Anthropologists-artisan-plenero and writer Ramón López will present his latest book “Los Bembeteos de la Plena Puertorriqueña” at the Segundo Ruiz Belvis Cultural Center in Chicago.
The book is a collection of texts about the history and recent developments of plena in Puerto Rico. There will be live plena and a photo exhibit by Elías Carmona.
Plena is a percussive-driven musical and dance tradition. With “Los Bembeteos de la Plena Puertorriqueña,” López examines everyday expressions of plena in Puerto Rican neighborhoods and other quotidian settings. Bembeteos is a colloquial word used in Puerto Rico to describe casual conversations or chatter, and López argues that plena is a form of musical bembeteos. The author presents too a critical discussion of how the Puerto Rican state uses plena to impose a cultural hegemonic consensus.
March 6, 2008 at 7:30 p.m.
4040 W Armitage
Chicago, IL
773.698.6004
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