Latin Hip Hop as a New Poetry - RO

Online | Ages 14+

Catalina Maria Johnson shares how the musical works of Latin hip hop artists can be viewed as a unique form of new poetry appreciated and understood from Mexico City to Chile to Spain.

Latin hip hop artists are advancing the poetic traditions of their countries in unique ways. Ana Tijoux from Chile was raised on protest songs and Pablo Neruda; Residente from Calle 13, Puerto Rico spits out rhymes as carefully crafted as any poet’s; Niña Dioz from Mexico reads dictionaries to find the precise words to fit her ideas and rhymes; Xiutehzcatl from Boulder, Colorado rhymes in three languages: Spanish, English and Nahuatl–an ancient indigenous language. Nevertheless, academia and poetic circles have surprisingly not embraced and celebrated these artists as poets.

Catalina Maria Johnson, Ph.D. is a Chicago-based music journalist. She hosts and produces her own radio show, Beat Latino, which airs in Chicago on Vocalo (Chicago Public Media). Catalina’s music journalism explores the extraordinary diversity of the global music scene with an emphasis on Latine music – from the most traditional roots music to cutting-edge electronic grooves.

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