Duany, Jorge. The Puerto Rican Nation on the Move- Identities on the Island and in the United States. North Carolina: The University of North Carolina press, 2002.
Jorge Duany is professor of anthropology at the University of Puerto Rico. He has held teaching and research appointments as a visiting professor at the University of Michigan. His book explores how Puerto Rican maintained a vibrant identity that encompasses elements from two distinct places- their homeland, the island of Puerto Rico, and the U.S. mainland, particularly New York. Most Americans imagine Puerto Rico as a separate nation and view themselves primarily as Puerto Rican. Puerto Ricans have been U.S. citizens since 1917, and Puerto Rico has been a U.S. commonwealth since 1952. The author also examines the Puerto Rican sense of nationhood by looking at cultural representations produced by Puerto Ricans and considering how others--American photographers, musicians, and museum curators--have represented the nation. His sources of information include archival research, interviews, surveys, censuses, newspaper articles, personal documents, and literary texts.
Flores, Juan. From Bomba to Hip-Hop- Puerto Rican Culture and Latino Identity. New York: Columbia University Press, 2000.
The author Flores examines the historical experience of Puerto Ricans in New York, reflecting their varied areas of cultural expression in the Diaspora against the background of contemporary debates in Puerto Rico and recent developments in cultural theory. This novel is essential for understanding both national and panethnic issues that influence cultural expression and the construction of Puerto Rican identity in the US. The author analyzes distinctiveness of Puerto Rican culture in New York in relation to that of other US Latino groups. Flores also explores the influence Latinos had on the evolution of Hip Hop.
Navarro, Mireya. "Puerto Rican Presence Wanes in New York." The New York Times, 28 February 2000 http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~jbloom/race/latinos/pr-ny.htm
The number of Puerto Rican New Yorkers has been on the decline for the first time since they began immigrating to the city in great numbers 60 years ago. Rapidly grouping populations of Dominicans and Mexicans has begun to dominate the city's Hispanic population. Initially, Puerto Rican fled to New York in search of better employment opportunities. Now many Puerto Ricans are leaving the city and moving back to Puerto Rico. One reason for the decline in population may be due to a lack of education. The article, entitled "Puerto Rican Presence Wanes in New York" appeared in the February 28th edition of New York Today.
Pass the Mic!. Produced and directed by Richard Montes. Digital Aztlan multimedia company, 2004. Videocassesste and DVD.
This movie was created for the sole purpose of educating others about Latinos influence on the evolution of hip hop. The suppressed voices from Latin hip-hop culture are finally heard in this voyage to the beginning roots where hip hop first began! This is a documentary about Latinos in Hip hop. It is composed of exclusive interviews with concert and behind the scenes footage. Called "experts of the Latino Hip Hop movement," Digital Aztlan produced a riveting and controversial piece, keeping the content and its topic uncensored.
Perez, Maria. Puerto Ricans in the Unites States. Westport,CT: Greenwood Press, 2000.
The author Perez, of Puerto Rican descent, provides an informative volume that will become an instrumental resource for students and readers interested in learning about the Puerto Rican experience in the United States. With the homeland of Puerto Rico strongly evoked as background, the entire immigration and adaptation process of Puerto Ricans in the United States since the early 1900s takes shape in a thoughtful analysis. This book is essential for understanding an important American immigrant group, Puerto Ricans, and the development of their urban cultural as well.
Rivera, Raquel Z. Mambo Montage: The Latinization of New York. New York: Columbia University Press, 2001.
New York is the capital of mambo and a global factory of latinidad. This book describes the topic in all its multifaceted aspects, from Jim Crow baseball in the first half of the twentieth century to hip hop and ethno-racial politics. The articles displayed in this book map out the main conceptions of Latino identity as well as the historical process of Latinization of New York. Mambo Montage is both a way of imagining latinidad and an angle of vision on the city.
Rivera, Raquel Z. New York Ricans from the Hip Hop Zone. New York: Palgrave Macmillan/ St. Martin's Press, 2003.
New York Ricans from the Hip Hop Zone is the first book to explore the Puerto Rican facet of hip-hop. This volume explores the history of hip-hop music from the standpoint of the New York Puerto Rican community, which has been instrumental in its development. Puerto Ricans have been an integral part of the hip hop culture since its beginning. However, Puerto Rican participation and contributions to hip hop is frequently downplayed, if not completely disregarded. Through hip-hop, Puerto Ricans have simply stretched the boundaries of Puerto Ricanness and latinidad. Using hip hop culture as a focal point, Rivera draws parallels-past and present-between African Americans and Puerto Ricans by highlighting their shared New York City history and their both being part of the African Diaspora in the Americas.
Rose, Tricia. Black Noise: Rap Music & Black Culture in Contemporary America. Hanover: Wesleyan University Press. 1994
This book explores rap music and the way it often expresses African American rage into mainstream American culture. The author Rose addresses sexism, both in the plight of women rappers and in rap lyrics, partially excusing the latter by saying, "Rap's sexist lyrics are also part of a rampant and viciously normalized sexism that dominates the corporate culture of the music business." Supporting her thesis are direct interviews with rappers, personal remembrances and anecdotes, as well as deconstruction of lyrics and videos.
Sanchez Korrol, Virginia E. From Colonia to Community: The History of Puerto Ricans in New York City. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1994.
Originally published in 1983, this book remains the only full-length study documenting the historical development of the Puerto Rican community in the United States. The book has been expanded to bring it up to date with present events. The author analyzes the growth of the early Puerto Rican settlements--"colonias"--into the unique, vibrant, and well-defined community of today.
