"Reading" National Identity in Panama through Renato, a first Generation Panamanian reggae en español Artist
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Date
2014-01
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Ohio State University. Center for Latin American Studies
Abstract
Reggae en español (reggae in Spanish) is a hybrid cultural and musical form that blends elements of Jamaican dancehall and reggae. Panama gave birth to reggae en español in the late 1970s in the urban West Indian barrios of Río Abajo and Parque Lefevre in the capital city of Panama. As a product of West Indian migration from the Anglophone Caribbean and Central America, Panamanian reggae in Spanish evinces racial, cultural, and linguistic hybridity resulting from on-‐going processes of transculturation. As a hybrid cultural discourse, reggae en español pulls from various geographic areas (Africa, Caribbean, Panama) and musical genres (Jamaican dancehall and reggae). It is a prime example of cultural identity and difference, which reflects the multiplicity of the African diaspora experience. The lyrics of first generation Panamanian reggaesero Leonardo "Renato" Aulder convey the effect of hybridity and transculturation and aid in the reinterpretation of Panamanian national identity.
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alter/nativas, latin american cultural studies journal, no. 2 (Spring 2014)