The Spanish language is having a "historical moment of visibility" in the U.S. this year thanks to Puerto Rican musician Bad Bunny. The worldwide superstar's pride in his culture and use of language validates an experience that many bilingual Spanish speakers, including at UC Davis, relate to. Professors and students in the College of Letters and Science recently weighed in on the current cultural moment.
Welcome to Books of the Month, where once a month, L&S staff select works from our Bookshelf of authors within the College of Letters and Science at UC Davis. This month, in honor of the Taproot New Music Festival, we explore music from around the world. Through ethnographies, essays and analyses, our scholars demonstrate how music, culture and politics influence one another.
Assistant Professor of Spanish and Portuguese Charlie Hankin spent years studying rap music and community in Brazil, Cuba and Haiti. That research culminated into the award-winning book, "Break and Flow: Hip Hop Poetics in the Americas." He also became an unlikely collaborator with some local musicians he was working with.
