Exclusive: Harvard University
Good Evening Mis Amores,
As you all know I did a lecture at Harvard on 10/21, I got the recording and I’m sharing it exclusively with all of you!
If you have any questions at all or if there is anything you’d like for me to expand on please let me know.
The first twenty minutes of the hour time slot I had with Harvard was robbed by tech issues, so there wasn’t time to finish the presentation, however for you , I’d love to!
So we got cut off after “Mama Let’s Workshop” Which let me tell you LMAO I swore was the best joke ever but everybody didn’t get the Gina Rodriguez reference. Remember…”Mama let’s research!” La risa que eso me dio.
– Ok So After Slide 29 “Mama Let’s Workshop” goes ” Approximately 85% of Spanish Broadcasting Systems converted their radio stations to pure Reggaeton” Slide 30, from more Mexican centric music. This comes at the heels of Daddy Yankee’s “Gasolina” which of course was an international sensation.
– Slide 31 2003/4Tego Calderon’s “El Abayarde” vs Daddy Yankee’s “Barrio Fino” Two innovators with two very different processes, and two very different receptions and cultural significance. Tego’s album masterfully incorporated Jazz, Salsa, Hip-Hop into his Sandungue. Daddy Yankee intentionally created Perreo And Reggaeton that was both danceable for the hood and commercial enough that the industry would pause, listen and be able to accept it. Two very different artistic intentions with different consequences.
-Slide 32: 2007/ Panamanians(And other Central Americans active during this time) always get erased. Panamanians didn’t disappear, they were signed to the same labels as Boricuas. I.e. La Factoria – they, El Rookie, and a couple of others I can’t think of right now were signed to Machete Music right at Don Omar’s height. “Perdoname” charted, Lorna’s “papi chulo” in the early 2000s when Guatauba And Reggaeton Sex took over PR, she was charting in Europe, my point: I wish this was analyzed, in popular culture/media on a larger sense, there were multiple artists dominating at the same time in different places
-Slide 33: Lisa M, Jenny La Sexy Voz, Orqiduea Negra of LDA, Glory Glou and La Sista–women who’ve contributed to some of the most iconic anthems in all of El Genero and have been erased over time. I would have emphasized how this leads into this dichotomy–women especially Black women in this (Perreo/Reggaeton)space can’t even exist (at large)while Black Men? exist..absolutely fine, especially if they’re tokenized or “El Negro Lindo” right? “Negrito ojos claros”
-Slide 34: Archetype Feeding into this slide with the model and Anuel for his song “Reggaetonera” which ironically uses the Filthier riddim you hear in Mr. Vegas timeless anthem “Heads high” something extremely Black.. does not feature any Black women in the scene where Flags are displayed to show off the respective Reggaetoneras of these countries. Panama is missing or is off to the side instead of centered and this happens time and time again throughout the course of Regueton History. Not Reggaeton* but Regueton.
-Slide 35: Maleanteo – I had to. The Bad Boy attitude has been a major part of Reggaeton, a ton of it being authentic during the time of Hector El Father’s Prime 2003-2008, when he surrounded himself with real life Bichotes unlike what is presented in media today. I was going to speak to how there is a dichotomy here, on one hand we have.. well.. white/mestizo artists in hip-hop fashion/styled clothing, but the truth is a lot of them grew up in Caserio so unlike some artists today who never stepped foot in a hood in their life – this was very much a part of their reality. As well as sonically, what differentiates Malianteo from other songs is the aggression and the different way that’s sonically illustrated. For example, In Los Anormales, Bad Boys, or Sacala – you hear violins, dejale caer todo el peso you hear stomping, to like insinuate “Watch out we’re coming”, you’d hear horns to insinuate “you must always be on the alert” I actually love malianteo not just because ‘Gangsters’ stayed far away from Popeton but because there is a method to their “madness” that, as a girl who lives in the hood herself, can actually appreciate. These implied essences in their music is very.. clever and intentional in their artistry. And real recognize real, Jay Z wasn’t going to sign just anyone, him signing Hector El Father made complete and utter sense but as we mention in LOUD, Hector got caught up in the “movie” or the facade many artists put on that a lt of fans buy into. Hector said it almost cost him his life although he told me in confidence – every day he struggles with trying to go back to being Hector “El Father” he misses it.
-Slide 36: Perreo Galactico + Deevani I wanted to highlight how Reggaeton constantly reinvents itself. Too much banking on Barrio Fino, unfortunately there wasn’t enough spotlight on everyone else shining in that era, De La Ghetto, Jowell Y Randy (who time and time again are severely underrated their contributions and consistency is..unparalleled IMO), Arcangel, Tony Dize, Zion Y Lennox. Perreo Galactico is from 2007-2011 and fuses techno/house/edm/pop with Reggaeton and History is repeating now with ‘Pepas’ right? Although I would never call that Reggaeton. Deevani’s story I was going to shout out Remixing Reggaeton which did a superb analysis on Bhangraton – Hindi reggaeton. Deevani if you didn’t know is Lunytunes’ sister who marred someone from Bangladesh, learned/speaks Hindi and sang in Daddy Yankee’s “mirame” for example. This, I feel, is the most innovative era of Reggaeton.
Slide 37: Limewire+Vinyls+CDs Hello to a new era with how streaming took over and the packaging of a music artist would change forever. Instead of sales of physical mediums like the aforementioned, its all about who has the most streams and how that validates artists into brand deals. I would’ve gone into how I feel that affects social responsibility because… before we’d see the trajectory of where an artist is going and they’d grow with their public, now, aside from industry plants, artists have one hit record and all of a sudden get brand deals across markets.. kind of eliminating a type of work that needs to be done in order to acquire this success compared to the past. I think.. this contributes to the arrogance/ disconnect artists have with social issues.
Slide 38: Tu No Vives Asi – The first time Bad Bunny debuted with Arcangel. I am so happy with how he’s evolved but I’d be a liar if I said I don’t miss this Bad Bunny. Street but not over the top but interesting but like…mysterious, Bad Bunny. I think his rap style has evolved slightly in that now he’s singing a lot more which fits into the more vulnerable side he’s showing and that’s great I just.. oddly enough miss the masculinity lol ESPECIALLY because he’s shown from early on that he has a feminist attitude. So it was a masculinity I wasn’t afraid of. My bigger point here is how Latin Trap is a force to be reckoned with, I should’ve included a pic of Messiah and Tali because Dominicans were the actual pioneers, but as history repeats–a Hot Bori got control and the music exploded, again.
Slide 39: Shout out to Jennifer Mota’s “Si Tu Quiere Dembow”
Slide 40: Representation Matters… or does it. The question of the adoption of social issues and how that feeds into Reggaeton. Social issues are a commodity instead of at the center of these artists branding. For example, Tego Calderon vs. … well this example of Bad Bunny commodifying moments* instead of centering it in his artistry. It’s fair to say he’s learning though.
Slide 41: There Is hope
A slide featuring Las Muñecas, Villano Antillano and Ana Macho. Trans women who do not feel safe in the Latin music space and are aware they may very well die because of their understanding of how violence is tolerated where Trans women are involved. So “there is hope?” They are symbols of hope, I just hope that the industry and fans do everything to protect them.
Slide 42: Part of that hope is Sech. A Fluffy, Black–dark skinned Panamanian artist who “wasn’t supposed to make it” but his art and talent was undeniable. He does not meet the archetype for men, but in this same regard men have had more flexibility in regards to what they may or may not look like.
Slide 43: Closing out with the question “Las negras pa cuando?” There is this quote by feminists including “IF Black women get a little bit, everybody else gets a lot” I’m happy that La Atrevida was in STEM/ a nurse but it also infuriates me. The industry saw how dope she is but never cared to pay her a living wage. A direct translation of “Let’s take everything we can from the Black women… but not respect her ability to live” much like my experience in the industry.
I am very blessed with every opportunity I have. I am. But I am so fucking broke lol. It’s not poor money management, it’s not laziness, its that I’m short changed left and right. This industry is racist af. So my closing remarks are then, to hire me lol. To not overlook dark-skinned black people when we talk, to not tokenize us, to respect us and what we bring and have brought to the table and acknowledgment that without people who look like us this music wouldn’t exist.
Sources
“You can’t know where you’re going if you dont know where you’ve been. Perreo 101 Is meant to illustrate the socio-political ties in Reggaeton and how that feeds into this Black, Liberation music–perreo”
Thank You
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I hope you enjoy all of this! Thank you for supporting me gente linda!
xoxo
Gata
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