The list came out quite well:
1. Actress: Jennifer Lopez. Seriously. Out of Sight is quite good and the badly misunderstood The Cell makes perfect sense once you realize it is a retelling of parts of Sikh theology. Rita Moreno gets honorable mention.
2. Cellist: Pablo Casals (his mother was Puerto Rican and he ended up living there). His Bach Suites, while profound, are largely unlistenable due to the scratching and scraping. Nonetheless there are still revelations to be found in the trio recordings, Schubert, bits of the Beethoven, etc.
3. Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat. Sneer if you wish, but his 1982-1984 period is very good, most of all the sketches. There are many bad Basquiat works, however, and lots of fakes.
4. Economic historian and colleague: Carlos Ramirez. Don't forget his paper on the bailout.
5. Poet: Juan Ramón Jiménez, who left Spain for Puerto Rico. Here is his Platero y Yo. Although he won a Nobel Prize in 1956, this very pure poet remains underrated in the United States.
6. Reggaeton song: Gasolina, by Daddy Yankee; note that reggaeton originated in Panama.
7. Guitarist: Jose Feliciano. Here is his Star-Spangled Banner (excerpt) and here. Here is Jose and Johnny Cash.
8. Musical, about: Paul Simon's The Caveman (not WSS, which I actively dislike).
9. Art museum: The two notable collections of pre-Raphelite art in this hemisphere are in Wilmington, Delaware and Ponce, Puerto Rico. Each is worth a visit.
10. Building: Puerto Rico has many fine homes and a surprising amount of Art Deco, plus the colonial buildings and fortifications in San Juan. Here is the over the top fire station in Ponce. But overall I'll pick the metalwork on one of the country homes, somewhere between San Juan and Ponce.
The bottom line: The achievements are strong and varied, noting that I've used a looser notion of affiliation than in some comparisons past.
If you like reggaeton, you should try to listen to Calle 13. They have a couple of really popular (and quite inane) songs, but they have a great repertoire of quite good music, as opposed to the usual “I want to stick it in a hole of yours” that a lot of hip hop and reaggaeton songs are about.
Out of Sight is quite good, but Jennifer Lopez is most assuredly not the reason, or even in the top ten reasons (it may be possible to make an unenjoyable film with Don Cheadle and Steve Zahn, but it’s tough to imagine). She manages to act, which is more than some might expect, but comparing her to Rita Moreno is simply absurd.
Paul Simon’s musical about a Puerto Rican murderer is “The Capeman,” not “The Caveman”
I am getting “forbidden” on the fire station link in #10.
Having lived and worked in Puerto Rico for five years I can easily say that 1) it should be INDEPENDENT; 2) MOST on the island consider themselves Puerto Rican and not part of the greater The United States (which is fine, just don’t expect what I’m going to say on 3); and 3) federal (i.e. mainland US) taxpayers spend billions of dollars down there, much of it wasted. A beautiful natural landscape to be sure–well, except for the parts that humans have destroyed–but the island is a mass of tremendous economic disparity, decay, violence and corruption. That sounds terrible, I know, but most people in The United States have no idea what goes on there. If they did, they’d too push for the island being independent.
Don’t forget the great baseball players that have come from there or the contributions by second and third generations of Puerto Ricans that live throughout The United States.
Since when are Casals’ Bach Suites are ‘unlistenable’? I’ve never heard anyone make this complaint before, since the sound quality is just fine on them, in my opinion. They are also arguably the most profound and moving cello recordings ever made. What transfer are you folks listening to? Also, anyone who knows anything about Casals would probably call it a stretch to call him Puerto Rican, since he was a very proud Catalan.
Seeing pre-Raphelite art collections and Daddy Yankee in the same favorites list made me say out loud, “Wow, Tyler. Please don’t ever stop blogging.”
“I’m 99% sure j.m.b. is haitian. What do you (or I?) know that I (or you?) don’t?”
He’s an American born to a Haitian father and Puerto Rican mother.
Also, anyone who knows anything about Casals would probably call it a stretch to call him Puerto Rican, since he was a very proud Catalan.
Indeed. The name is Pau, not Pablo, Casals.
Really, with Cowen’s fetishism over all things Hispanic — and as a resident of Andalucia for 3 years I can sympathize –he should just take the plunge and emigrant. That way we wouldn’t have to listen to his constant calls to further Latinize the US via immigration.
Your choice of Jennifer Lopez over Rita Moreno as best Puerto Rican actress is simply bizarre. Admittedly, “Out of Sight” is pretty good, but “The Cell” stinks and the rest of Jennifer’s acting work is pedestrian at best. Rita, on the other hand, won an Oscar for “West Side Story.” She also has won an Emmy, a Tony, and a Grammy. In terms of talent, there is simply no comparison.
I’m annoyed you threw out that comment about the Cell without offering a link to explain what the hell you mean.
Even with the various odd noises, the Bach cello suites by Casals are absolutely outstanding.
One might as well complain about Glenn Gould moaning and groaning (or Keith Jarrett for that matter).
The best painting in Puerto Rico?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flaming_June
Strange but true: Puerto Ricans also hold the record for “most shots fired in congress.” They were separatists/nationalists shooting from the visitors gallery.
And the Mofongo? (Smashed fried plantains with pork rinds, garlic, etc…) Just awesome!
As a Puerto Rican myself, a few thoughts:
Yes on Raul Julia and Jose Ferrer
That may be true about Basquiat’s mother, but I think Haiti gets the fair claim on him.
To disagree with my fellow boriqua, I am glad we are not independent, nor should we be. What is long overdue is our full admission into the Union as a state, with voting representatives in Congress. We’ve served in American uniform since World War I – that alone should have earned us a place at the table.
Oh – almost forgot – I also hate West Side Story
Comments on this entry are closed.