falling into cliches... por cabezones.
Tato Torres Sáez
It is exactly the point he is making, he very clearly and cleverly states in the beggining: "por suerte hay hermanos latinoamericanos viviendo en NY... y gracias entonces a nuestros hermanos anglosajones en los EEUU que toman de ellos la cultura latina, la embasan y la difunden poco a poco hoy en nuestros barrios, podemos ver lo latino presente..."
yet you gotta love the "perreo simulator" LOL
"mi verdadero nombre es Mariano Grumberg Hollester Junguersen Smith, pero soy Latino" ¡JA!
Raquel Z. Rivera
Wow... I somehow missed the "la envasan y la difunden poco a poco hoy en nuestros barrios" criticism. Now I like this even more. I initially thought it was a simplistic caricature. But now I see it's more. And, yes, the perreo simulator was one of my favorite parts. And also the "papá cómprame las zapatillas blancas" bit.
Tato Torres Sáez
exactly!.. the guy is geniusly making a joke about the commercially distributed "packaged" generic concept of "Latinos," which is obviously formed on a stereotypical "Nuyorican" image.
And this is the conversation that followed:
Raquel Z. Rivera
Annoying, smug and misinformed... yes. And at the same time I had to laugh out loud a few times. It also had a few witty moments. I can't help thinking how we ("Latinos" in the US, urban music artists and fans...) leave ourselves open to this kind of caricature for falling into cliches... por cabezones.
Tato Torres Sáez
It is exactly the point he is making, he very clearly and cleverly states in the beggining: "por suerte hay hermanos latinoamericanos viviendo en NY... y gracias entonces a nuestros hermanos anglosajones en los EEUU que toman de ellos la cultura latina, la embasan y la difunden poco a poco hoy en nuestros barrios, podemos ver lo latino presente..."
yet you gotta love the "perreo simulator" LOL
"mi verdadero nombre es Mariano Grumberg Hollester Junguersen Smith, pero soy Latino" ¡JA!
Raquel Z. Rivera
Wow... I somehow missed the "la envasan y la difunden poco a poco hoy en nuestros barrios" criticism. Now I like this even more. I initially thought it was a simplistic caricature. But now I see it's more. And, yes, the perreo simulator was one of my favorite parts. And also the "papá cómprame las zapatillas blancas" bit.
Tato Torres Sáez
exactly!.. the guy is geniusly making a joke about the commercially distributed "packaged" generic concept of "Latinos," which is obviously formed on a stereotypical "Nuyorican" image.
Friday, August 07, 2009
Reggaeton as MTV-grade Pop
Wisín and Yandel's "Abusadora" is nominated for an MTV Video Music Award in the best pop video category. The other nominees are: Lady Gaga, Beyonce, Cobra Starship and Britney Spears. Hhmmm...
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think a reggaeton or Latino urban music act has been nominated to the SAME category (in one of these big deal awards) as pop megastars like Britney and the others. Right? In that case, while no reggaeton song has ever matched the ubiquity of "Gasolina," this nomination seems like yet another type of milestone for reggaeton.
I know... I know... "Abusadora" is dembow-less, so is it still reggaeton?
But while we try to figure that one out, Entertainment Weekly's Simon Vozick-Levinson celebrates the nomination as a "welcome (if unexpected) step toward breaking down genre barriers," adding, "as far as I’m concerned, labels like 'pop' and 'reggaeton' confuse more than they enlighten, anyway."
So as he celebrates the breaking-down of barriers, Vozick-Levinson is still calling it reggaeton.
Marisol has the following to add: "Of course depending on how people view this nomination, this might only lend credence to the claim that reggaeton is dead."
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think a reggaeton or Latino urban music act has been nominated to the SAME category (in one of these big deal awards) as pop megastars like Britney and the others. Right? In that case, while no reggaeton song has ever matched the ubiquity of "Gasolina," this nomination seems like yet another type of milestone for reggaeton.
I know... I know... "Abusadora" is dembow-less, so is it still reggaeton?
But while we try to figure that one out, Entertainment Weekly's Simon Vozick-Levinson celebrates the nomination as a "welcome (if unexpected) step toward breaking down genre barriers," adding, "as far as I’m concerned, labels like 'pop' and 'reggaeton' confuse more than they enlighten, anyway."
So as he celebrates the breaking-down of barriers, Vozick-Levinson is still calling it reggaeton.
Marisol has the following to add: "Of course depending on how people view this nomination, this might only lend credence to the claim that reggaeton is dead."
Monday, August 03, 2009
How can "she" be dead?
Hey Raquel,
Hope all is well. A friend sent me the new Joell Ortiz song on Hip Hop dying and I thought about you. Creo que lo que dice aplica al Reggeaton tambien...no se si algun reggaetonero ha escrito sobre "la muerte anunciada" del reggeaton. Dejame saber si sabes de alguna cancion.
Paz,
Rox
(Roxanna García González)
Wow... thanks so much for this link.
"How can she be dead when she's a spirit?" BEAUTIFUL!
I haven't seen the equivalent of these types of songs in reggaeton. Just statements by artists.
Again, thank you!
RZ
(Raquel Z. Rivera)
Hope all is well. A friend sent me the new Joell Ortiz song on Hip Hop dying and I thought about you. Creo que lo que dice aplica al Reggeaton tambien...no se si algun reggaetonero ha escrito sobre "la muerte anunciada" del reggeaton. Dejame saber si sabes de alguna cancion.
Paz,
Rox
(Roxanna García González)
Wow... thanks so much for this link.
"How can she be dead when she's a spirit?" BEAUTIFUL!
I haven't seen the equivalent of these types of songs in reggaeton. Just statements by artists.
Again, thank you!
RZ
(Raquel Z. Rivera)
Friday, July 31, 2009
Reggaeton Roundup on AfroPop Worldwide
AfroPop Worldwide just made available a streaming version of their recent program on reggaeton history titled Reggaeton Roundup. It will stay online only for a couple of months, so check it out before they take it off.
The show is a great trip down memory lane and I'm pleased to say it does not focus on the same old, same old!
The show opens up with one of my favorite urban music tracks ever "Ni fú ni fá" by Tego Calderón (which should have won that Grammy); goes through classic Jamaican dancehall tracks like "Bam Bam"; weaves together early 90s reggae en español, rap en español, merenrap and underground tracks by El General, Vico C, Lisa M, Three Gangstas, Gringo and Baby Rasta, Daddy Yankee and Ivy Queen; goes on great sidetracks like discussing Brazilian baile funk and its connections to Miami bass; and features dembow-less songs like La Sista's "Yemayá" and Calle 13's "La Jirafa" that still retain reggaeton's swaying hip-grinding effect; among many other welcome and unexpected musical highlights.
Omar García's interview, interspersed throughout the show, provides a great narrative thread by an artist who became an underground star at 14 years old (O.G.M. of underground fame) and is today an eclectic and insightful rapper/singersongwriter who draws from hip-hop, trip-hop, trova and rock, among other sources. The show also has Residente Calle 13 making some provocative statements (surprise, surprise).
Also, check field producer Marlon Bishop's narrative on reggaeton and his anecdotes from his trip to Puerto Rico while working on the show. It has great quotes from Dulce Coco, Tatá and Welmo that do not appear on the show.
Also, for folks in Puerto Rico (or not), the program will be airing on Radio Universidad WRTU on the program "Rumba Africana", on Sat Aug. 8 and Tues Aug. 11. If you're not in Puerto Rico, you can still listen to the show via internet.
The show is a great trip down memory lane and I'm pleased to say it does not focus on the same old, same old!
The show opens up with one of my favorite urban music tracks ever "Ni fú ni fá" by Tego Calderón (which should have won that Grammy); goes through classic Jamaican dancehall tracks like "Bam Bam"; weaves together early 90s reggae en español, rap en español, merenrap and underground tracks by El General, Vico C, Lisa M, Three Gangstas, Gringo and Baby Rasta, Daddy Yankee and Ivy Queen; goes on great sidetracks like discussing Brazilian baile funk and its connections to Miami bass; and features dembow-less songs like La Sista's "Yemayá" and Calle 13's "La Jirafa" that still retain reggaeton's swaying hip-grinding effect; among many other welcome and unexpected musical highlights.
Omar García's interview, interspersed throughout the show, provides a great narrative thread by an artist who became an underground star at 14 years old (O.G.M. of underground fame) and is today an eclectic and insightful rapper/singersongwriter who draws from hip-hop, trip-hop, trova and rock, among other sources. The show also has Residente Calle 13 making some provocative statements (surprise, surprise).
Also, check field producer Marlon Bishop's narrative on reggaeton and his anecdotes from his trip to Puerto Rico while working on the show. It has great quotes from Dulce Coco, Tatá and Welmo that do not appear on the show.
Also, for folks in Puerto Rico (or not), the program will be airing on Radio Universidad WRTU on the program "Rumba Africana", on Sat Aug. 8 and Tues Aug. 11. If you're not in Puerto Rico, you can still listen to the show via internet.
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Is it still reggaeton?
According to mun2's 18 and over countdown host Guadalupe, "reggaeton" has taken over their show. (At least the episode I was watching yesterday, Saturday July 25th.)
Don Omar, Franco El Gorila, RKM & Ken-Y, Tito El Bambino, Alexis & Fido and Wisín & Yandel were the artists on the countdown that Guadalupe mentioned to prove his point. Interesting: none of those artists' songs on the countdown feature the dembow rhythm that originally gave the genre its name. But Guadalupe still called the genre they make "reggaeton." And as further proof that "reggaeton" just keeps getting bigger, he mentioned how the Merriam-Webster dictionary just added an entry for "reggaeton."
So, if people insist on calling it reggaeton, is it still reggaeton?
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
July 17: Estilo Hip-Hop and Reggaeton at B&N
JULY 17, 7:00 PM
BARNES & NOBLE
LINCOLN TRIANGLE (66 STREET AND BROADWAY)
NEW YORK, NY
Estilo Hip-Hop and Reggaeton double feature:
screening, book presentation and dialogue
I have the honor of presenting the book I just co-edited titled Reggaeton (Duke University Press, 2009) alongside the documentary Estilo Hip-Hop on Friday, July 17, 2009 at 7 PM. The event is part of a series organized by the Latino Artists Round Table at the Barnes & Noble at Lincoln Triangle (66 Street and Broadway).
Estilo Hip-Hop is a powerful documentary that chronicles the lives of three hip-hop enthusiasts from Chile, Cuba and Brazil, focusing on the ways that art and youth politics connect. It first aired nationally on Global Voices on PBS WORLD, Sunday June 28, 2009. For upcoming showtimes, check www.estilohiphop.net. Here's the trailer:
ESTILO HIP HOP Trailer from 1SOULDESIGNS on Vimeo.
Reggaeton is the anthology I co-edited with Wayne Marshall and Deborah Pacini Hernandez that explores reggaeton’s local roots and its transnational dissemination. The book also discusses the genre’s aesthetics, particularly in relation to those of hip-hop and reggae; and explores the debates about race, nation, gender, and sexuality generated by the music and its associated cultural practices.
From hip-hop to reggaeton, this July 17th event will be devoted to Latin American and Latino youth culture, popular music, politics and education.
I am extremely happy that my co-presenters that night will be the Estilo Hip-Hop directors, Loira Limbal and Vee Bravo, fellow beat junkies who love music just as much as they love the dreams of freedom that music can inspire.
Plus I just found out that the visual artist responsible for Reggaeton's platinum plátano cover, Miguel Luciano, will be joining us as well!
BARNES & NOBLE
LINCOLN TRIANGLE (66 STREET AND BROADWAY)
NEW YORK, NY
Estilo Hip-Hop and Reggaeton double feature:
screening, book presentation and dialogue
I have the honor of presenting the book I just co-edited titled Reggaeton (Duke University Press, 2009) alongside the documentary Estilo Hip-Hop on Friday, July 17, 2009 at 7 PM. The event is part of a series organized by the Latino Artists Round Table at the Barnes & Noble at Lincoln Triangle (66 Street and Broadway).
Estilo Hip-Hop is a powerful documentary that chronicles the lives of three hip-hop enthusiasts from Chile, Cuba and Brazil, focusing on the ways that art and youth politics connect. It first aired nationally on Global Voices on PBS WORLD, Sunday June 28, 2009. For upcoming showtimes, check www.estilohiphop.net. Here's the trailer:
ESTILO HIP HOP Trailer from 1SOULDESIGNS on Vimeo.
Reggaeton is the anthology I co-edited with Wayne Marshall and Deborah Pacini Hernandez that explores reggaeton’s local roots and its transnational dissemination. The book also discusses the genre’s aesthetics, particularly in relation to those of hip-hop and reggae; and explores the debates about race, nation, gender, and sexuality generated by the music and its associated cultural practices.
From hip-hop to reggaeton, this July 17th event will be devoted to Latin American and Latino youth culture, popular music, politics and education.
I am extremely happy that my co-presenters that night will be the Estilo Hip-Hop directors, Loira Limbal and Vee Bravo, fellow beat junkies who love music just as much as they love the dreams of freedom that music can inspire.
Plus I just found out that the visual artist responsible for Reggaeton's platinum plátano cover, Miguel Luciano, will be joining us as well!
Monday, July 13, 2009
"Reggaeton" in Merriam-Webster Dictionary
I found out this weekend from a FaceBook note by Nuyorican poet and educator Mariposa that "reggaeton" was added to the 2009 updated version of the Merriam-Webster Dictionary. To read Mariposa's note click on her FaceBook link or read below.
In turn, she found out the news through a FaceBook post by Lance Rios of Being Latino. Check the comments to his post. They're a great example of how the conversation around reggaeton tends to stay at the love the music / hate the music level. That's what I like so much about Mariposa's take on it: she goes beyond the love it / hate it dichotomy.
The first thing that struck me about the news is that "reggaeton" made it into this English-language dictionary before it made it into the Diccionario de La Real Academia Española. Neither "reggaetón" nor "reguetón" has made it into the RAE dictionary yet. Hhhmmmm... So if the Solo Para Reggaeton folks are pissed at Merriam-Webster for (among other things) taking so long to include "reggaeton" in their dictionary, I can only imagine what they'll say about the Real Academia Española.
Here's the Merriam-Webster dictionary entry:
reg·gae·ton
Pronunciation:
\ˌre-gā-ˈtōn, ˌrā-\
Function:
noun
Etymology:
American Spanish reggaetón, from reggae reggae + -ton (as in Spanish maratón marathon)
Date:
2002
: popular music of Puerto Rican origin that combines rap with Caribbean rhythms
And here's Mariposa's post:
Toast of Recognition to Reggaeton
by Mariposa
The word REGGAETON was recently added to the American Merriam-Webster Dictionary which is highly significant. It is no easy feat to create a word that makes the dictionary. It has to be a word that deeply permeates American culture in usage, meaning and context, often times through literature and music. Language is created and re-invented every day. And language shapes and creates our reality. Language is the essence of our experience. It’s derived from it and it creates it; from language springs everything.
Whether you like the music form or not, take this as an opportunity to pay attention. Pay attention to exactly how powerful we are. There are many other words that can be found in Webster’s Dictionary that are evidence of our presence and power. Yes, the word Spanglish can be found in Webster’s, as well as Latino, Latina, Chicano, Chicana and Tejano. Nuyorican was added to Webster’s about 4 years ago. The addition of the words, Chicana/o and Nuyorican can be attributed in part to the influence of the Chicano/Tejano, and Nuyorican poetry movements, specifically the work of Pedro Pietri, Miguel Piñero, Jesus Papoleto Melendez, Jose Montoya, Alurista, Raul Salinas, Cherrie L. Moraga, Sandra María Esteves, Aurora Levins Morales, Magdalena Gomez and countless others.
Other words that have made it to Webster’s that reflect our contribution to music, dance and our influence in shaping the American cultural landscape are: Salsa, Merengue and Rumba. For all you Bachata lovers…Sorry! The word has not yet made it to Websters Dictionary. Neither has Cumbia, Bomba or Plena.
Like it or not Reggaeton is here to stay. We are more than a decade deep in the Reggaeton timeline. People thought Reggaethon was just a fad that would fizzle out but it went global a long time ago. Like Hip Hop, Reggaeton is popular as far away as Japan. It shows the power of our presence as Latinos in the United States; the power to influence not only American Pop Culture but Global Pop Culture and the ability to create new industries. We have the power to make phenomenal things happen. The question is what we do with that power.
If you are a fan of Reggaeton, you have reason to celebrate the music genre making it to Webster’s Dictionary. If you're not a fan, keep in mind that celebrating does not necessarily mean condoning the materialism, sexism, misogyny and negative content found in many (but not all) Reggaeton songs and videos. There are artists who defy the negative stereotypes like Calle 13, whose political and lyrical genius cannot be easily dismissed and demonstrate the potential of Reggaeton to create social change as well as entertain.
Making it to Webster's is an accomplishment that is quite phenomenal. It only took Reggaeton about a decade to make Webster's unlike many of the words mentioned . This is definitely something to give props to, respect, be proud of and yes, celebrate! Reggaeton is a reflection of who we are as Latinos -- multifaceted and something that cannot be generalized, simplified or put in a box. I encourage people to check out the new book Reggaeton by Raquel Z. Rivera, Wayne Marshall and Deborah Pacini Hernandez.
I also encourage people to go to http://www.merriam-webster.com/ and look up what Webster has to say on the meanings and etymology of the words mentioned and the years the words came into play in the United States. It’s fascinating. Maybe you’ll find words that I didn’t that also speak to our collective power. No matter what you think about Reggaeton or it making it to Webster’s Dictionary, BEING LATINO IS BEING POWERFUL. WORD!
In turn, she found out the news through a FaceBook post by Lance Rios of Being Latino. Check the comments to his post. They're a great example of how the conversation around reggaeton tends to stay at the love the music / hate the music level. That's what I like so much about Mariposa's take on it: she goes beyond the love it / hate it dichotomy.
The first thing that struck me about the news is that "reggaeton" made it into this English-language dictionary before it made it into the Diccionario de La Real Academia Española. Neither "reggaetón" nor "reguetón" has made it into the RAE dictionary yet. Hhhmmmm... So if the Solo Para Reggaeton folks are pissed at Merriam-Webster for (among other things) taking so long to include "reggaeton" in their dictionary, I can only imagine what they'll say about the Real Academia Española.
Here's the Merriam-Webster dictionary entry:
reg·gae·ton
Pronunciation:
\ˌre-gā-ˈtōn, ˌrā-\
Function:
noun
Etymology:
American Spanish reggaetón, from reggae reggae + -ton (as in Spanish maratón marathon)
Date:
2002
: popular music of Puerto Rican origin that combines rap with Caribbean rhythms
And here's Mariposa's post:
Toast of Recognition to Reggaeton
by Mariposa
The word REGGAETON was recently added to the American Merriam-Webster Dictionary which is highly significant. It is no easy feat to create a word that makes the dictionary. It has to be a word that deeply permeates American culture in usage, meaning and context, often times through literature and music. Language is created and re-invented every day. And language shapes and creates our reality. Language is the essence of our experience. It’s derived from it and it creates it; from language springs everything.
Whether you like the music form or not, take this as an opportunity to pay attention. Pay attention to exactly how powerful we are. There are many other words that can be found in Webster’s Dictionary that are evidence of our presence and power. Yes, the word Spanglish can be found in Webster’s, as well as Latino, Latina, Chicano, Chicana and Tejano. Nuyorican was added to Webster’s about 4 years ago. The addition of the words, Chicana/o and Nuyorican can be attributed in part to the influence of the Chicano/Tejano, and Nuyorican poetry movements, specifically the work of Pedro Pietri, Miguel Piñero, Jesus Papoleto Melendez, Jose Montoya, Alurista, Raul Salinas, Cherrie L. Moraga, Sandra María Esteves, Aurora Levins Morales, Magdalena Gomez and countless others.
Other words that have made it to Webster’s that reflect our contribution to music, dance and our influence in shaping the American cultural landscape are: Salsa, Merengue and Rumba. For all you Bachata lovers…Sorry! The word has not yet made it to Websters Dictionary. Neither has Cumbia, Bomba or Plena.
Like it or not Reggaeton is here to stay. We are more than a decade deep in the Reggaeton timeline. People thought Reggaethon was just a fad that would fizzle out but it went global a long time ago. Like Hip Hop, Reggaeton is popular as far away as Japan. It shows the power of our presence as Latinos in the United States; the power to influence not only American Pop Culture but Global Pop Culture and the ability to create new industries. We have the power to make phenomenal things happen. The question is what we do with that power.
If you are a fan of Reggaeton, you have reason to celebrate the music genre making it to Webster’s Dictionary. If you're not a fan, keep in mind that celebrating does not necessarily mean condoning the materialism, sexism, misogyny and negative content found in many (but not all) Reggaeton songs and videos. There are artists who defy the negative stereotypes like Calle 13, whose political and lyrical genius cannot be easily dismissed and demonstrate the potential of Reggaeton to create social change as well as entertain.
Making it to Webster's is an accomplishment that is quite phenomenal. It only took Reggaeton about a decade to make Webster's unlike many of the words mentioned . This is definitely something to give props to, respect, be proud of and yes, celebrate! Reggaeton is a reflection of who we are as Latinos -- multifaceted and something that cannot be generalized, simplified or put in a box. I encourage people to check out the new book Reggaeton by Raquel Z. Rivera, Wayne Marshall and Deborah Pacini Hernandez.
I also encourage people to go to http://www.merriam-webster.com/ and look up what Webster has to say on the meanings and etymology of the words mentioned and the years the words came into play in the United States. It’s fascinating. Maybe you’ll find words that I didn’t that also speak to our collective power. No matter what you think about Reggaeton or it making it to Webster’s Dictionary, BEING LATINO IS BEING POWERFUL. WORD!
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