Plena developed at the end of the 20th century in working-class Puerto Rican neighborhoods around the coast of the island. It was the first form of working-class music on the island to become popular among all social classes, attract international attention, and become commercialized. Plenazo: Music, Migration, and Puerto Rican Identity on the Move explores the origins of plena music in Puerto Rico and the genre’s rise to professionalization through its diasporic practice in New York—where it expanded its commercial identity into a living form of urban folk music. In this lesson, students will experience this exciting, percussion-driven music tradition through attentive and engaged listening experiences. They will even have a chance to write and perform their own class plena!

Lesson Paths & Learning Objectives

1. What Is Plena?

   • Describe the history and development of plena in Puerto Rico.
   • Identify the musical characteristics of plena.
   • Identify the shared musical influences and characteristics of plena and other types of Caribbean music.
   • 20+ minutes

2. People and Plena on the Move

   • Engage with the musical characteristics of plena through active participation with audio recordings.
   • Describe the common lyrical themes and performance contexts of plena.
   • Explain how plena relates to diaspora.
   • Write and perform your own plena.
   • 30+ minutes

3. Plena Culture, Identity, and Significance

   • Describe social tensions inherent in plena music.
   • Explain why plena is sometimes called “the people’s newspaper.”
   • Explain the significance of plena and plena fiestas/festivals to Puerto Rican identity and culture.
   • 20+ minutes