Professor of Women & Gender Studies,听, will inaugurate the听American Music Research Center鈥檚听new Counterpoints Lecture with her talk,听"Dancing With Death: Celia Cruz鈥檚 Az煤car and Queer of Color Survival"听on Monday, November 2 at 5:30 pm MST.听听Her presentation will explore how Grammy award-winning and Cuba鈥檚 legendary international 鈥淨ueen of Salsa鈥� singer, Celia Cruz鈥檚 signature catchphrase az煤car evolved from her early songs into a philosophy that was adopted by queer fans of color听in the aftermath of the 2016 Pulse Nightclub massacre.听听The talk will be delivered remotely, .
Celia Cruz
鈥淎z煤car literally means sugar,鈥� cited Dr. Soares, a Cuban-American scholar and performance artist whose work explores queerness in Caribbean and Latinx communities. 鈥淐ruz started shouting it as an aside in her songs in the 1960s, though its frequency (and its marketing)听would听increase throughout her career.听 It is basically an encouragement to enjoy life, to be in听the present moment, and to be unapologetic about it.鈥�
Cruz grew to fame in Cuba during the 1950s as a member of the popular group, Sonora Matancera and mastered celebrated skills in a variety of Afro-Cuban music styles. 听In 1961 she moved to the U.S, becoming a major part of听New York's Latin music scene.听听Soares proclaimed that 鈥淐ruz was one of听only two women signed to a major salsa record label in the early 1970s.听 This meant that she was very controlled, always watched by her bodyguards. Her image was very managed. Even within that, however, she used her powerful voice, her clever asides, and her fashion to carve out space for Black femininity.鈥�
Soares鈥檚 research, which focuses on听19th-21st century Latinx literature and media, has been published听in journals such as听Frontiers, Letras Femeninas, Revista de Estudios Hisp谩nicos,听补苍诲听搁别尘别锄肠濒补.听听The AMRC is beyond delighted that she will be headlining the first Counterpoints Lecture, presenting some of the musical elements in her scholarship.
Dr. Kristie Soares
Susan Thomas, Director of the AMRC, Professor of Musicology, and creator of the new lecture explained, 鈥渢he Counterpoints Lecture is designed to highlight the exciting interdisciplinary work that鈥檚 being done on American music.听 Because at CU we are blessed with so many amazing American music and sound scholars across the University that we鈥檝e decided to kick off the series by focusing on some of that talent. 听While scholars from a lot of disciplines work on American music topics, we aren鈥檛 always familiar with each others鈥� work, so this series aims to increase interdisciplinary dialogue, both in the discipline as a whole, but also here on campus, where faculty and students can be so siloed that we don鈥檛 realize the potential collaborations, intersections, and synergies that might exist just a building or two away.鈥�
Professor Soares grew up in Miami listening to Celia Cruz's music and watching her videos. 听She is currently working on her new book,听Joyful Protest: The Political Work of Positive Affect in Latinx Cultural Production,听and some of her recent courses include,听Women of Color in Activism听补苍诲听Latina/x Studies.听