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.

August 2009

THURSDAY, AUGUST 27th, 10 PM
ALMA MOYO
@ CAMARADAS EL BARRIO



Please join me and the rest of the Alma Moyó crew, on Thursday, August 27th, 2009 at 10:00pm.

Location:
Camaradas Bar & Restaurant
2241 1st Ave / 115th street, NYC

Description, from Alma Moyó director Alex Lasalle:
"We as Children of the African Diaspora have the mission to always preserve our customs, beliefs, and ways of life. La Bomba being Puerto Rico's oldest living cultural tradition is Alma Moyo's Cosmic Mission. It is the reason for us doing what we do. Let us join in as a community, as a family, to celebrate at Camaradas Bar & Restaurant our Afro-Boricua/Afro-Caribbean Legacy to the sounds of Soul Stirring Drums, Uplifting Songs, and Captivating Dances. $5 Cover."

July 2009: Estilo Hip-Hop and Reggaeton double feature!

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 will be airing nationally on Global Voices on PBS WORLD on Sunday June 28, 2009. 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.

June 2009: Lectures, Panels & Performances

JUNE 11, 6:30 PM
CARIBBEAN CULTURAL CENTER
NEW YORK, NY

Click on image to enlarge:

Spring 2009: Lectures, Panels & Performances

FEBRUARY 26, 9PM
ALMA MOYO
@ CAMARADAS EL BARRIO

(Alma Moyó photo by Amy Ponce)

Please join me and the rest of the Alma Moyó crew, on Thursday, February 26, 2009 at 9:00pm.
Location:
Camaradas Bar & Restaurant
2241 1st Ave / 115th street, NYC
Description:
"We're back at Camaradas bringing you the sacred sounds of Puerto Rico's oldest living musical and cultural tradition La Bomba. Embracing our African roots while upholding our Afro-Boricua culture. Drums, dancing, drinking, friends, and great food, and a soul lifting night. $5 Cover."


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MARCH 7, 2PM
MOMMA'S HIP HOP KITCHEN
HOSTOS COMMUNITY COLLEGE

Please join me and a crew of New York bomberas as we drum, sing, pay homage to our ancestresses and open up the show at Momma's Hip Hop Kitchen vol. 2.




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MARCH 20, 6 PM
WOMEN OF POWER CONFERENCE
HUNTER COLLEGE

I'll be one of the panelists at the 4th Annual Women of Power Conference sponsored by GALCI (Global Afro Latino & Caribbean Initiative) and CCCADI ( Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute). The Keynote Speaker will be Council Member Melissa Mark-Viverito. Women of Power Conference is the coming together of Afro Latina activists from Latin America, the Caribbean, Central America and the United States. This year's program brings two international cultural activist from Bolivia and Brazil: Marfa Inofuentes and Rosana Silva Chagas. Also featuring Miriam Neptune, Loira Limbal, and Sandy Placido.

Lang Recital Hall, Hunter College
695 Park Avenue, Room 424 Hunter North
68th St Btw Lexington & Park Ave
Subway: 6 to 68th St


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APRIL 3, 3 PM
CENTER FOR AFRICAN AND AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDIES
UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN




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APRIL 9, 4:30 PM
CONNECTICUT COLLEGE, OLIN BUILDING 014
NEW LONDON, CT


Panel discussion titled "Does Hip Hop Hate Women?" featuring Bakari Kitwana (The Hip-Hop Generation), Dr. Raquel Z. Rivera (New York Ricans from the Hip-Hop Zone), Byron Hurt (Beyond Beats and Rhymes), Joan Morgan (When Chickenheads Come Home to Roost), and Dr. Tracy Sharpley-Whiting (Pimps Up, Ho’s Down). For more information contact: Heather Day at hday@conncoll.edu or by phone at 413-207-1274.


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APRIL 17
REGGAETON PANEL
E.M.P. POP MUSIC CONFERENCE
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON

2:00 - 3:45
iReggaetón! Perreo and Beyond panel discussion
Venue: JBL Theater
Reggaetón and especially perreo, the genre's doggystyle dance, has been accused of facilitating corruption. This discussion, keyed to a new book, links sympathetic and critical observers from the humanities and social sciences, visual artists and genre performers, and a perspective from Jamaica.
Moderated by: Alexandra Vazquez
Featuring: Wayne Marshall, Raquel Z. Rivera and Alexandra Vázquez

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APRIL 21 - APRIL 23
VISITING SCHOLAR
HAVENS CENTER FOR THE STUDY OF SOCIAL STRUCTURE & SOCIAL CHANGE
UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON

Lecture 1:
“Reggaeton's Socio-Sonic Circuitry: From Jamaica and New York, to Panama, Puerto Rico and Beyond”
Tuesday, April 21, 4pm, 206 Ingraham

Lecture 2:
“New York Bomba: Puerto Ricans, Dominicans and a Bridge Called Haiti”
Wednesday, April 22, 4 pm, 8417 Social Science

Open Seminar:
Thursday, April 23, 12:20 pm, 8108 Social Science


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MAY 7, 6:30 PM
HUNTER COLLEGE
FACULTY DINING ROOM,
WEST BUILDING 8TH FLOOR
NEW YORK CITY

Meet the Author: Book Party

Reggaeton
An anthology by Raquel Z. Rivera, Wayne Marshall and Deborah Pacini Hernández

Featured Speaker: Juan Flores, New York University
Presenters: Miguel Luciano, visual artist; Alexandra T. Vazquez, Princeton University; and Frances Negrón-Muntaner, Columbia University
Music by DJ Mellow G


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Winter 2008

I'll be singing with Alma Moyó this Friday December 19 at Camaradas! Join us for live bomba from Cataño, Mayagüez, Ponce, Moca, Santurce and other towns in Puerto Rico.

2241 First Avenue & East 115th Street
NYC, NY
#6 Train to E. 116th Street

Fall 2008

SEPTEMBER 18, 4:30 PM
SWARTHMORE COLLEGE, PA

Lecture sponsored by the Intercultural Center.

Title of presentation:
From Hip Hop to Reggaeton:
Gender, Blogging and Pedagogy

Description:
In this presentation I will discuss my experiences grappling with
gender, hip hop and reggaeton in the classroom, and how those
experiences led me to blogging as an outlet, a resource and a teaching
tool in itself.

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OCTOBER 4, 1:00 PM
PUERTO RICAN STUDIES ASSOCIATION CONFERENCE
CENTRO DE ESTUDIOS AVANZADOS DE PUERTO RICO Y EL CARIBE
SAN JUAN, PR

Panel presentation by 5 contributors of the forthcoming volume I co-edited titled Reggaeton (Duke University Press, Spring 2009).

“Reggaeton's Socio-Sonic Circuitry.” (paper co-written by Raquel Z. Rivera, Wayne Marshall and Deborah Pacini Hernandez)
Raquel Z. Rivera, Center for Puerto Rican Studies, Hunter College

“Poetry of Filth: The (Post) Reggaetonic Lyrics of Calle 13.”
Frances Negrón-Muntaner, professor at the English Department and Center for the Study of Ethnicity and Race, Columbia University

“Wrapped in Foil: Glory at 12 Words a Minute.”
Felix Jimenez, professor of media studies, Universidad del Sagrado Corazón

“A Man Lives Here: Reggaeton's Hypermasculine Resident.”
Alfredo Nieves Moreno, Dean, Universidad Metropolitana

“From Hip Hop to Reggaeton, Is There Only a Step?”
Welmo Romero Joseph, hip-hop artist and graduate student in media studies at Universidad Sagrado Corazón


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OCTOBER 8-11, 11:00 PM
Bomba and Plena afterparties at Camaradas, NEW YORK


I'll be there performing on Saturday with Alma Moyó and cheerleading the other days.


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OCTOBER 23, 6-8 PM
The Diaspora Strikes Back book release, New York University, NEW YORK

I'll be there to say a few words about this amazing book written by my friend and mentor Juan Flores and also to join guitarrist Alejandro Negrón and cuatrista Ariel Román in a musical example of how the Diaspora does strike back!