The Queer Nuyorican: Racialized Sexualities and Aesthetics in Loisaida

The Nuyorican Poets Cafe, a small performance venue on New York City's Lower East Side, is widely credited as the homespace for the emergent nuyorican literary and aesthetic movement of the 1990s. The Queer Nuyorican is the first queer genealogy and critical study of the historical, political, and cultural conditions under which the term "Nuyorican" shifted from a raced/ethnic identity marker to "nuyorican," an aesthetic practice. It uses hip-hop studies, critical race, queer, literary, and performance theories to document the interventions made by queer and trans artists of color, such as Miguel Piñero, Regie Cabico, Glam Slam participants, and Ellison Glenn/Black Cracker, whose works demonstrate how the Cafe has operated as a queer space since its founding.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 224 pages
Publication date: 29 June 2021
Publisher: New York University Press

The Nuyorican Poets Cafe, a modest and inconspicuous performance space on New York City's Lower East Side, may easily be passed by. However, the venue, which in the 1970s was the home of the rising nuyorican literary and aesthetic movement, has hosted notable figures such as Victor Hernández Cruz, Allen Ginsberg, and Amiri Baraka. The space, founded by a group of counterculturalist Puerto Rican immigrants and artists, gradually transformed the Puerto Rican ethnic and cultural associations associated with the term "Nuyorican." As the Cafe evolved into a central hub for an artistic movement encompassing queer, trans, and diasporic performance, it played a pivotal role in redefining the term "Nuyorican" from a raced/ethnic identity marker to "nuyorican," an aesthetic practice.
The Queer Nuyorican is a groundbreaking queer genealogy and critical study of the historical, political, and cultural factors that contributed to the transformation of the term "Nuyorican" from a raced/ethnic identity marker to "nuyorican," an aesthetic practice. This book explores the historical roots of the Nuyorican aesthetic, which recognizes and includes queer poets and performers of color whose writing and performance build upon the politics inherent in the Cafe's founding. Initially situated within the Cafe's physical space and countercultural discursive history, the nuyorican aesthetic extends beyond these gendered and ethnic boundaries, broadening the ethnic marker Nuyorican to include queer, trans, and diasporic performance modalities.
One of the key aspects of the nuyorican aesthetic is its embrace of hip-hop, a genre that emerged from the Bronx in the 1970s and has since become a global phenomenon. Hip-hop, with its powerful lyrics, rhythmic beats, and cultural significance, has played a significant role in shaping the nuyorican aesthetic. Many nuyorican poets and performers have incorporated hip-hop into their work, using it as a means to express their experiences, challenge social norms, and promote social justice.
The Queer Nuyorican also delves into the political and social contexts that shaped the nuyorican aesthetic. The book explores the impact of colonialism, racism, and discrimination on Puerto Rican communities, as well as the struggles for cultural recognition and identity within these communities. The nuyorican aesthetic, with its emphasis on queer and trans identities, has been a powerful tool for challenging these oppressive structures and promoting a more inclusive and diverse society.
In conclusion, The Queer Nuyorican is a groundbreaking work that offers a comprehensive and nuanced understanding of the historical, political, and cultural factors that have shaped the nuyorican aesthetic. Through its queer genealogy and critical study, the book provides a valuable contribution to the field of theatre history and cultural studies. It sheds light on the ways in which performance spaces, such as the Nuyorican Poets Cafe, can be sites of cultural transformation and resistance, and how aesthetics can be used to challenge and redefine social norms and identities.

Dimension: 229 x 152 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781479808298