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Jorell Meléndez-Badillo

@jmelendezbadillo.bsky.social
2.2K followers 144 following 63 posts

Associate Prof of Latin American and Caribbean History @UWMadison. ✍️The Lettered Barriada (DukeUP); Puerto Rico: A National History (PrincetonUP/Planeta); A Counter-Republic of Letters (under contract w/ DukeUP). 🇵🇷 💾: linktr.ee/jmelendezbadillo

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Reposted by Jorell Meléndez-Badillo
Aurora Santiago Ortiz @santiaaurora.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
So proud of @jmelendezbadillo.bsky.social !!!
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Reposted by Jorell Meléndez-Badillo
Duke University Press @dukepress.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
The editors of "Interrogating the Future of Puerto Rican Studies," @santiaaurora.bsky.social & @jmelendezbadillo.bsky.social, appear at the Wisconsin Book Festival this month. And check out all our author events in October: buff.ly/d9h0t7o
Interrogating the Future of Puerto Rican Studies edited by Aurora Santiago Ortiz and Jorell A. Meléndez-Badillo. The cover is a rainbow gradient with navy blue at the top and red at the bottom. The title is written in a bold sans serif white text in all caps with “Puerto Rican Studies” written larger. Centered on the text is a cut out in the shape of Puerto Rica revealing the background gradient. The editors' names are below in white.
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Princeton University Press @princetonupress.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
This exciting new series kicks off tonight at 8 pm EDT with an episode spotlighting Hispanic/Latinx Heritage Month, & we are delighted to see @jmelendezbadillo.bsky.social's Puerto Rico: A National History featured in the themed reading list! To learn more, visit: buff.ly/YNNrx1u
Uncovered Episode 1 Themed Reading List: Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Through Story. Discover more at pbsbooks.org/uncovered
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Jorell Meléndez-Badillo @jmelendezbadillo.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
I still can't get over the fact that Bisan Owda dropped a new video criticizing the construction of Esencia, which is a death sentence to Puerto Rico, with my book in her hand.
Bisan Owda holds the book "Puerto Rico: A National History"
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Jorell Meléndez-Badillo @jmelendezbadillo.bsky.social · 15/06/2026
There is a country in the Caribbean that is currently undergoing a severe water crisis, adding to an already collapsing electric infrastructure. And I am not talking about Cuba, but about the Puerto Rican archipelago--a colony of the United States.
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Princeton University Press @princetonupress.bsky.social · 14/06/2026
Attending the National Puerto Rican Day Parade in New York today? Stop into a bookstore for a copy of @jmelendezbadillo.bsky.social's Puerto Rico, a panoramic history of #PuertoRico from pre-Columbian times to today. 🇵🇷 Learn more about this important book: press.princeton.edu/books/paperb...
Paperback cover of Puerto Rico: A National History by Jorell Meléndez-Badillo
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Princeton Audio @princetonaudio.bsky.social · 14/06/2026
Attending the National Puerto Rican Day Parade in New York today? Listen to this audiobook on the way! @jmelendezbadillo.bsky.social's Puerto Rico is a panoramic history of Puerto Rico from pre-Columbian times to today 🇵🇷 Listen to a preview here, plus take 30% off with code PUP30: buff.ly/Ot9Lcix
Puerto Rico: A National History by Jorell Meléndez-Badillo, read by Tony Chiroldes
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Aurora Santiago Ortiz @santiaaurora.bsky.social · 10/04/2026
Our book is in Leeds! @jmelendezbadillo.bsky.social
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Duke University Press @dukepress.bsky.social · 01/04/2026
This April we're releasing a slew of terrific new titles, including "Interrogating the Future of Puerto Rican Studies" edited by Aurora Santiago Ortiz @santiaaurora.bsky.social and Jorell Meléndez-Badillo @jmelendezbadillo.bsky.social. Check out the full list on our blog: buff.ly/cb6xrFO
Interrogating the Future of Puerto Rican Studies edited by Aurora Santiago Ortiz and Jorell A. Meléndez-Badillo. The cover is a rainbow gradient with navy blue at the top and red at the bottom. The title is written in a bold sans serif white text in all caps with “Puerto Rican Studies” written larger. Centered on the text is a cut out in the shape of Puerto Rica revealing the background gradient. The editors' names are below in white.
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Jorell Meléndez-Badillo @jmelendezbadillo.bsky.social · 25/02/2026
It’s not nuanced: when you celebrate the elimination of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion it’s because you are promoting and fostering Homogeneity, Inequity, and Exclusion.
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Duke University Press @dukepress.bsky.social · 20/02/2026
"Interrogating the Future of Puerto Rican Studies," edited by Aurora Santiago Ortiz and @jmelendezbadillo.bsky.social, examines the disciplinary and epistemic transformations that have given way to new understandings of the field of Puerto Rican studies. Read the intro fro free now: buff.ly/iInTccO
Interrogating the Future of Puerto Rican Studies edited by Aurora Santiago Ortiz and Jorell A. Meléndez-Badillo. The cover is a rainbow gradient with navy blue at the top and red at the bottom. The title is written in a bold sans serif white text in all caps with “Puerto Rican Studies” written larger. Centered on the text is a cut out in the shape of Puerto Rica revealing the background gradient. The editors' names are below in white.
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Princeton University Press @princetonupress.bsky.social · 19/02/2026
See @jmelendezbadillo.bsky.social at the National Museum of Puerto Rican Arts and Culture tomorrow (Feb 20) at 6:00pm CST! He'll discuss his book, Puerto Rico, and how his scholarship is shaping how Puerto Rican history is being understood, even influencing Bad Bunny. Register here: buff.ly/nDY7pBA
Puerto Rico: A National History by Jorell Meléndez-BadilloJorell Meléndez-Badillo
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Hispanic American Historical Review @hahr21.bsky.social · 18/02/2026
You can read more of @jmelendezbadillo.bsky.social's work on the history of Puerto Rico in HAHR via @dukepress.bsky.social: doi.org/10.1215/0018...
doi.org
A Party of Ex-convicts: Bolívar Ochart, Carceral Logics, and the Socialist Party in Early Twentieth-Century Puerto Rico
Abstract. This article uses the case of Bolívar Ochart, a midlevel member of the Socialist Party of Puerto Rico, to explore the ways that labor leaders navigated the Puerto Rican polity after the 1898...
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Mónica A. Jiménez @monijimenez.bsky.social · 16/02/2026
Before you rush off to buy your tix to PR, please educate yourself a bit. You can read my book (Making Never-Never Land: Race and Law in the Creation of PR) & my homie's @jmelendezbadillo.bsky.social (PR: A National History) & many others, just do your homework. consequence.net/2026/02/bad-...
consequence.net
Bad Bunny's Super Bowl Halftime Show Leads to 245% Spike in Travel Interest to Puerto Rico
Bad Bunny's halftime show has caused a major increase in flight searches to Puerto Rico and other Latin countries.
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Jorell Meléndez-Badillo @jmelendezbadillo.bsky.social · 11/02/2026
In a moment when our ability to imagine a future is under attack, I had the privilege of co-editing w @santiaaurora.bsky.social this volume gathering so many incredible scholars and activists thinking about the future of Puerto Rican Studies. The book comes out on April 21 w @dukepress.bsky.social
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Aurora Santiago Ortiz @santiaaurora.bsky.social · 11/02/2026
Cover reveal day! @jmelendezbadillo.bsky.social and I’s co-edited volume. We are thrilled to be in the company of such wonderful cutting edge scholars. Preorder at www.dukeupress.edu/interrogatin....
Image of a book with the words Interrogating the Future of Puerto Rican Studies with gradient colors of black, blue, yellow, red.
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Fidel Martinez @fidel.bsky.social · 11/02/2026
My colleague Andrea Flores, profiled @jmelendezbadillo.bsky.social back in Jan 2025 about collabing with BB. www.latimes.com/delos/story/...
latimes.com
Bad Bunny's 'Debí Tirar Más Fotos' is a love letter to Puerto Rico. This professor helped him tell the island's history
Released Jan. 5, the record pays homage to the island’s rich rhythms like plena and salsa, and delves into it’s seldom taught history.
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Fidel Martinez @fidel.bsky.social · 11/02/2026
Last week we published this op-ed by @jmelendezbadillo.bsky.social about the historic nature of this performance. Jorell is the academic who worked with bad bunny’s team on the visualizers for DTMF, which were full of lessons on Puerto Rican history www.latimes.com/delos/story/...
latimes.com
Essay: Bad Bunny's Super Bowl halftime show will be a history lesson for the ages
Historian Jorell A. Meléndez-Badillo hopes Bad Bunny's halftime show will combat "acute ignorance" about Puerto Rico and its ongoing entanglement with the United States.
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Derek Gottlieb @derekgottliebphd.com · 09/02/2026
Jorell is quite rightly being lauded for collaborating with Bad Bunny, and his PUERTO RICO, from @princetonupress.bsky.social, is fantastic, I keep thinking, as I've watched MPLS, of his earlier book THE LETTERED BARRIADA, about PR organizing and educating under occupation in the first half of C20.
dukeupress.edu
The Lettered Barriada: Workers, Archival Power, and the Politics of Knowledge in Puerto Rico
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Jorell Meléndez-Badillo @jmelendezbadillo.bsky.social · 09/02/2026
I wrote this article last week and, luckily, it still holds after the Benito Bowl: “I believe Bad Bunny’s performance will invite people to understand the beauty and complexity of our people’s history, even if it makes outsiders uncomfortable.”
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Jorell Meléndez-Badillo @jmelendezbadillo.bsky.social · 09/02/2026
Bad Bunny’s performance began in the plantation, featured broken electric poles, and ended by centering a hemispheric understanding of “América”—among many other things—and some Anglo journalists are like “his performance wasn’t political.” This is why we need to be telling our stories.
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Dr. Natalie Mendoza @drmendozan.bsky.social · 09/02/2026
Pretty sure one was consulted, definitely was for the album news.wisc.edu/pop-star-bad...
news.wisc.edu
Pop star Bad Bunny needed a Puerto Rican history scholar. UW–Madison had just the one.
Bad Bunny collaborated with UW–Madison history professor Jorell Meléndez-Badillo on Puerto Rican narratives that accompany the new album “DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS.”
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Jorell Meléndez-Badillo @jmelendezbadillo.bsky.social · 07/02/2026
Check out my CNN interview talking about el bebo, a.k.a. Bad Bunny:
instagram.com
cnn on Instagram: "Super Bowl halftime performer Bad Bunny has been vocal about his views on immigration recently, but the Puerto Rican singer has bee…"
Super Bowl halftime performer Bad Bunny has been vocal about his views on immigration recently, but the Puerto Rican singer has been outspoken about political issues since he first came to the scene years ago.Read more at the link in our bio.
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Jorell Meléndez-Badillo @jmelendezbadillo.bsky.social · 06/02/2026
Check out my opinion piece at De Los from the Los Angeles Times on Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl halftime show as a history lesson.
latimes.com
Essay: Bad Bunny's Super Bowl halftime show will be a history lesson for the ages
Historian Jorell A. Meléndez-Badillo hopes Bad Bunny's halftime show will combat "acute ignorance" about Puerto Rico and its ongoing entanglement with the United States.
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Princeton University Press @princetonupress.bsky.social · 02/02/2026
Congratulations to Bad Bunny, whose album DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS won Album of the Year at the 2026 #GRAMMYS! 🎉 🏆️ Did you know that the album’s accompanying YouTube visualizers were written by @jmelendezbadillo.bsky.social, author of Puerto Rico: A National History? (1/3)
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Fidel Martinez @fidel.bsky.social · 02/02/2026
To know more about the album of the year and its many layers, read this story about @jmelendezbadillo.bsky.social. “Bad Bunny’s ‘Debí Tirar Más Fotos’ is a love letter to Puerto Rico. This professor helped him tell the island’s history” www.latimes.com/delos/story/...
latimes.com
Bad Bunny's 'Debí Tirar Más Fotos' is a love letter to Puerto Rico. This professor helped him tell the island's history
Released Jan. 5, the record pays homage to the island’s rich rhythms like plena and salsa, and delves into it’s seldom taught history.
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Revista Jacobina @revistajacobina.bsky.social · 02/02/2026
Jorell Meléndez-Badillo trabalhou com o astro Bad Bunny em seu último álbum para informar os fãs sobre a história de luta popular de Porto Rico. Seu trabalho como historiador é parte de um importante momento político pelo qual os porto-riquenhos estão passando agora.
jacobin.com.br
A radical história de Porto Rico está sendo redescoberta
Jorell Meléndez-Badillo trabalhou com o astro Bad Bunny em seu novo álbum para informar os fãs sobre a história de luta popular de Porto Rico. Seu trabalho como historiador é parte de um importante mo...
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Jorell Meléndez-Badillo @jmelendezbadillo.bsky.social · 14/01/2026
The CfP for the 2026 Puerto Rican Studies Association Conference in Chicago is officially live!!! The theme is “Rooted Rican Pasts, Solidarity Futures.” www.ricanstudies.com/2026-cfp
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CUNY Graduate Center @thegraduatecenter.bsky.social · 16/12/2025
ICYMI, watch “Deep Dive: Listening to Bad Bunny - @jmelendezbadillo.bsky.social and Miguel Zenón in Conversation” youtu.be/YYh1WJ2fEUs Listening to key tracks, a scholar and a musician discuss the musical and cultural significance of this extremely popular artist. @cuny.edu #puertorican
youtu.be
Deep Dive: Listening to Bad Bunny - Jorell Meléndez-Badillo and Miguel Zenón in Conversation
YouTube video by CUNY Graduate Center
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CUNY Graduate Center @thegraduatecenter.bsky.social · 11/12/2025
Thank you for a fascinating look at the music & impact of #BadBunny! “Deep Dive: Listening to Bad Bunny - @jmelendezbadillo.bsky.social & Miguel Zenón in Conversation” was moderated by Maurice Restrepo and introduced by Agustina Checa. Video coming soon!
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Duke University Press @dukepress.bsky.social · 05/12/2025
The Spring 2026 catalog is live! We're featuring #NewBooks by @rtrodrig.bsky.social, @beansvelocci.bsky.social, @amynbooks.bsky.social, @lalehkhalili.bsky.social, @jmelendezbadillo.bsky.social, @santiaaurora.bsky.social, and so many more. Check it out now: buff.ly/eJyyixc
Cover of Duke University Press catalog. The background features the Puerto Rican flag colors—red, white, and blue. "Duke University Press" is written in yellow and white in the blue triangular section and "Spring and Summer 2026" is in the red and white section on the left. Features an illustration of Bad Bunny wearing a yellow outfit and a large straw hat, holding a microphone with yellow lightning bolts emanating from it is in the lower half. The DUP logo is in the lower right.
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Fidel Martinez @fidel.bsky.social · 03/12/2025
Given that we are in December and are looking back at the year that was, I’m particularly proud of this Bad Bunny article we published in January. It’s about how intentional Benito was about crafting the album of the year, leaning into the history of the island that made him the world’s biggest star
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CUNY Graduate Center @thegraduatecenter.bsky.social · 02/12/2025
Join us Wed, 12/10, 6:30p (in person or online) for Deep Dive: Listening to Bad Bunny - @jmelendezbadillo.bsky.social & Miguel Zenón in Conversation – RESERVE: www.gc.cuny.edu/events/deep-... Listen to key tracks and learn about the style and significance of this extremely popular artist. #BadBunny
gc.cuny.edu
Deep Dive: Listening to Bad Bunny - Jorell Meléndez-Badillo and Miguel Zenón in Conversation
Elebash Recital Hall
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Princeton University Press @princetonupress.bsky.social · 01/12/2025
Tomorrow (Dec 2) at 5:00 pm CST, please join the University of Minnesota in welcoming @jmelendezbadillo.bsky.social for a guest lecture on his book, Puerto Rico, as part of the Katherine E. Nash Gallery's exhibit "21st-Century Art of Puerto Rico and Its Diaspora." Learn more here: buff.ly/tqbbInO
Puerto Rico: A National History by Jorell Meléndez-BadilloJorell Meléndez-Badillo
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Princeton University Press @princetonupress.bsky.social · 25/11/2025
Next week, Dec 2 at 5:00 pm CST, please join the University of Minnesota in welcoming @jmelendezbadillo.bsky.social for a guest lecture on his book, Puerto Rico, as part of the Katherine E. Nash Gallery's exhibit "21st-Century Art of Puerto Rico and Its Diaspora." Learn more here: buff.ly/tqbbInO
Puerto Rico: A National History by Jorell Meléndez-BadilloJorell Meléndez-Badillo
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Immigration History Research Center @ihrc-umn.bsky.social · 17/11/2025
Join the IHRC and the Nash Gallery for Puerto Rico: A National History with Bad Bunny collaborator Jorell Melendez-Badillo on Dec 2. Learn about the history of Puerto Rico and its diaspora. z.umn.edu/JorellMelendezBadillo @jmelendezbadillo.bsky.social @oah.org @iehs.bsky.social
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Princeton University Press @princetonupress.bsky.social · 25/09/2025
Tomorrow (September 26th) from 8:30am to 2:00pm EDT, see @jmelendezbadillo.bsky.social, author of Puerto Rico, in conversation with Yomaira Figueroa-Vásquez at @michiganstateu.bsky.social's Latine Voces Uncensored event. Learn more about this free, in-person event here: buff.ly/ZFk8giu
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Jorell Meléndez-Badillo @jmelendezbadillo.bsky.social · 05/09/2025
The placeholder for "Interrogating the Future of Puerto Rican Studies," which I'm co-editing with @santiaaurora.bsky.social is live in the @dukepress.bsky.social website!!! So excited to be in dialogue with so many incredible Puerto Rican scholars. www.dukeupress.edu/interrogatin...
dukeupress.edu
Interrogating the Future of Puerto Rican Studies
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Princeton University Press @princetonupress.bsky.social · 23/08/2025
Very exciting to hear @jmelendezbadillo.bsky.social, author of Puerto Rico: A National History, on ‪@vox.com‬ Today, Explained! Listen to the full episode here: megaphone.link/VMP6691376741
megaphone.link
Good Bunny by Today, Explained
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Jorell Meléndez-Badillo @jmelendezbadillo.bsky.social · 19/07/2025
Profundamente agradecido por la oportunidad de amplificar nuestra historia utilizando el billboard más visto en todo Puerto Rico—el de la residencia de Bad Bunny en el Choliseo. Es sumamente increíble el poder utilizar esa plataforma para resaltar y amplificar nuestra historia.
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Renata Keller @renatakeller.bsky.social · 09/07/2025
Love a good conference discount book haul! @shafrhistorians.bsky.social @ievajusionyte.bsky.social @jmelendezbadillo.bsky.social @marydudziak.bsky.social
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David Abuín Eichinger @davideichinger.bsky.social · 07/07/2025
Just finished reading @jmelendezbadillo.bsky.social's book on Puerto Rico. I knew nothing about this history. My only connection to the island is that half my DNA is from it and I have a few relatives there. I don't speak Spanish nor know any of its culture. It was an enlightening read.
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Jorell Meléndez-Badillo @jmelendezbadillo.bsky.social · 25/06/2025
***Please share widely*** @santiaaurora.bsky.social and I are guest curating Pablo Delano's new exhibit, "cuestiones caribeñas/caribbean matters: assemblage and sculpture by pablo delano" at the Chazen Museum at @uwmadison.bsky.social. chazen.wisc.edu/pablo-delano...
chazen.wisc.edu
Pablo Delano Centers Complex Caribbean Histories in New Exhibition at Chazen Museum of Art - Chazen Museum of Art
‘cuestiones caribeñas/caribbean matters’ confronts colonialism and highlights shared experiences across the archipelago MADISON, Wis. — Grapple with the Caribbean’s complex contradictions and engage i...
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Ben Waber @bwaber.bsky.social · 25/06/2025
Last was "Puerto Rico" by @jmelendezbadillo.bsky.social, who provides rich analysis of interactions between the archipelago and Spain, and incredible context on unfair relations with the US and movements to change the relationship. Highly recommend Full review: bookwyrm.social/user/bwaber/... (3/3)
press.princeton.edu
Puerto Rico
A panoramic history of Puerto Rico from pre-Columbian times to today
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Jorell Meléndez-Badillo @jmelendezbadillo.bsky.social · 06/06/2025
Arrived in NYC for three events celebrating the launch of “Puerto Rico” in paperback and for the PR Day Parade on Sunday. As soon as we landed in JFK we ran into one of PR’s greatest legends, Félix “Tito” Trinidad.🥹🇵🇷🥹🇵🇷🥹🇵🇷 My childhood self is over the moon shouting “!Tito! ¡Tito! ¡Tito!”
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Princeton Audio @princetonaudio.bsky.social · 04/06/2025
Pair the new #paperback edition of @jmelendezbadillo.bsky.social's Puerto Rico: A National History (out now!) with the #audiobook, read by Tony Chiroldes, and discover a panoramic history of Puerto Rico from pre-Columbian times to today. 🎧🇵🇷 Learn more: press.princeton.edu/books/audio/...
Audiobook cover of Puerto Rico: A National History by Jorell Meléndez-Badillo, read by Tony ChiroldesPaperback cover of Puerto Rico: A National History by Jorell Meléndez-Badillo
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Jorell Meléndez-Badillo @jmelendezbadillo.bsky.social · 03/06/2025
❤️❤️❤️
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Geraldo Cadava @geraldo-cadava.bsky.social · 28/05/2025
🚨New Writing Latinos Episode!🚨 One of my faves. We talk with @jmelendezbadillo.bsky.social about his book, Puerto Rico: A National History, plus his collaboration with Bad Bunny! www.publicbooks.org/jorell-melen...
publicbooks.org
Jorell Meléndez-Badillo on “Puerto Rico: A National History” - Public Books
“Part of what the book is trying to do is to challenge this notion of Puerto Rican docility.”
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Princeton University Press @princetonupress.bsky.social · 28/05/2025
“a social, cultural and political history of Puerto Rico. This account tracks the history of the island from the pre-Columbian era to its current status as an often-misunderstood territory of the United States.” Read more: www.seattletimes.com/entertainmen... @jmelendezbadillo.bsky.social
A panoramic history of Puerto Rico from Pre-Columbian times to today
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Public Books @publicbooks.bsky.social · 28/05/2025
In a new episode of Writing Latinos, ‪@geraldo-cadava.bsky.social‬ chats with @jmelendezbadillo.bsky.social‬ about his new book “Puerto Rico: A National History” (@princetonupress.bsky.social‬).
publicbooks.org
Jorell Meléndez-Badillo on “Puerto Rico: A National History”
“Part of what the book is trying to do is to challenge this notion of Puerto Rican docility.”
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