Omar Ruiz Vega
Dr. Omar Ruiz Vega is from Aguada, Puerto Rico and currently works as a music and history teacher at the Gutenberg-Oberschule in Berlin. From 2017 to 2020 he was a Research Associate at Hunter College’s Center for Puerto Rican Studies (CUNY). He holds a PhD in Musicology from the University of Cologne. He has published articles on a variety of topics in several academic journals and is the author of Musik-Kolonialismus-Identität: José Figueroa Sanabia und die puerto-ricanische Gesellschaft, 1925–1952 (Music-Colonialism-Identity: José Figueroa Sanabia and Puerto Rican Society,1925-1952). Some of his research interests include Caribbean popular music, European and Latin American classical music, music scenes, nationalism, and narcoculture.
Address: Berlin, Germany
Address: Berlin, Germany
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Papers by Omar Ruiz Vega
Rico and Cuba’s Latin music scenes, both prior to as well as after the
Cuban Revolution. Three questions are addressed in particular: How
did the musical relations between New York and Puerto Rico’s Latin
music scenes develop? How did these two music scenes relate to Cuba’s
music scene? What is the significance of the New-York-Puerto-Rico connection in the emergence and early development of salsa music? My
thesis is that out of the fusion of New York and Puerto Rico’s social music aesthetics and performance practices the main stylistic characteristics that eventually came to define salsa music came about. The study, thus, strives to illustrate the significance of the location in the production of popular music, while proposing concomitantly a new theoretical framework for such an analysis.
to the history of salsa music in New York City, utilizing as a case study
the career of Larry Harlow. The paper provides a background regarding
the involvement of Jewish-Americans in New York’s Latinmusic scene
since the 1930s in order to contextualize Harlow’s own involvement
with Latin music. Harlow’s music career is analyzed in particular in
relation to his importance for the growth and commercial success of
Fania Records. Special attention is given to his functions as music
producer and pianist for the label. My main argument is that the career
of Larry Harlow demonstrates the important role that he and other
Jewish-Americanmusicians (e.g. Barry Rogers andMarty Sheller) played
in the development of salsamusic. These contributions – I argue – have
not been sufficiently acknowledged in the salsa literature, leaving
important aspects of the genre’s history unexplored.
En este artículo analizo catorce videos musicales de Reggaetón con el objetivo de estudiar las representaciones de la narcocultura y las comunidades marginadas puertorriqueñas en los mismos. Las posibles razones por las cuales encontramos estas dos temáticas visuales en los videos serán discutidas. Del mismo modo, se analizarán los posibles motivos por los cuales los artistas de Reggaetón tienden a grabar videos en barrios pobres y residenciales públicos de Puerto Rico. De suma importancia será, además, el análisis de la fuerte y problemática presencia de la narcocultura puertorriqueña en el Reggaetón. Tal análisis se apartará de la acostumbrada interpretación del género como una expresión musical que principalmente refleja la vida y los problemas que enfrentan las comunidades marginadas de Puerto Rico, por una que incluya una visión más crítica hacia los “narco mensajes” promovidos en el género. Se problematizará, por ejemplo, la forma en que tales “narco–mensajes” han ayudado a cimentar los estereotipos prevalecientes en la sociedad puertorriqueña sobre estos sujetos y espacios, como también la definición identitaria subyacente en los mismos.
Books by Omar Ruiz Vega
Rico and Cuba’s Latin music scenes, both prior to as well as after the
Cuban Revolution. Three questions are addressed in particular: How
did the musical relations between New York and Puerto Rico’s Latin
music scenes develop? How did these two music scenes relate to Cuba’s
music scene? What is the significance of the New-York-Puerto-Rico connection in the emergence and early development of salsa music? My
thesis is that out of the fusion of New York and Puerto Rico’s social music aesthetics and performance practices the main stylistic characteristics that eventually came to define salsa music came about. The study, thus, strives to illustrate the significance of the location in the production of popular music, while proposing concomitantly a new theoretical framework for such an analysis.
to the history of salsa music in New York City, utilizing as a case study
the career of Larry Harlow. The paper provides a background regarding
the involvement of Jewish-Americans in New York’s Latinmusic scene
since the 1930s in order to contextualize Harlow’s own involvement
with Latin music. Harlow’s music career is analyzed in particular in
relation to his importance for the growth and commercial success of
Fania Records. Special attention is given to his functions as music
producer and pianist for the label. My main argument is that the career
of Larry Harlow demonstrates the important role that he and other
Jewish-Americanmusicians (e.g. Barry Rogers andMarty Sheller) played
in the development of salsamusic. These contributions – I argue – have
not been sufficiently acknowledged in the salsa literature, leaving
important aspects of the genre’s history unexplored.
En este artículo analizo catorce videos musicales de Reggaetón con el objetivo de estudiar las representaciones de la narcocultura y las comunidades marginadas puertorriqueñas en los mismos. Las posibles razones por las cuales encontramos estas dos temáticas visuales en los videos serán discutidas. Del mismo modo, se analizarán los posibles motivos por los cuales los artistas de Reggaetón tienden a grabar videos en barrios pobres y residenciales públicos de Puerto Rico. De suma importancia será, además, el análisis de la fuerte y problemática presencia de la narcocultura puertorriqueña en el Reggaetón. Tal análisis se apartará de la acostumbrada interpretación del género como una expresión musical que principalmente refleja la vida y los problemas que enfrentan las comunidades marginadas de Puerto Rico, por una que incluya una visión más crítica hacia los “narco mensajes” promovidos en el género. Se problematizará, por ejemplo, la forma en que tales “narco–mensajes” han ayudado a cimentar los estereotipos prevalecientes en la sociedad puertorriqueña sobre estos sujetos y espacios, como también la definición identitaria subyacente en los mismos.