El corazón frente al mar de Luis Rafael Sánchez como bolero crítico.

  • Published In: MLN, 2025, v. 140, n. 2. P. 355 1 of 3

  • Database: Academic Search Ultimate 2 of 3

  • Authored By: Piazza, Sarah 3 of 3

Abstract

This article analyzes how Puerto Rican author Luis Rafael Sánchez incorporates the bolero as a musical genre into his recent essay, El corazón frente al mar (2021). I maintain that both the bolero and Sánchez's essay are texts as defined by Roland Barthes because of how they demand the listener's/reader's creative interpretation. I analyze the essay and the lyrics of the boleros to which Sánchez refers to demonstrate how the essay dialogues with multiple themes of the patriotic Puerto Rican bolero while modernizing its content. Ultimately, I argue that the essay constitutes a narrative bolero that both celebrates and scrutinizes Old San Juan, Puerto Rico, and the Caribbean. Este artículo analiza el ensayo El corazón frente al mar (2021) del autor puertorriqueño Luis Rafael Sánchez a partir de su incorporación del género musical del bolero. Sostengo que tanto el bolero como el ensayo de Sánchez son textos en el sentido que propone Roland Barthes por la forma en que exigen la interpretación creativa del oyente/lector. Analizo en paralelo el ensayo y la letra de algunos de los boleros a los que se refiere Sánchez a fin de mostrar cómo el ensayo dialoga con varias de las temáticas del bolero patriótico puertorriqueño a la vez que moderniza su contenido. En última instancia, arguyo que el ensayo de Sánchez constituye un bolero narrativo que a la vez celebra y escudriña el Viejo San Juan, Puerto Rico y el Caribe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Additional Information

  • Source:MLN. 2025/03, Vol. 140, Issue 2, p355
  • Document Type:Article
  • Subject Area:Literature and Writing
  • Publication Date:2025
  • ISSN:0026-7910
  • DOI:10.1353/mln.2025.a968757
  • Accession Number:188160458
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