Cuban Women and Salsa

Salsa is both an American and transnational phenomenon, however women in salsa have been neglected. To explore how female singers negotiate issues of gender, race, and nation through their performances, Poey engages with the ways they problematize the idea of the nation and facilitate their musical performances' movement across multiple borders.

"Taking a cultural studies approach, Poey examines a variety of materials: movies, recordings and accounts of live performances, song lyrics, and videos. Throughout she is interested in how performers challenge and inflect racial and gender norms. I especially liked the discussion of the way Mendoza substituted the audience for the male partner in a guaguancó, the critique of Estefan's carefully crafted career and persona, and the insightful reading in the last chapter of Albita's album covers and music videos. A great deal has been written about salsa music in the last several decades, but I don't know of a monograph like this one, which addresses exclusively the contribution of women performers." - Gustavo Pérez Firmat, Columbia University, USA

Delia Poey is Associate Professor of Spanish at Florida State University, USA.