Reviews

Just as the title suggests, Ramón Figueroa Torres’ book attempts to narrate the history of the piano from its beginnings in Europe up to its arrival and rapid adoption in Puerto Rico during the 19th and 20th centuries. This topic had not been explored in-depth so far. For this reason, I believe the book makes a valuable contribution to the historiography of Puerto Rican music. But naturally, the...

In her recently released book Coconuts and Collards: Recipes and Stories from Puerto Rico to the Deep South​ , Von Díaz weaves personal stories of family, culture, identity, loss and transformation throughout recipes influenced by her southern roots. As a child, she and her family migrated from Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico to Atlanta, Georgia. Even with yearly summer trips to Puerto Rico to visit her...

With the publication of the anthology Rhythm & Power: Performing Salsa in Puerto Rican and Latino Communities , curator Derrick León Washington, with help from co-editors Priscilla Renta and Sydney Hutchinson, expands the multidisciplinary experiment that began at the Museum of the City of New York this past June. Whereas “ Rhythm & Power: Salsa in New York ” offered a glimpse of a...

In 1979, the 8th edition of the Pan-Am Games were held in San Juan, Puerto Rico. During those 15 intense days in July, Puerto Rico played host to 34 countries and nearly 1,700 athletes. Today, those games are remembered in Puerto Rico mostly because of our spectacular basketball team, a team that not only reached the final—rather, it will always be remembered for the majority of Puerto Ricans...