Abstract
In this chapter, popular music scholar Petra Rivera-Rideau intersperses her analysis of the music of Los Rakas with an interview she conducted with them in April 2014. Los Rakas describe their music as “Panabay,” referencing their ties to both Panama and the San Francisco Bay Area. Central to their Panabay philosophy is a celebration of afrolatinidad that intervenes in the marginalization of blackness both in the USA and Panama. This chapter produces a new archive that accounts for a hitherto understudied experience of afrolatinidad in California.
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Notes
- 1.
Percy C. Hinzten, West Indians in the West: Self-Representations in an Immigrant Community (New York: New York University Press, 2001), 45.
- 2.
John Benson, “Hip-Hop Duo Los Rakas Proud of Latino Roots,” Voxxi, November 23, 2014, accessed December 1, 2014 (http://voxxi.com/2014/11/23/los-rakas-proud-of-their-latino-roots/)
- 3.
Juan Flores, The Diaspora Strikes Back: Caribeño Tales of Learning and Turning (New York: Routledge, 2009), 170.
- 4.
See Flores, Diaspora Strikes Back; Ifeoma C.K. Nwankwo, “The Panamanian Origins of Reggae en Español: Seeing History through ‘Los Ojos Café’ of Renato,” in Reggaeton, eds. Raquel Z. Rivera, Wayne Marshall, and Deborah Pacini Hernández (Durham: Duke University Press, 2009).
- 5.
Jocelyne Guilbault and Roy Cape, Roy Cape: A Life on the Calypso and Soca Bandstand (Durham: Duke University Press, 2014).
- 6.
Guilbault and Cape, Roy Cape, 10.
- 7.
Barbara Christian, “The Race for Theory,” Cultural Critique 6 (1987), 68.
- 8.
“Ribetiao” is Panamanian slang that means “well-dressed” or “swagger.” Los Rakas released their single “Bien Ribetiao” in 2011.
- 9.
“Soy Raka” is included on Los Rakas’ 2011 album Chancletas Y Camisetas Bordadas.
- 10.
George Ciccariello-Maher and Jeff St. Andrews, “Between Macks and Panthers: Hip Hop in Oakland and San Francisco,” in Hip Hop in America: A Regional Guide Volume I: East Coast and West Coast, ed. Mickey Hess (Santa Barbara, CA: Greenwood Press, 2010), 282.
- 11.
For a more detailed history of reggae en español, see Christoph Twickel, “Muévelo (Move It!): From Panama to New York and Back Again, the Story of El General,” in Reggaeton, ed. Raquel Z. Rivera, Wayne Marshall and Deborah Pacini Hernández (Durham: Duke University Press, 2009), 99–108; Christoph Twickel, “Reggae in Panama: Bien Tough.” in Reggaeton, ed. Raquel Z. Rivera, Wayne Marshall and Deborah Pacini Hernández (Durham: Duke University Press, 2009), 81–88; Nwankwo, “Panamanian Origins of Reggae en Español.”
- 12.
“Ratchet” is a slang term with multiple meanings, including someone who is uncouth and unrefined or a derogatory word for women. In this case, Raka Dun uses “ratchet” to mean a party atmosphere, similar to the terms “crunk” or “hyphy.” See Tamara Palmer, “Who You Calling Ratchet?” The Root, October 16, 2012, accessed December 3, 2014, (http://www.theroot.com/articles/culture/2012/10/where_the_word_ratchet_came_from.html).
- 13.
The picture was posted on November 10, 2014. See losrakas.com/blog/raka-taxi-drivers-in-panama- Accessed November 26, 2014.
- 14.
See Agustin Lao-Montes, “Decolonial Moves: Trans-Locating African Diaspora Spaces,” Cultural Studies 21, no. 2–3 (2007): 309–338; Miriam Jiménez Román and Juan Flores, “Introduction,” in The Afro-Latin@ Reader: History and Culture in the United States, eds. Miriam Jiménez Román and Juan Flores (Durham: Duke University Press, 2010), 1–15.
- 15.
It is important to point out that, despite the emphasis on mestizo identities in dominant configurations of both Mexican-American and Mexican national identities, there are Afro-Mexican communities in Mexico and the USA. See Jennifer A. Jones, “‘Mexicans Will Take the Jobs that Even Blacks Won’t Do’: An Analysis of Blackness, Regionalism, and Invisibility in Contemporary Mexico,” Ethnic and Racial Studies 36, no. 10 (2013): 1564–1581.
- 16.
Vielka Cecilia Hoy, “Negotiating Among Invisibilities: Tales of Afro-Latinidades in the United States,” in The Afro-Latin@ Reader: History and Culture in the United States, ed. Miriam Jiménez Román and Juan Flores (Durham: Duke University Press, 2010), 426–430; María Rosario Jackson, “Profile of an Afro-Latina: Black, Mexican, Both,” in The Afro-Latin@ Reader: History and Culture in the United States, ed. Miriam Jiménez Román and Juan Flores (Durham: Duke University Press, 2010), 434–438; Anulkah Thomas, “Black Face, Latin Looks: Racial-Ethnic Identity among Afro-Latinos in the Los Angeles Region,” in Latino Los Angeles: Transformations, Communities, and Activism, ed. Enrique C. Ochoa and Gilda L. Ochoa (Tucson: University of Arizona Press 2012), 197–224.
- 17.
Thomas, “Black Face, Latin Looks,” 211–212.
- 18.
There is some question about the efficacy of Census data as it pertains to Afro-Latinos given that Afro-Latinos tend to be undercounted on the Census. For more information about the implications of the US Census for Afro-Latinos, see Nancy López, “Killing Two Birds with One Stone? Why We Need Two Separate Questions on Race and Ethnicity in the 2020 Census and Beyond,” Latino Studies 11, (2013): 428–438.
- 19.
Hoy, “Negotiating Among Invisiblities.”
- 20.
Brown defines “diasporic resources” as signifiers, such as music, popular culture, or important figures from the African diaspora that other black communities integrate into their local understandings of blackness. See Jacqueline Nassy Brown, “Black Liverpool, Black America, and the Gendering of Diasporic Space,” Cultural Anthropology 13, no. 3 (1998): 291–325.
- 21.
Renée A. Craft, “Una Raza, Dos Etnias”: The Politics of Be(com)ing/Performing “Afropanameño,” Latin American and Caribbean Ethnic Studies 3, no. 2 (2008): 123–149; George Priestly and Angela Barrow, “The Black Movement in Panama: A Historical and Political Interpretation, 1994–2004,” in New Social Movements in the African Diaspora: Challenging Global Apartheid, ed. Leith Mullings (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2009), 49–78.
- 22.
Other musicians in Latin America make similar moves. For example, Puerto Rican reggaetón artist Tego Calderón celebrates blackness in his music as a way to combat what he sees as widespread “shame” among Afro-Latinos in the Americas. See Petra R. Rivera-Rideau, “Cocolos Modernos: Salsa, Reggaetón, and Puerto Rico’s Cultural Politics of Blackness,” Latin American and Caribbean Ethnic Studies 8, no. 1 (2013): 1–19.
- 23.
“Yeyo” is a slang word in Panama that refers to a wealthy person who shows off.
Bibliography
J.N. Brown, Black Liverpool, Black America, and the gendering of diasporic space. Cultural Anthropology 13(3), 291–325 (1998)
B. Christian, The race for theory. Cultural Critique 6, 51–63 (1987)
G. Ciccariello-Maher, J. St. Andrews, Between Macks and Panthers: Hip Hop in Oakland and San Francisco, in Hip Hop in America: A Regional Guide Volume I: East Coast and West Coast, ed. by M. Hess (Greenwood Press, Santa Barbara, 2010), pp. 257–286
R.A. Craft, “Una Raza, Dos Etnias”: The politics of be(com)ing/performing “Afropanameño”. Latin American and Caribbean Ethnic Studies 3(2), 123–149 (2008)
J. Flores, The Diaspora Strikes Back: Caribeño Tales of Learning and Turning (Routledge, New York, 2009)
J.M. Guilbault, R. Cape, Roy Cape: A Life on the Calypso and Soca Bandstand (Duke University Press, Durham, 2014)
P.C. Hintzen, West Indians in the West: Self-Representations in an Immigrant Community (New York University Press, New York, 2001)
V.C. Hoy, Negotiating among invisibilities: Tales of Afro-Latinidades in the United States, in The Afro-Latin@ Reader: History and Culture in the United States, ed. by M. Jiménez Román, J. Flores (Duke University Press, Durham, 2010), pp. 426–430
M.R. Jackson, Profile of an Afro-Latina: Black, Mexican, both, in The Afro-Latin@ Reader: History and Culture in the United States, ed. by M. Jiménez Román, J. Flores (Duke University Press, Durham, 2010), pp. 434–438
M. Jiménez Román, J. Flores, Introduction, in The Afro-Latin@ Reader: History and Culture in the United States, ed. by M. Jiménez Román, J. Flores (Duke University Press, Durham, 2010), pp. 1–15
J.A. Jones, ‘Mexicans will take the jobs that even blacks won’t do’: An analysis of blackness, regionalism, and invisibility in contemporary Mexico. Ethnic and Racial Studies 36(10), 1564–1581 (2013)
A. Lao-Montes, Decolonial moves: Trans-locating African diaspora spaces. Cultural Studies 21(2–3), 309–338 (2007)
N. López, Killing two birds with one stone? Why we need two separate questions on race and ethnicity in the 2020 census and beyond. Latino Studies 11, 428–438 (2013)
I.C.K. Nwankwo, The Panamanian origins of Reggae en Español: Seeing history through “Los Ojos Café” of Renato, in Reggaeton, ed. by R.Z. Rivera, W. Marshall, D. Pacini Hernández (Duke University Press, Durham, 2009), pp. 89–98
G. Priestly, A. Barrow, The black movement in Panama: A historical and political interpretation, 1994–2004, in New Social Movements in the African Diaspora: Challenging Global Apartheid, ed. by L. Mullings (Palgrave Macmillan, New York, 2009), pp. 49–78
P.R. Rivera-Rideau, Cocolos Modernos: Salsa, Reggaetón, and Puerto Rico’s cultural politics of blackness. Latin American and Caribbean Ethnic Studies 8(1), 1–19 (2013)
A. Thomas, Black Face, Latin looks: Racial-ethnic identity among Afro-Latinos in the Los Angeles region, in Latino Los Angeles: Transformations, Communities, and Activism, ed. by E.C. Ochoa, G.L. Ochoa (University of Arizona Press, Tucson, 2012), pp. 197–224
C. Twickel, Muévelo (Move It!): From Panama to New York and back again, the story of El General, in Reggaeton, ed. by R.Z. Rivera, W. Marshall, D. Pacini Hernández (Duke University Press, Durham, 2009a), pp. 99–108
C. Twickel, Reggae in Panama: Bien tough, in Reggaeton, ed. by R.Z. Rivera, W. Marshall, D. Pacini Hernández (Duke University Press, Durham, 2009b), pp. 81–88
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Rivera-Rideau, P.R. (2016). Panabay Pride: A Conversation with Los Rakas. In: Rivera-Rideau, P., Jones, J., Paschel, T. (eds) Afro-Latin@s in Movement. Afro-Latin@ Diasporas. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-59874-5_9
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