“Roncamos porque podemos”

Abstract

The track “Ronca” on reggaetonero Don Omar’s 2005 hits collection Da Hitman Presents Reggaeton Latino attests to Don Omar’s right to make noise in reggaetón through references to his power and capital success. Roncar, literally meaning to snore in Spanish, signifies making noise or making trouble in the vernacular of reggaetón. Reggaetón as a genre combines several musical styles originating in the Caribbean, the Caribbean diaspora, and the African American community and since the late 1990s has become an important form of expressive culture through which to capture Latino/a youth identities in the Caribbean, Latin America, and the United States. As one of reggaetón’s most prolific practitioners, Don Omar has both shaped the commercial and artistic trajectory of the genre and also proclaimed himself “el rey del reggaetón” (the king of reggaetón), emerging as a voice of Latino/a youth. As an island-born Afro–Puerto Rican of poor upbringing, Don Omar physically embodies the performative components of reggaetón and roncar—namely, ghetto authenticity, blackness, and masculine power.

Roncamos porque podemos (We make noise because we can).

—Don Omar “Ronca,” Da Hitman Presents Reggaeton Latino