Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Date of Degree

6-2026

Document Type

Doctoral Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

Program

Music

Advisor

Scott Burnham

Committee Members

Jason Eckardt

Jeffrey Taylor

Suzanne Farrin

Subject Categories

Ethnomusicology | Latin American Studies | Music | Musicology | Music Theory

Keywords

Puerto Rico, Hurricane Maria, Puertorriqueñidad

Abstract

This dissertation examines the manifestation of Puertorriqueñidad (Puerto Rican identity) in concert music composed after Hurricane María (2017), a catastrophe that catalyzed a profound shift in Puerto Rico's cultural consciousness. Focusing on four composers whose early careers were shaped by this period—Johanny Navarro, John Rivera Pico, Iván E. Rodríguez, and Christian Quiñones—the study combines close readings of scores and recordings with extensive original interviews to understand how musical identity is constructed in the wake of collective trauma. The analysis reveals that while the composers share a generational bond, their aesthetic practices are strikingly diverse: Navarro preserves Afro-Caribbean rhythmic structures, Rivera Pico "masks" folkloric material within modernist textures, Rodríguez juxtaposes tradition with post-Romantic virtuosity, and Quiñones recontextualizes reggaeton and popular music within the concert hall. By illuminating this multiplicity, the dissertation argues that Puertorriqueñidad functions not as a fixed stylistic checklist but as a dynamic conceptual framework. Through individual strategies of defiance, transformation, and recontextualization, these composers resist reductive expectations and ultimately expand the boundaries of what Puerto Rican concert music can be.

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