"Así me gustas gordita": Representaciones de la gordura en la música popular y la literatura del Caribe hispano

Date

2007-12-17T23:53:01Z

Authors

Braden, Emily

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Abstract

This thesis examines contemporary musical and literary representations of female fatness in the Hispanic Caribbean. Chapter I explores the stereotype of a greater acceptance and valorization of fatness within the African Diaspora using contemporary feminist scholarship on cultural aesthetics and the body. Fatness is discussed as being both sexually transgressive and traditionally feminine. Chapter II juxtaposes male representations of “la gorda” in the lyrics of popular music of from Cuba, the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico with the feminist politics of underground hip hop. Chapter III analyzes Guillermo Cabrera Infante’s hyperbolic representation of La Estrella, his fictionalization of Cuban bolero singer Fredy Rodriguez, in Ella cantaba boleros y “Metafinal” (1996). The aquatic subtexts and grotesque characterization of La Estrella’s body construct her as an icon of musical authenticity and exceptionality as well as a symbol of strength and resistance.

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Keywords

gordura, fatness, Cabrera Infante, Guillermo, Tres tristes tigres, Dominican Republic, República Dominicana, Cuba, Puerto Rico, fat, gorda, popular music, música popular, la gorda, Fredy, La Estrella, Fredesvinda García Rodríguez, salsa, merengue, reggaeton, body, cuerpo, representation, representación, feminista, feminismo, Hispanic, Caribbean, Caribe hispano, Shaw, Andrea, women, mujer, lyrics, letras, Krudas, La Sista, lyrical analysis, black, negra, negritud, gordo, feminism, feminist, corporal, literatura, latino, latina, body image, beauty ideals, ideales, belleza, Matafinal, bolero, cantante, singer, contemporary, contemporánea, African, Diaspora, cultural, aesthetics, sexuality, la gorda, aquatic, authenticity

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