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Rocking the Boat: Migration and Race in Contemporary Spanish Music by Silvia Bermúdez

2021; Volume: 25; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1353/hcs.2021.0012

1934-9009

Jeffrey K. Coleman,

Spanish Culture and Identity

Reviewed by: Rocking the Boat: Migration and Race in Contemporary Spanish Music by Silvia Bermúdez Jeffrey K. Coleman Rocking the Boat: Migration and Race in Contemporary Spanish Music University of Toronto Press, 2018 By Silvia Bermúdez Over the past three decades, Spanish society has been greatly changed by immigration and the racial consequences it has had on every aspect of life. In Rocking the Boat, Silvia Bermúdez explores how songs function as cultural texts through which to understand "how the presence of migrant newcomers as well as that of naturalized citizens and so-called second- and third-generation nationals, challenges notions of Spanishness" (13). Expanding from two previously published pieces, Bermúdez outlines how Spanish articulations of race are portrayed in popular music through the analysis of twenty-five songs produced between 1984 and by a wide array of musicals artists. The racial subjects of these songs are primarily Black Africans and those from Maghreb (North Africa). The introduction clearly articulates the intellectual rationale of the book as well the selection criteria for the twenty-five songs analyzed in the chapters (the popularity of the songs and their artists, as well as personal preference). Bermúdez states that song lyrics are the focus of her analysis "since words are central to the musical narratives on migration and race in Spanish pop music" (22). The book's four chapters progress chronologically with one on the 1980s, two on the 1990s, and finally one on the 2000s. In all [End Page 293] of these chapters, Bermúdez provides ample historical context of the musicians as well as of the sociopolitical climate in which they produced their songs. Chapter 1 outlines how "Spain negotiated a European 'white' identity, by being granted entrance in 1986 to what was then the European Economic Community" (26). Popular artists and groups such as Mecano, Radio Futura, and Joan Manuel Serrat elucidate Spanish social anxieties about race and migration at a moment in which Spain wishes to demonstrate its distance from Africa. For example, Radio Futura's "Un africano por la Gran Vía" reflects the collective panic of seeing a Black man walking on Madrid's most central street. By incorporating rhythms such as Cuban son, Salsa and Blues into their songs, these artists are able to create catchy pop songs that critique Spanish xenophobia. Chapter 2 explores the songs created in the 1990s in response to the surge in racist violence against Black and Muslim immigrants. The murder of Lucrecia Pérez Matos in November 1992 serves as a point of national reflection on the illness of racism. Artists such as Pedro Guerra, Joaquín Sabina, and Carlos Cano produce songs that aim to defend immigrant communities. However, they fall short because they are forms of what Bermúdez calls "racial containment," in which these songs peddle the same dangerous stereotypes that have led to the violence the artists wish to denounce. These songs, though grounded in good intentions, are demonstrations of Spain's past and present of colonially and racialization. Chapter 3 continues the analysis of 1990s songs shifting to those that humanize migrants who are exploited due to their immigration status. The songs by Amistades Peligrosas, Ska-P, Las Hijas del Sol, and Ella Baila Sola analyzed in this chapter focus on plurality and solidarity in the face of rapid demographic and economic changes. Chapter 4 explores how musicians such as Che Sudaka and Concha Buika exemplify a more diverse Spain through their songs that challenge Spanish white homogeneity. The use of hybrid musical genres demonstrates the influence of a new generation of Spaniards on society more largely. One of the key innovations of this monograph is its ability to weave the analysis of songs with that of literary pieces. This interplay creates an inter-genre dialogue, or harmony, if you will, that allows us to see how music and literature mirrored each other in their approaches to discussing race and immigration in contemporary Spain. However, whereas this book has many strengths, such as its extensive corpus of songs, there are also several shortcomings that prevent the book from achieving its intellectual goals. For example, Bermúdez is unable to fully...