HOW DOES MACHISMO RELATE TO FEMINISM AND LATINX CULTURE TODAY?
Ixtati Cabrera Reflection
For the final project, I created a podcast with two interviews and discussed how music portrays certain aspects of Latino culture. In the podcast, the discussion focused on machismo culture and feminism within the Latino community. The interviewees discussed what machismo means to them and how they experienced it. Throughout the podcast, the interviewees also analyzed how Machismo values in Reggaetón style music are portrayed. The podcast also explored how the ideas presented in Reggaetón style music may influence generations to come and Latino culture.
The lyrics especially showed extreme sexism and overtly sexualized females. Not all Reggaeton music is as overtly machismo as the one I played earlier. Rosio mentions how there are women artists in this genre that are combatting machismo. Reggaeton predominantly sexualizes and validates machismo. However, women artists and popular artists are shifting ideas portrayed in the genre. Popular artist Bad Bunny has used his role/status to combat machismo norms in Reggaeton music. Reggaeton music is changing what ideas are portrayed.
I was interested in creating an open environment similar to Virginia Grise’s platicas, where we could discuss the interviewees’ experiences. The aspect of citizenship was also very prominent in the podcast. The people who were immigrants brought a culture that was a lot more traditional such as machismo. The family of immigrants brought machismo values and heavily instilled it onto their children. Through the interview, I was able to see how some of the traditional values changed through the generations. For example, I did not experience my father being machismo although my mother experienced it. Another aspect of the class that I wanted to integrate was analyzing art. During class, we analyzed images and paintings as well as fashion with the Zoot Suits. In this instance, I used a musical lens to dissect music, a significant cultural element within the Latino community. The podcast explored how the sounds, lyrics, music videos, and dance styles within Latino music collectively contribute to the vibrant tapestry of Latino culture.
Reflecting on the project I was able to dive deeper into my Latino culture and how it has influenced my values. Overall I enjoyed the class. It was different from my other Latino course as this one was more discussion-based rather than lectures. This interactive format allowed for a more personalized engagement with the material, enabling the integration of personal experiences into the academic discourse. Throughout the discussions, I greatly reflected on my experiences and was able to bring them into perspective with the readings. I also appreciate the freedom that was given for the final project. I was able to be creative and incorporate my skills and passion for editing for the project as opposed to just writing an essay(which is not my strong suit). The freedom of the final project also allowed me to discuss a topic that was important to me, feminism. Although we did not specifically talk about feminism, the topic connects back to the idea of culture and how one’s upbringing influences moral principles.