{"id":55894,"date":"2017-03-15T15:15:33","date_gmt":"2017-03-15T20:15:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/?p=55894"},"modified":"2017-03-15T15:15:33","modified_gmt":"2017-03-15T20:15:33","slug":"millennials-look-to-traditional-music-to-help-preserve-puerto-rican-culture","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/millennials-look-to-traditional-music-to-help-preserve-puerto-rican-culture\/","title":{"rendered":"Millennials look to traditional music to help preserve Puerto Rican culture"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Alissa Anderegg<\/strong>
\nTranslation of Lu\u00eds Lace Melecio interview by Yarilet Perez<\/strong><\/p>\n

In the beachfront Puerto Rican community of Pi\u00f1ones, the vibrant music of bomba fills the breezy air, as duelling drummers beat in rhythmic unison.<\/p>\n

The sounds come from Corporaci\u00f3n Pi\u00f1ones Se Integra<\/a>, an organization that teaches locals and tourists the art of bomba as a way of passing on the music to future generations.<\/p>\n

One of Puerto Rico\u2019s traditional Afro-Caribbean musical forms, bomba is considered a rhythmic dialogue between the dancers and the drummers. Puerto Ricans hope this musical dialogue will turn into actual dialogue that will be a key part in preserving the Afro-Puerto Rican culture.
\n[vimeo 208548831]
\n<\/p>\n

Maricruz Rivera, the founder of Corporaci\u00f3n Pi\u00f1ones Se Integra, emphasized that this is especially important given the racial tensions both in Puerto Rico and in the states.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of discrimination of black people,\u201d said Rivera. \u201cSo with this organization we believe we deserve better things for our people, and we wanted to get together to develop this community.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rivera said the bomba community is especially gaining prominence among young people, like the center\u2019s 19-year-old drummer Lu\u00eds Lace Melecio.<\/p>\n

\u201cMany young people keep pushing forward with bomba for the culture, like me,\u201d said Melecio. \u201cI\u2019ve never been to Africa, but talking about Africa and bomba gives me happiness.\u201d<\/p>\n

This increase in the new generation of bomba enthusiasts has become evident in Chicago as well, according to Roberto P\u00e9rez, co-director of local bomba group Bomba Con Buya<\/a>. He said that this is in part due to a growing consciousness of millennials about the importance of Puerto Rican identity and nationalism.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow there\u2019s somewhat of a movement of bomba,\u201d said P\u00e9rez. \u201cEven though it\u2019s not a commercial music, there are many groups, and there\u2019s a big movement especially among the youth of people wanting to learn about bomba.\u201d<\/p>\n

P\u00e9rez estimates that there are three or four bomba groups in Chicago. He thinks this number may increase as more people become involved, which could result in a growing awareness of the musical form.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe think that not only can these traditions be forgotten, but they continue to be frowned upon and so we have to work to change that,\u201d said P\u00e9rez.<\/p>\n

Bringing these Afro-Puerto Rican traditions to the Chicago community inspired Eravisto \u201cTito\u201d Rodriguez to create AfriCaribe<\/a>, a non-profit dedicated to celebrating the African influences in Puerto Rican heritage. Through hosting monthly bomba gatherings called \u201cbombazos\u201d at AfriCaribe Cultural Center in West Town and offering an academy to teach children the art of bomba, Rodriguez said he hopes education will inspire the next generation to continue to celebrate the culture.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s planting that seed and making sure we still have a Puerto Rican identity and a Puerto Rican culture that\u2019s alive,\u201d said Rodriguez.<\/p>\n

Photo at top: Drummers of Corporaci\u00f3n Pi\u00f1ones Se Integra in Lo\u00edza, Puerto Rico play for a bomba music workshop. (Alissa Anderegg\/MEDILL)<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Alissa Anderegg Translation of Lu\u00eds Lace Melecio interview by Yarilet Perez In the beachfront Puerto Rican community of Pi\u00f1ones, the vibrant music of bomba fills the breezy air, as duelling drummers beat in rhythmic unison. The sounds come from Corporaci\u00f3n Pi\u00f1ones Se Integra, an organization that teaches locals and tourists the art of bomba […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":403,"featured_media":55901,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194,452,3516],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-55894","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arts-culture","category-beyond-chicago","category-winter-2017"],"yoast_head":"\nMillennials look to traditional music to help preserve Puerto Rican culture - Medill Reports Chicago<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/millennials-look-to-traditional-music-to-help-preserve-puerto-rican-culture\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Millennials look to traditional music to help preserve Puerto Rican culture - Medill Reports Chicago\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Alissa Anderegg Translation of Lu\u00eds Lace Melecio interview by Yarilet Perez In the beachfront Puerto Rican community of Pi\u00f1ones, the vibrant music of bomba fills the breezy air, as duelling drummers beat in rhythmic unison. 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