Marjua Estevez's Recent Articles

Reggaeton’s trajectory from el barrio to mass appeal is repeated regularly: In the late ‘80s, Spanish-language reggae traveled from Panama and establis

by Marjua Estevez

Somos Latine

Cops Should’ve Kept Susana Morales Safe. Instead, One Was C...

One of the primary reasons families from around Latin America risk such a perilous passage to the global north is because they believe it is safer than sta

by Marjua Estevez

Somos Latine

The White Business Of Cosplaying As Black and Latine Is A Violent...

Long before Rachel Dolezal and Jessica A. Krug turned prominent scholars and leaders by pretending to be Black American and Black Puerto Rican, respectivel

by Marjua Estevez

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Somos Latine

Best Songs by Latine Artists of 2023

We’re only three years into the decade, but Latine artists have been really killing it in the 2020s. In 2022, these genres, often lumped together under t

by Marjua Estevez

Somos Latine

Why Bantú Mama’s Win at the NAACP Image Awards Matters

Over the decades, popular culture has created dominant narratives of the Dominican Republic that are most often synonymous with poverty, crime, or state vi

by Marjua Estevez

Somos Latine

7 Black Artists Defying Latin America’s Cultural Whitewashing

Before her death, master printmaker Belkis Ayón employed collagraphy to challenge the dominant narratives of Cuban culture that whitewashes and sanitizes

by Marjua Estevez

Somos Latine

Bad Bunny Was Snubbed for Album of the Year at the Grammys, But H...

On Sunday night, the Los Angeles Crypto.com Arena was transformed in a kaleidoscopic burst of color as Bad Bunny lifted the curtain on the 65th annual Gram

by Marjua Estevez

Somos Latine

Americano Media Wants to Be “Fox News in Spanish”

Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to include comments from Americano Media. In recent political elections, far-right Spanish-language talkin

by Marjua Estevez

Somos Latine

The Mass Deportations of Haitians in the Dominican Republic Is An...

When I first read Edwidge Danticat’s “Create Dangerously,” I was struck by her understanding that the proverbial “immigrant artist at work” is fo

by Marjua Estevez

Somos Latine

Melissa De Sousa Vindicates The Character We Love to Hate in The ...

From the moment Melissa De Sousa is introduced as Murch’s snarky and domineering girlfriend Shelby in 1999’s The Best Man, to when she reprises her

by Marjua Estevez

Somos Latine

Tego Calderón Dropped El Abayarde 20 Years Ago — & It̵...

Few record drops raise the hair on my neck like the high-pitched staccato boom intro of “Pa’ Que Retozen,” the landmark lead from Tego Calderón’s

by Marjua Estevez

Somos Latine

Dominicans Protested the Violence of Christopher Columbus Celebra...

The UNESCO World Heritage agency describes Santo Domingo not only as the capital of the Dominican Republic, but of the West Indies historically, and romant

by Marjua Estevez

Somos Latine

Emmy Winning Actor-Turned-Rapper Jharrel Jerome Has Something To Say

Born to traditional Latine and Black American parents in the Bronx, Jharrel Jerome was tasked with discovering what personally tethered him to the characte

by Marjua Estevez

Mi Casa Es

The Nostalgic Music That Cures Our Homesickness

Music is a powerful catalyst in evoking memories of a time and place that’s far away. In the 2017 Oscar-winning animated fantasy “Coco,” it’s the s

by Marjua Estevez

Somos Latine

Black Travel Agencies Have a Massive Cultural — & Emotional — Imp...

My affinity to Cuba is in large part informed by my personal trips to the island. It started out as a quest to document Cuba’s underground music scene an

by Marjua Estevez

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Latinx

Going to an HBCU as a Black Latina Taught Me a Very Critical Lesson

Anyone who attended Florida A&M University will triumphantly tell you she was built on the highest of seven hills in Tallahassee, Florida. It was proud

by Marjua Estevez

Somos Latine

Uptown Vs. Everybody: Desus & Mero’s Most Memorable Interviews

Daniel Baker and Joel Martinez, professionally known as Desus Nice and the Kid Mero, remind me of my own cousins. It was standard routine on Saturday after

by Marjua Estevez

Somos Latine

Latin Music Has a History of Homophobia — These Queer Artists Are...

To celebrate queerness in any real way is to understand that trendsetting and culture-making is always bottom-up, not the other way around. We’ve seen th

by Marjua Estevez

Somos Latine

After the Uvalde Shooting, We Need Gun Control — Not More Border ...

Less than two weeks after the mass shooting at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York, which targeted Black patrons, another senseless massacre in Texas claime

by Marjua Estevez

Somos Latine

The “Great Replacement” Theory Is the American Way

Several months before Payton S. Gendron carried out a racist mass shooting at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York, which targeted Black patrons, the 18-year

by Marjua Estevez

Somos Latine

Bad Bunny’s New Album Is Packed With Summer Hits — But It Has a R...

Bad Bunny’s story of origin is repeated often: at 19, he was bagging groceries in a small barrio in Vega Baja, Puerto Rico, where he was born and raised.

by Marjua Estevez

Somos Latine

Dear Rochy RD Fans, When Will “La Cultura” Protect Our Women & Gi...

On April 22, Dominican rapper Rochy RD was arrested in Santo Domingo for allegedly sexually assaulting a minor and participating in child sex trafficking.

by Marjua Estevez

Somos Latine

After Walking Away From the Music Biz, Carla Morrison Is Back & D...

In 2010, Carla Morrison released “Compartir,” a sentimental love ballad expressing the yearn and angst of wanting to share life with someone who is far

by Marjua Estevez

Unbothered

Black Women Around The Diaspora Find A Home In Street Dance

“Waack! Waack! Waack!” The sound of a 1970s club dance reverberates from the main floor of Boston’s House of Blues. Freestyle dancers from around th

by Marjua Estevez

Somos Latine

Women Rule Dembow Music — Even Amid The Industry’s Rampant Sexism...

Ten years later, Dominican dembow is neck-deep in a contemporary revival and progressive usher into the mainstream—but women and nonbinary artists are be

by Marjua Estevez

Somos Latine

Goyo Found Herself While Rapping About Her Ancestors

Goyo’s objective in music was clear from the start: “Chocquibtown was born out of love and a sense of responsibility to our people and where we come fr

by Marjua Estevez

Somos Latine

Latin American Street Art Reflects Protest & Hope for Black & Ind...

An original pillar of hip-hop culture, graffiti once possessed a singular objective of fame: plastering one’s tag anywhere and everywhere. From the ‘ho

by Marjua Estevez

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