La Salsa y la Puertorriqueñidad

This project explores the history of salsa music and its current place in the context of Puerto Rico’s sociopolitical climate, examining reactions to salsa as a way of addressing two central questions: Firstly, is salsa considered a “legitimate” form of Puerto Rican expression? And second, how do Puerto Ricans and members of the Puerto Rican diaspora construct their own national identity? Integrated within this analysis is a consideration of the impact that transnational American alcohol companies have had on discourse surrounding Puerto Rican nationalist identity through their advertising campaigns and cultural event funding. This project invites people of Puerto Rican heritage to learn about the origins of salsa music and reflect on their own ideas about identity. Broadly, this project converges with the Caribbean Studies Network’s goal of shifting academia’s focus back onto Caribbean communities and critically analyzing modern remnants of colonialism in the Caribbean.