Theory of Social Change

 The Community Batey of La Plaza del Negro as a cultural agent theorizes the arts as a necessary form of resistance, in the way that they serve as a medium for deeply-rooted tensions to be expressed so they can be addressed in a social or political sphere. “If I don’t dance this bomba, I’m going to die” is a refrain from a traditional bomba song, and a sentiment that percolates to modern bomba practices. This quote is reminiscent of Audre Lorde’s theory in Poetry is not a Luxury, where she asserted that poetry is a “vital necessity of our existence” that forms the “quality of light within which we predicate our hopes and dreams toward survival and change, first made into language, than into idea, then into more tangible action”. It is within this framework that la bomba can be analyzed as a creative practice within which progressive social change may be imagined, before it moves from vision to reality by first rousing emotions and then becoming political. While this makes la bomba an extremely valuable cultural agent to invest in, its separation from the traditional model of contemporary politics that rests solely in legislation, voting, and protests makes its connection to the political condition of Puerto Rico more abstract and thus potentially more difficult to work with. 

To continue, due to its birth as a music of suffering and pain, and its history as a seditious practice that challenged colonialism and coloniality, la bomba provides a space to deeply feel and to understand one’s condition, thus offering a sense of plenitude deeply rooted in the spiritual and the communal. In this way, it serves as a tool for liberation — simultaneously at a personal and community level, but also in a sense of political change. This can be understood within the framework of Ni Una Menos’ theory of feminist resistance, in which pleasure and joy are treated as critical to fueling sustainable social change. The Community Batey’s ability to foster such a strong communal groundedness in Puerto Rico’s cultural, social, and political identity make it an important recipient of the SCC’s investment, particularly given that the US provides almost no funding to Puerto Rico for the purpose of their arts and culture, though fundamentally central to the territory’s existence. 

At the Community Batey at la Plaza del Negro, la bomba functions in envisioning both intersectionality and temporality. Race, economic class, gender are not separated, but rather treated as inherently intertwined. Further, la bomba recognizes that history cannot be separated from the modern condition, a concept which can be understood through Cusicanqui’s theory of decolonizing thought. All considered, la bomba has a way of envisioning categories typically seen as separate instead as communed and united, giving it a unique strength in subverting systems of capitalism, patriarchy, and (neo)colonialism that the SCC serves to combat.

La Colectiva Feminista en Construcción operationalizes feminist ideas from the roots of black, decolonial feminism to produce alternative ways of thinking, acting, and being and to counter hegemonic power and epistemic systems. 

La Cole conceptualizes gender-based violence, racism, classism, xenophobia, and homophobia as inter-related issues stemming from a deeply flawed societal structure. Aiming to expose the corruption of both the federal U.S. and local Puerto Rican governments, they build from within the “culture of resistance” needed to protect their “vidas dignas” (translation: dignified lives), which encapsulates preserving traditions, heritage, land, health, and well-being as a community. They organize to critique and combat the hierarchy imposed by EuroModernity; a hierarchy that dehumanizes those seen as the “other” and treats people like expendable assets. In “Global Feminism”, bell hooks asserted that the only way to subvert neocolonial ways of thinking in feminist practices is through the  “sustained protest and resistance on the part of black women/women of color and our radical white sisters'' (bell hooks 46). By advocating for Puerto Rican freedom and the right to a dignified life through the framework of black, decolonial feminism, La Cole retakes power from the colonizing U.S., the corrupt local government, and the hierarchy of class, and centers its praxis in feminism from the people and places that have been alienated and exploited. 

SSC should invest in La Colectiva Feminista because the manifold, concrete methods of La Cole in accomplishing their goals are such as to build solidarity and support from within for Puerto Ricans while reflecting SSC’s mission of combating patriarchy, capitalism, and neocolonialism. La Cole’s main approaches are to provide education and ideological growth with the ESFRA, to foster an environment of cultural resistance through political protest and artistic expression, and to build solidarity through community care. These pursuits, all undertaken from a standpoint of black feminism, align with SSC’s interest in supporting on-the-ground efforts that fuel critical thought (seen with the ESFRA), arts (seen with Prieta Caribe), and culture (which encompasses all facets of their mission to work through community and the heritage of black feminism). While La Cole’s influence is limited on the global sphere, since its primary focus is on the freedom and well-being of Puerto Ricans, they are endeavoring to build international and inter-cultural networks of feminist and anti-colonial resistance through their podcast La Prendía and their remote, accessible workshops with the ESFRA. 

Both the Community Batey and La Colectiva Feminista operate from Afro-Puerto Rican perspectives to create a community of solidarity and spirituality where resistance is grounded in artistic practice. Rather than relying on institutions, both collectives draw on internal indigenous and local experience to subvert hegemonic systems of oppression. Resistance, for them, is framed through cultural heritage and shared bonds. These strategies can be understood within the frameworks of Cusicanqui and bell hooks, who both emphasize decolonizing feminist practice, as well as the unique role of art in the political sphere that is highlighted by Ni Una Menos.