Neoliberalism and Reggaeton
By Guest Contributor Marisol LeBron, originally published at post pomo nuyorican homo
Reuters recently published a pieced entitled “Reggaeton fever shakes up Cuba’s culture” the article cites an now infamous (in reggaeton circles anyway) quote by Juventud Rebelde that calls reggaeton a “reflection of ‘neoliberal thinking’.”
I think the development and growth of reggaeton in Cuba has been fascinating (if you are interested check out Geoff Baker’s work) and illuminates much about the ways in which different musical forms/genres circulate as cultural and ideological commodities.
The idea of reggaeton being a product of neoliberalism is intriguing. Clearly the flows of neoliberal capital and its circuits facilitated the spread of technologies and people that enabled the different permutations of reggaeton within the Caribbean, the Americas, and globally.
More than anything else, I wonder what seeing reggaeton as a neoliberal commidity says about how Cuban authorities think about the neocolonial relationship between the United States and Puerto Rico and the forces of diaspora (not only between Puerto Rico and the U.S., but broadly speaking) in forging reggaeton, essentially outside of the Cuban nation (and well any nation really). Reggaeton is largely positioned as outside of the Cuban nation, seen as an import from the yanquis via Puerto Rico, which is why Cuban Culture Minister Abel Prieto is quoted in the Reuters piece as saying that reggaeton needs to be “pushed away.” Reggaeton is agringado, a corrupting influence on Cuba’s revolutionary ideals.
While reggaeton is (often mis)understood as a Puerto Rican, or even an American phenomenon, the more authorities and cultural brokers attempt to place reggaeton within some kind of national frame the more obvious it becomes that reggaeton exist in between and outside of national boundaries.
Maybe that is what makes reggaeton so threatening, what incites all these national panics? Well, besides sex and race, but of course those things are tied up within the nation too…
Now I’m just ranting though….thoughts?
Carmen Van Kerckhove is co-founder and president of
Matt wrote:
Reminds me a lot of the Soviety response to jazz. Allegedly a critique of capitalist/colonial/racist America, it incorporated elements of racism and especially antisemitism (which was a big problem especially under Stalin) and an entirely confused attitude toward the oppressed classes of the West. Not terribly surprising that a former Soviet client would manifest some of the same problems.
That’s taken from, this (.pdf) article . From what I can see, it has a lot of good info on that period, but I feel I should also say it’s a bit outside my range, so ymmv.
Posted 10 Aug 2009 at 10:05 am ¶
cocolamala wrote:
i had no idea these conversations were taking place about/around reggaeton. i lack the facts and history to comment on these topics, but I really enjoy your analytical perspective Marisol.
Posted 10 Aug 2009 at 10:07 am ¶
Nappy Mind wrote:
I thought reggaeton was created in Panama when Jamaicans and others moved to Panama to work on the Panama Canal. If so, I wonder how this historical context fits into the current views of reggaeton.
Posted 10 Aug 2009 at 6:39 pm ¶
Paz wrote:
How much censorship is going on with respect to music in Cuba? I remember reading how Celia Cruz’s music used to be banned since she was an ex-pat.
Posted 11 Aug 2009 at 3:20 am ¶
Danielle wrote:
Raquel had it right – Cuban cultural authorities don’t like reggaeton because it is a celebration of materialism, fashion and sex. There is a schism right now between hip hop artists and reggaeton artists because hip hop in cuba, which deals with social issues is getting crowded out by reggaeton which, for the most part does not.
Posted 11 Aug 2009 at 8:24 am ¶
Melissa wrote:
I thought the neoliberalism comment about reggaeton has to do with the genre’s emphasis on material wealth, fashion and sex (similar current to rap/hiphop music).
I agree with Danielle, its sad to see a music form like hip hop, which always begins with kamenting the plight of the impoverished and calling for self empowerment and social change, degrade into rap and reggaeton all about sex and money and image. Hence neoliberalism subverts socialist goals in both art and life
Posted 11 Aug 2009 at 12:17 pm ¶