Rhythms of Resistance: Dancing as a Form of Protest + a Playlist!
The Summer of 1999 was legendary.
☀️Hello Sunshine! Happy Hump Day. Today is June 5, 2024. Day 157 of the year.
The official first day of summer is in 16 days, but New York City has been giving all the summer vibes. 😎 Rooftop parties, boat parties, margarita weather but most importantly — Vitamin D!
And nothing screams Summer like the Puerto Rican Parade in NYC. 🇵🇷
The National Puerto Rican Day Parade (NPRDP) is an annual summer event in New York City that celebrates Puerto Rican heritage and culture with music, dance, and themed floats.
On June 9th, 2024, the parade will mark its 67th anniversary, having first marched in 1958. It takes place every second Sunday in June. The festivities draw about 1.5 million spectators each year filled with Puerto Ricans, Nuyoricans, and everyone in between and takes places along Fifth Avenue from 43rd Street through 79th Street in Manhattan starting at 11am. If you’re in the city on Sunday morning, you might as well join in on the celebrations.
This year's theme is"Boricua de Corazón" (Puerto Rican at Heart) and is dedicated to the municipality of San Germán (Puerto Rico’s second oldest municipality) and the Puerto Rican communities in Hawaii. Iconic Salsa singer Tito Nieves is this year’s Grand Marshal and Freestyle pioneer Lisa Vélez (Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam) is this year’s Madrina (Godmother). Anddddd… I’m a fan of both!
📺 If you can’t catch it in person, you can watch it live on WNBC from 11am – 2pm.
When Dancing is a Form of Protest ✊🏾
If you’ve ever been to Puerto Rico, you will notice that it is deeply rooted in its culture through music. Puerto Rican music is all about celebrating life, resilience, and identity.
Before Salsa and Reggaeton and wayyyy before TikTok dance challenges..
Bomba is Puerto Rico’s oldest musical tradition brought to the island by enslaved West Africans in the 17th century as a means for resistance, resilience, and self-expression. It extended throughout sugar plantations along the coastal towns of Loíza, Mayagüez, Ponce, and San Juan. It remains one of the most popular forms of folk music on the island and serves as significant evidence of its rich African heritage.
Bomba drums allowed enslaved Africans to release feelings of sadness, anger, and resistance through dance gatherings and was also used to celebrate baptisms and marriages, communicate with each other, and plan rebellions. The roots of this tradition can be traced to the Ashanti people of Ghana.
The word bomba is rooted in the Akan language and the Bantu of Africa. The roots of this tradition can be traced to the Ashanti people of Ghana. In most Bantu languages, bomba has a common meaning that describes "the spiritual atmosphere of a gathering.”
A Form of Storytelling
Because enslaved Africans came from different regions and spoke different languages, they came together and built community through music and dance. Bomba became the common language amongst slaves but when plantation owners realized this they killed people for practicing it. Others were beaten and mistreated, yet they persisted. As Bomba evolved, it also became a coping mechanism and an expression of culture and resistance.
Bomba is a dialogue between the dancer in the center and the drummer. It’s all about energy and connection.
Unlike other music genres, the bomba dancer sets the rhythm for the drummer rather than the other way around — the drummer follows the dancer.
Without dance, there is no bomba. Bomba is the name of the drum, the dance, and the genre of rhythms. Every rhythm has a purpose. You need to listen to the lyrics closely and pay attention, so you can express the song's message through your music and facial expressions.
For most of its history, Bomba was male-dominated along with being marginalized because of its African roots, but today a strong female presence is common. From singers to drummers and dancers, performers and participants take space to reclaim their African heritage and express their frustrations about social issues such as inequality, gender gaps, violence against women, government corruption, and the colonial status of Puerto Rico.
As some Puerto Ricans continue to leave the island — not by choice but out of need — and as the Nuyoricans desire a connection to the island — their culture and music becomes their lifeline wherever they go.
Puerto Rico, la isla del encanto, where nature is full of music and even the coquí sings. 🐸🌴🎶
🎶 Of course I have a playlist for you.
But just an FYI — beginning in July, Spotify is raising their prices for the second time in a year.🤬 Premium Individual Plan to $11.99 (a $1 increase) and the Family Premium Plan to $19.99 (a $3 increase).
Before you go…
This month is full of awareness. June is…
Pride Month: 🌈 Celebrating the progress the LGBTQ+ civil rights movement has made.
Black Music Month: 🎼 Celebrating the musical accomplishments and contributions of Black Americans past, present, and future.
Men’s Mental Health Awareness Month: Depression in men is undiagnosed contributing to the fact that men are four times as likely to commit suicide.
National Homeownership Month: I’m also the Director of Operations for a proptech start-up. I’m excited to share that we’re in beta-testing. Check it out and tell a friend to tell a friend. → La Chapulina Verde 💻
PTSD Awareness Month: Did you know that there are currently about 8 million people in the United States with PTSD.
Throughout the month, I'll be touching on these important topics along with the usual. That’s all for now. 🌎 Happy World Environment Day!
Fun Fact from a Quarter of a Century Ago: Napster made it's debut 25 years ago this week on June 1, 1999.🎶 Livin’ La Vida Loca by Ricky Martin was #1 on the Billboard 100 for five consecutive weeks.
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