Puerto Rican Music in the United States
Music has always been a pervasive symbol of identity. It is a mode of expression that crosses gender, ethnicity and age. One need not understand the lyrics to identify with a musical genre; identification can be found through rhythm, tone of music, as well as other techniques in the music, unrelated to words. For example, most operas are in Italian and obviously everyone that attends an opera, does not speak or understand Italian. However, the audience is moved by the emotion conveyed through tone, facial expressions, and beat of the music. I believe this is relevant to the situation of Puerto Rican forms of music, and its success when Puerto Rican musicians migrated to the United States. Original forms had to be adopted to become popular in the United States, often assuming a heavier dance beat, but when the songs and musicians did become popular, it was not because a majority of Americans understood the lyrics in Spanish. For Americans, it was because the music provided lively background entertainment. However, for the Puerto Ricans, it meant much more. The music symbolized their background and struggles, what it means to be Puerto Rican.
In New York, Puerto Rican musical traditions evolved in accordance with societal change. This was necessary in a society, as Glasser describes “where Puerto Ricans lived among a constellation of constantly changing ethnic groups within a protean social environment”(Glasser, 7). In Puerto Rico there are diverse groups, with different traditions of politics, economics, and music. When Puerto Ricans migrate to the United States, they unite under an identity as “Puerto Ricans” but there is still diversity within. Furthermore, I believe it is the Ameri...
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... difficult as Americans commercialized the entire profession and employment became near obsolete for those trained musicians. In the U.S. music serves as a representation of the identity of the Puerto Rican, just as it does for other cultures. Puerto Ricans became disillusioned at the prospect of remaining in Puerto Rico as Rafael Hernández sang- “Piensa remediar la situación/del hogar, que es toda una ilusión.” (Glasser, 165) Music provides a socially acceptable way to express disgust and disillusionment with the status quo and communicate one's identity.
Bibliography
Glasser, Ruth, My Music is My Flag: Puerto Rican Musicians in New York and their Communities, 1917-1940. (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1996).
Oct. 29: Puerto Rican Music Between Rafael Hernandez and Rafael Cortijo. Guest Lecture by Prof. Lise Waxer, Music Dept., Trinity College
After reading the play “Songcatcher”, by Darby Fitzgerald, as well as looking at an interview done with Evie Mark, their stories revealed the same key concepts; the dilemmas they face while trying to revive Native American Music. Both of these men felt as if they needed to prove who they were to everyone around them. Making the journey to find the music from inside them a very personal one. The prime focuses in each are the struggles they face to revive the music passed down through their cultures history. They also show the persistence they have to “rekindle the fire” or the love music, within today’s younger Native generation. Both stories are inspirational to the identity crisis within these nations.
In order to understand the current situation of Puerto Ricans one must look at their history and retrace the sequence of events that led to the current formation of the Puerto Rican people. An important component of this history is the time Puerto Rico spent under Spanish rule. Studying this portion of Puerto Rican history forces us to acknowledge the contribution the Spaniards, European immigrants, and African slaves had on Puerto Rican identity as we consider it today. This also addresses contemporary debates on Puerto Rican identity. An example of this is evident in an essay written by Jose Luis Gonzales entitled "Puerto Rico : Th Four Storied Country". In the article Gonzales points out what he feels is a disregard toward the African contribution to the Puerto Rican identity. He argues that the first Puerto Ricans were black , based on his interpretation that Africans were the first group to come to Puerto Rico and reproduce who did not have ties to a "motherland" because they were slaves. This is unlike the Spaniard elites and Criolles that demonstrated their commitment and loyalty to Spain. Since they had no other place to go, Puerto Rico was their motherland. Gonzalez also points out that the culture of a region is always the culture of the elite, not the popular culture.
Ragland, Cathy. Música Norteña: Mexican Migrants Creating a Nation between Nations. Philadelphia, PA: Temple UP, 2009. Print.
...frican American Musicians as Artists, Critics, and Activists. Berkeley, CA: University of California, 2002. 54-100. EBSCOhost. Web. 8 May 2015.
Utz, Christian, and Frederick Lau. Vocal Music and Cultural Identity in Contemporary Music. New York: Routledge, 2013. Print.
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Lopez, Steve. The Soloist: A Lost Dream and an Unlikely Friendship, and Redemptive Power of Music. New York: Penguin Group, 2008. Print.
Tick, Judith, and Paul E. Beaudoin. Music in the USA: a Documentary Companion. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2008. Print.
In his book, From Bomba to Hip-hop: Puerto Rican Culture and Latino Identity, Juan Flores describes pop culture as “energized moments of freedom specific, local plays of power and flashes of collective imagination.” He continues to explain that culture becomes popular because it is created by those whom make up the majority, the poor and powerless. He states that the irony of popular culture is the dependence and desire for what is excluded and disdained (Flores, 2000). This phenomenon is well documented not only in music genres of other countries but also in our own music genres such as Gospel and Soul, even Country. All of these genres began from the disparaged or poor social classes. (find citation for
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