Crafting mobilization through popular music : the case of Bomba puertorriqueña

Life in Puerto Rico is shaped by the colonial relationship between the archipelago and the United States. The existing social conditions resulting from this colonial relationship have often been a key denominator for social mobilizations. Amidst this reality, music has become a tool for Puerto Ricans to express their frustration with a broader audience and push for social change; an issue that is of particular importance considering that many Puerto Ricans are being displaced or have migrated away from the island. Recognizing music's legacy as a tool for expression, I am interested in the relationship between coloniality and music. To this end, and adopting a Latinx Critical Race epistemology, I examine lyrics from Bomba songs to center the experiences of oppressed Latinx folks. I specifically draw from Abadia's (2015) Nuevo Movimiento de Bomba Puertorriquena (NMB) to guide my study. By conducting a relational content analysis, I identify the most recurrent themes across my sample while exploring its intersections with other subthemes.