Podcast appearances and mentions of petra rivera rideau

We're back for the second annual Super Bowl breakdown bonus episode. That's right, we're digging into Bad Bunny's incredible performance at this year's Super Bowl. I'm joined by Vanessa Díaz and Petra Rivera-Rideau, authors of P FKN R: How Bad Bunny Became the Global Voice of Puerto Rican Resistance, creators of the Bad Bunny Syllabus Project, and Associate Professors of two different university-level Bad Bunny courses. We share our thoughts on the performance overall, and then break it all down, beat by beat, from the flags to the telephone poles to Lady Gaga and so much more.You can find links to everything we discuss on today's show on The Stacks Website: https://www.thestackspodcast.com/unabridged/2026/2/13/tsu-56-vanessa-diaz-petra-rivera-rideau*This episode is exclusive to members of The Stacks Pack on Patreon and our Substack subscribers. To join a community, get inside access to the show, and listen now, click the link below.Connect with Vanessa: Instagram Connect with Petra: InstagramConnect with The Stacks: Instagram | Threads | Shop | Patreon | Goodreads | Substack | Youtube | SubscribeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Bad Bunny, the Puerto Rican superstar born Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, is making history tonight as the headliner of the Super Bowl 2026 halftime show at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California. According to The Independent, he'll be the first male solo Latin artist to perform the set entirely in Spanish, promising a fun spectacle where listeners only need to focus on dancing.This comes just a week after his album Debí Tirar Más Fotos became the first Spanish-language record to win Album of the Year at the Grammys, as reported by ABC News and Apple Music's announcements. During his acceptance speech, Bad Bunny called out President Trump's immigration policies, shouting “ICE out,” which has fueled political backlash. The Independent notes Trump claims he won't watch, disapproving of Bad Bunny and Green Day, who's performing earlier with hits like “American Idiot.” Conservative groups like Turning Point USA are countering with their own Kid Rock-led alternative show, per ABC News.Apple Music is amplifying the hype with Bad Bunny's Road to Halftime playlists like Dance Bunny and Trap Bunny, plus a career-spanning megamix by producer Tainy, and live broadcasts all weekend. California Governor Gavin Newsom playfully declared today “Bad Bunny Day” in an all-caps tweet, mocking Trump-style rhetoric while celebrating the artist's “soothing, beautiful voice,” according to LAist.Social media buzz includes a viral “mass block” reports on TikTok and X since February 6, where fans claim Bad Bunny blocked them out of nowhere, as covered in YouTube shorts. Speculation runs wild on potential guests like Cardi B for “I Like It,” J Balvin, Rosalía, Daddy Yankee, or Ozuna—Shakira even shared support reminiscing their 2020 Super Bowl collab, per The Independent. Fans are hosting “Benito Bowl” watch parties in LA, blending joy and resistance amid ICE tensions, LAist reports.CBS News highlights the cultural milestone, with experts like Petra Rivera-Rideau calling Bad Bunny a “master of surprise” who mixes party vibes with protest. Euronews frames it as a clash of language, identity, and U.S. immigration debates.As Green Day and Charlie Puth kick off festivities, all eyes are on Bad Bunny's barrier-breaking set in the Patriots-Seahawks matchup.Thanks for tuning in, listeners—come back next week for more. This has been a Quiet Please production, and for me, check out Quiet Please Dot A I.Some great Deals https://amzn.to/49SJ3QsFor more check out http://www.quietplease.aiThis content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI

One week ahead of his much-anticipated Super Bowl performance, Bad Bunny made history when he won the first Grammy for album of the year for a Spanish-language record. He used his acceptance remarks to admonish cruel immigration enforcement, uplift immigrants and shout out his native Puerto Rico. As scholars Vanessa Díaz and Petra Rivera-Rideau, point out in their new book, “P FKN R: How Bad Bunny Became the Global Voice of Puerto Rican Resistance,” the reggaetonero has never shied away from infusing politics into his musical career. Díaz and Rivera-Rideau, also creators of the “Bad Bunny Syllabus,” join us to break down Bad Bunny's music and activism. Guests: Vanessa Díaz, associate professor of Chicana/o and Latina/o Studies, Loyola Marymount University; co-founder, Bad Bunny Syllabus; co-author, "P FKN R: How Bad Bunny Became the Global Voice of Puerto Rican Resistance" Petra Rivera-Rideau, associate professor and chair of the American Studies Department, Wellesley College; co-founder, Bad Bunny Syllabus; co-author, "P FKN R: How Bad Bunny Became the Global Voice of Puerto Rican Resistance" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

KPFA's Laura Prives takes the host microphone for a discussion with Vanessa Díaz, Associate Professor of Chicana and Latina Studies at Loyola Marymount University, and Petra Rivera-Rideau, Associate Professor of American Studies at Wellesley College. They've co-authored the book P FKN R: How Bad Bunny Became the Global Voice of Puerto Rican Resistance The post The Politics of Bad Bunny appeared first on KPFA.

No doubt you've heard a thing or two about Bad Bunny recently. He's a rapper, singer, and producer, also known as the “King of Latin Trap”—and reggaeton, of course—who's soon to become the first solo Latino to headline the Super Bowl. But he's also Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, a 31-year-old from Puerto Rico and an outspokenly political artist, using his platform and music to address humanitarian crises, gender-based violence, and political corruption. Our guest today is Petra Rivera-Rideau, an expert in music and racial politics who completed her Ph.D. at UC Berkeley and also holds the distinct honor of having taught the first-ever (as far as we know) course on Bad Bunny. She talks about her latest book, P FKN R: How Bad Bunny Became the Global Voice of Puerto Rican Resistance, Bad Bunny's artistic and political legacy, and the rise of popstar-studies in academia. Further reading:Book: P FKN R: How Bad Bunny Became the Global Voice of Puerto Rican ResistancebyPetra Rivera-RideauThe Bad Bunny Syllabus by Petra Rivera-Rideau and Vanessa Diaz Article: “How Bad Bunny Saved the Grammys” by Brady Brickner-Wood, The New YorkerVideo: “El Apagón” by Bad BunnyVideo: “TURiSTA” by Bad Bunny Video: “DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS” by Bad BunnyThis episode was written and hosted by Leah Worthington and Nat Alcantara and produced by Coby McDonald. Special thanks to Petra Rivera-Rideau, Pat Joseph, and Laura Smith. Art by Michiko Toki and original music by Mogli Maureal. Additional music from Blue Dot Sessions.Support the show

P FKN R: How Bad Bunny Became the Global Voice of Puerto Rican Resistance (Duke UP, 2026) explores the work of Puerto Rican musical superstar Bad Bunny (Benito A. Martinez Ocasio), focusing on his cultural and political significance.Global superstar Bad Bunny, like many other Puerto Ricans, has lived a life marked by public crises—blackouts, hurricanes, political corruption and oppression, among others—that have exposed the ongoing impacts of colonialism in Puerto Rico. Offering a portrait of the past and future of Puerto Rican resistance through one of its loudest and proudest voices, P FKN R draws on interviews with musicians, politicians, and journalists as well as ethnographic research to set Bad Bunny and Puerto Rican resistance in a historical, political, and cultural context. Authors Vanessa Díaz and Petra Rivera-Rideau—creators of the “Bad Bunny Syllabus”—demonstrate Bad Bunny's place in a long tradition of infusing both joy and protest into music and honor the many evolving forms of daily resistance to oppression and colonialism that are part of Puerto Rican life. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

P FKN R: How Bad Bunny Became the Global Voice of Puerto Rican Resistance (Duke UP, 2026) explores the work of Puerto Rican musical superstar Bad Bunny (Benito A. Martinez Ocasio), focusing on his cultural and political significance.Global superstar Bad Bunny, like many other Puerto Ricans, has lived a life marked by public crises—blackouts, hurricanes, political corruption and oppression, among others—that have exposed the ongoing impacts of colonialism in Puerto Rico. Offering a portrait of the past and future of Puerto Rican resistance through one of its loudest and proudest voices, P FKN R draws on interviews with musicians, politicians, and journalists as well as ethnographic research to set Bad Bunny and Puerto Rican resistance in a historical, political, and cultural context. Authors Vanessa Díaz and Petra Rivera-Rideau—creators of the “Bad Bunny Syllabus”—demonstrate Bad Bunny's place in a long tradition of infusing both joy and protest into music and honor the many evolving forms of daily resistance to oppression and colonialism that are part of Puerto Rican life. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

P FKN R: How Bad Bunny Became the Global Voice of Puerto Rican Resistance (Duke UP, 2026) explores the work of Puerto Rican musical superstar Bad Bunny (Benito A. Martinez Ocasio), focusing on his cultural and political significance.Global superstar Bad Bunny, like many other Puerto Ricans, has lived a life marked by public crises—blackouts, hurricanes, political corruption and oppression, among others—that have exposed the ongoing impacts of colonialism in Puerto Rico. Offering a portrait of the past and future of Puerto Rican resistance through one of its loudest and proudest voices, P FKN R draws on interviews with musicians, politicians, and journalists as well as ethnographic research to set Bad Bunny and Puerto Rican resistance in a historical, political, and cultural context. Authors Vanessa Díaz and Petra Rivera-Rideau—creators of the “Bad Bunny Syllabus”—demonstrate Bad Bunny's place in a long tradition of infusing both joy and protest into music and honor the many evolving forms of daily resistance to oppression and colonialism that are part of Puerto Rican life. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/caribbean-studies

P FKN R: How Bad Bunny Became the Global Voice of Puerto Rican Resistance (Duke UP, 2026) explores the work of Puerto Rican musical superstar Bad Bunny (Benito A. Martinez Ocasio), focusing on his cultural and political significance.Global superstar Bad Bunny, like many other Puerto Ricans, has lived a life marked by public crises—blackouts, hurricanes, political corruption and oppression, among others—that have exposed the ongoing impacts of colonialism in Puerto Rico. Offering a portrait of the past and future of Puerto Rican resistance through one of its loudest and proudest voices, P FKN R draws on interviews with musicians, politicians, and journalists as well as ethnographic research to set Bad Bunny and Puerto Rican resistance in a historical, political, and cultural context. Authors Vanessa Díaz and Petra Rivera-Rideau—creators of the “Bad Bunny Syllabus”—demonstrate Bad Bunny's place in a long tradition of infusing both joy and protest into music and honor the many evolving forms of daily resistance to oppression and colonialism that are part of Puerto Rican life. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/political-science

P FKN R: How Bad Bunny Became the Global Voice of Puerto Rican Resistance (Duke UP, 2026) explores the work of Puerto Rican musical superstar Bad Bunny (Benito A. Martinez Ocasio), focusing on his cultural and political significance.Global superstar Bad Bunny, like many other Puerto Ricans, has lived a life marked by public crises—blackouts, hurricanes, political corruption and oppression, among others—that have exposed the ongoing impacts of colonialism in Puerto Rico. Offering a portrait of the past and future of Puerto Rican resistance through one of its loudest and proudest voices, P FKN R draws on interviews with musicians, politicians, and journalists as well as ethnographic research to set Bad Bunny and Puerto Rican resistance in a historical, political, and cultural context. Authors Vanessa Díaz and Petra Rivera-Rideau—creators of the “Bad Bunny Syllabus”—demonstrate Bad Bunny's place in a long tradition of infusing both joy and protest into music and honor the many evolving forms of daily resistance to oppression and colonialism that are part of Puerto Rican life. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/biography

P FKN R: How Bad Bunny Became the Global Voice of Puerto Rican Resistance (Duke UP, 2026) explores the work of Puerto Rican musical superstar Bad Bunny (Benito A. Martinez Ocasio), focusing on his cultural and political significance.Global superstar Bad Bunny, like many other Puerto Ricans, has lived a life marked by public crises—blackouts, hurricanes, political corruption and oppression, among others—that have exposed the ongoing impacts of colonialism in Puerto Rico. Offering a portrait of the past and future of Puerto Rican resistance through one of its loudest and proudest voices, P FKN R draws on interviews with musicians, politicians, and journalists as well as ethnographic research to set Bad Bunny and Puerto Rican resistance in a historical, political, and cultural context. Authors Vanessa Díaz and Petra Rivera-Rideau—creators of the “Bad Bunny Syllabus”—demonstrate Bad Bunny's place in a long tradition of infusing both joy and protest into music and honor the many evolving forms of daily resistance to oppression and colonialism that are part of Puerto Rican life. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/music

P FKN R: How Bad Bunny Became the Global Voice of Puerto Rican Resistance (Duke UP, 2026) explores the work of Puerto Rican musical superstar Bad Bunny (Benito A. Martinez Ocasio), focusing on his cultural and political significance.Global superstar Bad Bunny, like many other Puerto Ricans, has lived a life marked by public crises—blackouts, hurricanes, political corruption and oppression, among others—that have exposed the ongoing impacts of colonialism in Puerto Rico. Offering a portrait of the past and future of Puerto Rican resistance through one of its loudest and proudest voices, P FKN R draws on interviews with musicians, politicians, and journalists as well as ethnographic research to set Bad Bunny and Puerto Rican resistance in a historical, political, and cultural context. Authors Vanessa Díaz and Petra Rivera-Rideau—creators of the “Bad Bunny Syllabus”—demonstrate Bad Bunny's place in a long tradition of infusing both joy and protest into music and honor the many evolving forms of daily resistance to oppression and colonialism that are part of Puerto Rican life. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/american-west

P FKN R: How Bad Bunny Became the Global Voice of Puerto Rican Resistance (Duke UP, 2026) explores the work of Puerto Rican musical superstar Bad Bunny (Benito A. Martinez Ocasio), focusing on his cultural and political significance.Global superstar Bad Bunny, like many other Puerto Ricans, has lived a life marked by public crises—blackouts, hurricanes, political corruption and oppression, among others—that have exposed the ongoing impacts of colonialism in Puerto Rico. Offering a portrait of the past and future of Puerto Rican resistance through one of its loudest and proudest voices, P FKN R draws on interviews with musicians, politicians, and journalists as well as ethnographic research to set Bad Bunny and Puerto Rican resistance in a historical, political, and cultural context. Authors Vanessa Díaz and Petra Rivera-Rideau—creators of the “Bad Bunny Syllabus”—demonstrate Bad Bunny's place in a long tradition of infusing both joy and protest into music and honor the many evolving forms of daily resistance to oppression and colonialism that are part of Puerto Rican life. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

P FKN R: How Bad Bunny Became the Global Voice of Puerto Rican Resistance (Duke UP, 2026) explores the work of Puerto Rican musical superstar Bad Bunny (Benito A. Martinez Ocasio), focusing on his cultural and political significance.Global superstar Bad Bunny, like many other Puerto Ricans, has lived a life marked by public crises—blackouts, hurricanes, political corruption and oppression, among others—that have exposed the ongoing impacts of colonialism in Puerto Rico. Offering a portrait of the past and future of Puerto Rican resistance through one of its loudest and proudest voices, P FKN R draws on interviews with musicians, politicians, and journalists as well as ethnographic research to set Bad Bunny and Puerto Rican resistance in a historical, political, and cultural context. Authors Vanessa Díaz and Petra Rivera-Rideau—creators of the “Bad Bunny Syllabus”—demonstrate Bad Bunny's place in a long tradition of infusing both joy and protest into music and honor the many evolving forms of daily resistance to oppression and colonialism that are part of Puerto Rican life. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/popular-culture

Bad Bunny, the Puerto Rican superstar born Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, is dominating headlines this week with massive announcements lighting up the music world. The NFL revealed during Sunday night's Dallas Cowboys and Green Bay Packers game that he'll headline the Super Bowl LX halftime show in San Francisco's Bay Area in February 2026, according to AOL reports. He teased it on X in Spanish, saying he'd do just one U.S. date, then confirmed with a video of himself on a beach football goalpost, posting Super Bowl LX. Bay Area. February 2026. #AppleMusicHalftime.This caps a huge week after Grammy nominations dropped, positioning him for history. Associated Press and ClickOnDetroit note his album Debí Tirar Más Fotos earned six nods, making him the first Spanish-language artist nominated simultaneously for album, song, and record of the year. It's only the second Spanish-language album up for album of the year—after his own 2022 Un Verano Sin Ti. Experts like Vanessa Díaz from Loyola Marymount University call it a breakthrough for Latin music, especially reggaetón and Latin trap from Puerto Rico's marginalized communities, now hitting mainstream Grammy categories.The album fuses Puerto Rican folk like bomba, plena, and aguinaldo with modern trap, described by Yale's Albert Laguna as Bad Bunny's most Puerto Rican project yet, challenging global pop formulas without diluting his roots. It supports his ongoing Debí Tirar Más Fotos World Tour, hitting Tokyo stadiums in 2026 per Japan Travel, after selling 2.6 million tickets in a week—a record for Latin artists.These moves come amid his boycott of U.S. continental tours over ICE raids and deportations affecting Latino fans, as he told i-D Magazine, with hundreds detained in Puerto Rico since late January. Just a week before Super Bowl, the February 1 Grammys at Crypto.com Arena could cement his legacy, with professors like Petra Rivera-Rideau hoping it opens doors for other artists.Listeners, thank you for tuning in. Come back next week for more. This has been a Quiet Please production, and for me, check out Quiet Please Dot A I.Some great Deals https://amzn.to/49SJ3QsFor more check out http://www.quietplease.aiThis content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI

Rebecca is joined by reggaeton scholar Petra Rivera-Rideau, who co-created the Bad Bunny Syllabus to provide historical and social context for Bad Bunny's music. His massive hit Un Verano Sin Tí  was the most globally streamed album of 2022 and the first Spanish-language album to be nominated for Album of the Year at the Grammys. We speak about what makes him such a unique, versatile artist, and then delve into the ways Cuban and Puerto Rican music have diverged in recent decades. Songs played:Controversia, Ismael RiveraEl Apagón, Bad BunnyTiti Me Preguntó, Bad BunnyYo No Soy Celoso, Bad BunnySupport the showIf you like this podcast, please subscribe and give us a 5-star rating on Apple PodcastsFollow The Clave Chronicles on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook @clavechronicleshttps://theclavechronicles.buzzsprout.comIntro and outro music: "Bengo Latino," Jimmy Fontanez/Media Right Productions

Puerto Rico is often depicted as a “racial democracy” in which a history of race mixture has produced a racially harmonious society. In Remixing Reggaeton: The Cultural Politics of Race in Puerto Rico (Duke University Press, 2015), Petra R. Rivera-Rideau shows how reggaeton musicians critique racial democracy’s privileging of whiteness and concealment of racism by expressing identities that center blackness and African diasporic belonging. From censorship campaigns on the island that sought to devalue reggaeton, to its subsequent mass marketing to U.S. Latino listeners, Rivera-Rideau traces reggaeton’s origins and its transformation from the music of San Juan’s slums into a global pop phenomenon. Reggaeton, she demonstrates, provides a language to speak about the black presence in Puerto Rico and a way to build links between the island and the African diaspora. Petra Rivera-Rideau is an associate professor of American Studies at Wellesley University. She earned her B.A. at Harvard University and her M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of California at Berkeley. Her research examines the cultural politics of race in Latin American and Latina/o communities. Rivera-Rideau is primarily interested in how ideas about blackness and Latinidad intersect (or not) in popular culture, especially popular music. In addition to Remixing Reggaeton: The Cultural Politics of Race in Puerto Rico, Rivera-Rideau also co-edited Afro-Latin@s in Movement: Critical Approaches to Blackness and Transnationalism the Americas, an interdisciplinary volume that combines academic analysis, personal reflections, interviews, and photography to examine how different ideas about blackness travel across Latin America, the Spanish Caribbean, and the United States. Beyond her book-length works, Rivera-Rideau has also published articles about reggaeton in journals such as Popular Music & Society, Latin American and Caribbean Ethnic Studies, and Identities: Global Studies in Culture and Power. Her current research project explores representations of Latinidad in the Zumba fitness program, tentatively titled Fun, Fitness, Fiesta: Zumba and the Production of Latinidad. James Stancil is an independent scholar, freelance journalist, and the President and CEO of Intellect U Well, Inc. a Houston-area non-profit dedicated to increasing the joy of reading and media literacy in young people. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Puerto Rico is often depicted as a “racial democracy” in which a history of race mixture has produced a racially harmonious society. In Remixing Reggaeton: The Cultural Politics of Race in Puerto Rico (Duke University Press, 2015), Petra R. Rivera-Rideau shows how reggaeton musicians critique racial democracy's privileging of whiteness and concealment of racism by expressing identities that center blackness and African diasporic belonging. From censorship campaigns on the island that sought to devalue reggaeton, to its subsequent mass marketing to U.S. Latino listeners, Rivera-Rideau traces reggaeton's origins and its transformation from the music of San Juan's slums into a global pop phenomenon. Reggaeton, she demonstrates, provides a language to speak about the black presence in Puerto Rico and a way to build links between the island and the African diaspora. Petra Rivera-Rideau is an associate professor of American Studies at Wellesley University. She earned her B.A. at Harvard University and her M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of California at Berkeley. Her research examines the cultural politics of race in Latin American and Latina/o communities. Rivera-Rideau is primarily interested in how ideas about blackness and Latinidad intersect (or not) in popular culture, especially popular music. In addition to Remixing Reggaeton: The Cultural Politics of Race in Puerto Rico, Rivera-Rideau also co-edited Afro-Latin@s in Movement: Critical Approaches to Blackness and Transnationalism the Americas, an interdisciplinary volume that combines academic analysis, personal reflections, interviews, and photography to examine how different ideas about blackness travel across Latin America, the Spanish Caribbean, and the United States. Beyond her book-length works, Rivera-Rideau has also published articles about reggaeton in journals such as Popular Music & Society, Latin American and Caribbean Ethnic Studies, and Identities: Global Studies in Culture and Power. Her current research project explores representations of Latinidad in the Zumba fitness program, tentatively titled Fun, Fitness, Fiesta: Zumba and the Production of Latinidad. James Stancil is an independent scholar, freelance journalist, and the President and CEO of Intellect U Well, Inc. a Houston-area non-profit dedicated to increasing the joy of reading and media literacy in young people. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/african-american-studies

Puerto Rico is often depicted as a “racial democracy” in which a history of race mixture has produced a racially harmonious society. In Remixing Reggaeton: The Cultural Politics of Race in Puerto Rico (Duke University Press, 2015), Petra R. Rivera-Rideau shows how reggaeton musicians critique racial democracy’s privileging of whiteness and concealment of racism by expressing identities that center blackness and African diasporic belonging. From censorship campaigns on the island that sought to devalue reggaeton, to its subsequent mass marketing to U.S. Latino listeners, Rivera-Rideau traces reggaeton’s origins and its transformation from the music of San Juan’s slums into a global pop phenomenon. Reggaeton, she demonstrates, provides a language to speak about the black presence in Puerto Rico and a way to build links between the island and the African diaspora. Petra Rivera-Rideau is an associate professor of American Studies at Wellesley University. She earned her B.A. at Harvard University and her M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of California at Berkeley. Her research examines the cultural politics of race in Latin American and Latina/o communities. Rivera-Rideau is primarily interested in how ideas about blackness and Latinidad intersect (or not) in popular culture, especially popular music. In addition to Remixing Reggaeton: The Cultural Politics of Race in Puerto Rico, Rivera-Rideau also co-edited Afro-Latin@s in Movement: Critical Approaches to Blackness and Transnationalism the Americas, an interdisciplinary volume that combines academic analysis, personal reflections, interviews, and photography to examine how different ideas about blackness travel across Latin America, the Spanish Caribbean, and the United States. Beyond her book-length works, Rivera-Rideau has also published articles about reggaeton in journals such as Popular Music & Society, Latin American and Caribbean Ethnic Studies, and Identities: Global Studies in Culture and Power. Her current research project explores representations of Latinidad in the Zumba fitness program, tentatively titled Fun, Fitness, Fiesta: Zumba and the Production of Latinidad. James Stancil is an independent scholar, freelance journalist, and the President and CEO of Intellect U Well, Inc. a Houston-area non-profit dedicated to increasing the joy of reading and media literacy in young people. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Puerto Rico is often depicted as a “racial democracy” in which a history of race mixture has produced a racially harmonious society. In Remixing Reggaeton: The Cultural Politics of Race in Puerto Rico (Duke University Press, 2015), Petra R. Rivera-Rideau shows how reggaeton musicians critique racial democracy’s privileging of whiteness and concealment of racism by expressing identities that center blackness and African diasporic belonging. From censorship campaigns on the island that sought to devalue reggaeton, to its subsequent mass marketing to U.S. Latino listeners, Rivera-Rideau traces reggaeton’s origins and its transformation from the music of San Juan’s slums into a global pop phenomenon. Reggaeton, she demonstrates, provides a language to speak about the black presence in Puerto Rico and a way to build links between the island and the African diaspora. Petra Rivera-Rideau is an associate professor of American Studies at Wellesley University. She earned her B.A. at Harvard University and her M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of California at Berkeley. Her research examines the cultural politics of race in Latin American and Latina/o communities. Rivera-Rideau is primarily interested in how ideas about blackness and Latinidad intersect (or not) in popular culture, especially popular music. In addition to Remixing Reggaeton: The Cultural Politics of Race in Puerto Rico, Rivera-Rideau also co-edited Afro-Latin@s in Movement: Critical Approaches to Blackness and Transnationalism the Americas, an interdisciplinary volume that combines academic analysis, personal reflections, interviews, and photography to examine how different ideas about blackness travel across Latin America, the Spanish Caribbean, and the United States. Beyond her book-length works, Rivera-Rideau has also published articles about reggaeton in journals such as Popular Music & Society, Latin American and Caribbean Ethnic Studies, and Identities: Global Studies in Culture and Power. Her current research project explores representations of Latinidad in the Zumba fitness program, tentatively titled Fun, Fitness, Fiesta: Zumba and the Production of Latinidad. James Stancil is an independent scholar, freelance journalist, and the President and CEO of Intellect U Well, Inc. a Houston-area non-profit dedicated to increasing the joy of reading and media literacy in young people. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Puerto Rico is often depicted as a “racial democracy” in which a history of race mixture has produced a racially harmonious society. In Remixing Reggaeton: The Cultural Politics of Race in Puerto Rico (Duke University Press, 2015), Petra R. Rivera-Rideau shows how reggaeton musicians critique racial democracy’s privileging of whiteness and concealment of racism by expressing identities that center blackness and African diasporic belonging. From censorship campaigns on the island that sought to devalue reggaeton, to its subsequent mass marketing to U.S. Latino listeners, Rivera-Rideau traces reggaeton’s origins and its transformation from the music of San Juan’s slums into a global pop phenomenon. Reggaeton, she demonstrates, provides a language to speak about the black presence in Puerto Rico and a way to build links between the island and the African diaspora. Petra Rivera-Rideau is an associate professor of American Studies at Wellesley University. She earned her B.A. at Harvard University and her M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of California at Berkeley. Her research examines the cultural politics of race in Latin American and Latina/o communities. Rivera-Rideau is primarily interested in how ideas about blackness and Latinidad intersect (or not) in popular culture, especially popular music. In addition to Remixing Reggaeton: The Cultural Politics of Race in Puerto Rico, Rivera-Rideau also co-edited Afro-Latin@s in Movement: Critical Approaches to Blackness and Transnationalism the Americas, an interdisciplinary volume that combines academic analysis, personal reflections, interviews, and photography to examine how different ideas about blackness travel across Latin America, the Spanish Caribbean, and the United States. Beyond her book-length works, Rivera-Rideau has also published articles about reggaeton in journals such as Popular Music & Society, Latin American and Caribbean Ethnic Studies, and Identities: Global Studies in Culture and Power. Her current research project explores representations of Latinidad in the Zumba fitness program, tentatively titled Fun, Fitness, Fiesta: Zumba and the Production of Latinidad. James Stancil is an independent scholar, freelance journalist, and the President and CEO of Intellect U Well, Inc. a Houston-area non-profit dedicated to increasing the joy of reading and media literacy in young people. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices