Raquel Z. Rivera profile picture

Raquel Z. Rivera

¿Quién le dijo a ella que el ángel tenía patitas? — LP21

About Me

I'm a writer, author of New York Ricans from the Hip Hop Zone (2003) and working on an anthology titled Reggaeton which will be published by Duke University Press in early 2009. A freelance journalist, I'm a columnist for NY's El Diario / La Prensa and my articles have been published in many magazines and newspapers, among these: Vibe, One World, Urban Latino, In the House Magazine, Hoy, The San Juan Star, El Nuevo Dia and Claridad.
I'm hard at work on my first novel, a breakup story set to the sounds of Caribbean roots music, hip hop and reggaeton. I'm also writing a book of essays and images dedicated to Our Lady, Mary Magdalene , together with artist Tanya Torres .
I'm a singer/songwriter, member of all-women's bomba and salve group Yaya , and member of bomba group Alma Moyó .
I've taught courses in Sociology, Anthropology, Africana and Latino Studies at Columbia University, Hunter College and Tufts University. I am currently a Research Fellow at the Center for Puerto Rican Studies at Hunter College.
For more information, check www.raquelzrivera.com
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I edited my profile with Thomas' Myspace Editor V4.4

My Interests

I'd like to meet:

Writers and musicians. People invested in creativity as a tool for personal growth and community-building.Folks interested in reggaeton, hip hop and Caribbean roots music beyond matter and surface.

Music:



Singing bomba with Alma Moyó at La Chorra, Central Park. (Video by Dennis Flores.)

Aside from bomba... salves, música jíbara, palos, plena… Caribbean roots music in general, hip hop, reggaeton, classic salsa, boleros and bachatas corta-venas, old school blues, forró… good music in general

Movies:

The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover; Santa Sangre; Whale Rider; La Ley del Deseo; Memorias del Subdesarrollo

Books:

Anything by Octavia Butler, Ana Lydia Vega and Barbara Kingsolver. Cien Años de Soledad, Their Eyes Were Watching God, Brown Girl in the Ring, The Salt Roads, The Bee Season, The Secret Life of Bees, Of Woman Born, Tete-a-Tete, Remedios, Seva, The Myths of Motherhood, Can't Stop Won't Stop: A History of the Hip Hop Generation, La Otra Cara de la Historia, La Carreta, Geographies of Home, The Farming of Bones, Krik? Krak!…

My Blog

El barril de Benny Ayala

Ramón López strikes again! To read the article on bomba he wrote in this week's Claridad newspaper (28 de mayo - 4 de junio) click here or go to:http://claridadpuertorico.com/content/view/401977/32/In.. .
Posted by Raquel Z. Rivera on Thu, 29 May 2008 09:07:00 PST

Confessions

I (finally!) managed to make time to read Karrine Steffans Confessions of a Video Vixen (2005). I know... I'm way behind on the times, since she already put out the sequelThe Vixen Diaries (2007).Do ...
Posted by Raquel Z. Rivera on Fri, 09 May 2008 09:23:00 PST

Reggaeton in Utah

Click here for a 5/5/08 article (where I'm quoted) about reggaeton in Salt Lake City, Utah, prompted by Ivy Queen's upcoming show this Friday at the E Center. The article is neither extensive nor grou...
Posted by Raquel Z. Rivera on Tue, 06 May 2008 09:23:00 PST

Boricuas for Obama & otros inventos

Visual artist Miguel Luciano writes:If you're in Puerto Rico this weekend, stop by El Pulguero de Arte and support "Boricuas for Obama".I'll have a table at the event with assorted T-shirts.MiguelEl P...
Posted by Raquel Z. Rivera on Fri, 11 Apr 2008 10:17:00 PST

Dreamworlds 3: Desire, Sex & Power in Music Video - a review

Here’s a fragment of a review I just wrote of Sut Jhally’s documentary Dreamworlds 3: Desire, Sex & Power in Music Video (2007). I’m sure a lot of folks will find this documentary in...
Posted by Raquel Z. Rivera on Mon, 31 Mar 2008 03:33:00 PST

(Con)Fabuladoras: March 21st at Cemi, NYC

(Con)Fabuladoras: Cuentos, Conjuros y FairytalesFriday, March 21, 7pmUna noche de narrativa featuring Sheila Candelario, Sandra Garcia Rivera, Tanya Torres y esta servidora, Raquel Z. Rivera.Cemi Unde...
Posted by Raquel Z. Rivera on Thu, 13 Mar 2008 02:36:00 PST

Yaya shows March 7, March 8 and March 12

Plena and jíbaro musicians have a surplus of gigs during Christmas. But Yaya, the women's salve and bomba group I play with, gigs the most (surprise, surprise) in March. Here's a list of a few of our ...
Posted by Raquel Z. Rivera on Thu, 06 Mar 2008 02:33:00 PST

Reggaeton: Allegedly Puerto Rican

The article "Ritmo boricua que mueve al mundo entero" (Boricua Rhythm that Moves the Whole World) published yesterday February 27 in the newspaper Primera Hora in Puerto Rico seems to assume that the ...
Posted by Raquel Z. Rivera on Thu, 28 Feb 2008 03:46:00 PST

Reguetón: ritmo dizque boricua

El artículo "Ritmo boricua que mueve al mundo entero" que fue publicado hoy 27 de febrero en el periódico Primera Hora de Puerto Rico como que peca de asumir que el sol sale y se pone justo encima de ...
Posted by Raquel Z. Rivera on Wed, 27 Feb 2008 09:23:00 PST

Y vuelven las Nikes macheteras

Con motivo de la primera vez que se exhibe en Puerto Rico la obra Filiberto Ojeda Uptowns / Machetero Air Force Ones del artista Miguel Luciano, decidí someterle al periódico Claridad un artículo sobr...
Posted by Raquel Z. Rivera on Fri, 01 Feb 2008 12:45:00 PST