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One of the central characteristics of urban music genres such as rap and reggaeton is the voicing of the real stories of marginalized communities of color. African Americans, Puerto Ricans, Colombians, Indigenous and many more communities of color’s stories depict the realities of ostracized and, often, impoverished spaces such as the ghettos, barrios and caserios that are routinely rendered as endemically dangerous, lawless and in perpetual crisis. Bad Bunny-and Villano Antillano, Rainao and Young Miko- have utilized the urban musical style of reggaeton as a vehicle to depict the realities of marginalized communities of color-mainly in Puerto Rico (PR)- highlighting their Queer character. This lecture explicates how Bad Bunny, mainly, crafted a representational space within reggaeton music for Queer aesthetics, sexualities, and identities in Puerto Rican, Caribbean and Latine/x culture at large. The argument will be that Bad Bunny successfully transfigures reggaeton’s hypermasculine character to Queer realities of Puerto Rican culture through a combination of music, visual arts, performance, and design, thereby opening a space for the Queer experience within reggaeton.

This lecture will be given Carlos Rivera Santana, Ph.D, Assistant Professor, Hispanic Studies

Sponsored by: Center for Student Diversity

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