College of Letters & Science
Is Puerto Rico the most important place in the world? Jorell Meléndez-Badillo thinks there’s a case to be made. On March 17, the CLS affiliate faculty member shared his thoughts about the archipelago’s influence on global popular culture with Carlos Dávalos, guest host of “A Public Affair” on community radio station WORT. He noted that, …
When the folks behind NPR’s “1A” show needed context for a story about what 2026 holds for Puerto Rico, they turned to CLS core faculty member Aurora Santiago Ortiz. In a wide-ranging conversation that aired on January 27th, Santiago Ortiz shared her thoughts with host Jenn White and fellow guest Alana Casanova-Burgess, the host of …
Reggaetón songs introducing millions to Puerto Rican history? A UW-Madison professor collaborating with an internationally recognized popular music star? Yes, and yes! Jorell Meléndez Badillo, a CLS affiliate faculty member in the History Department, recently created seventeen brief Spanish-language synopses of important moments in the island’s history from 1508 to the present that now accompany …
A joke about Puerto Rico at a Trump campaign rally this past Sunday has left many Puerto Ricans feeling insulted and has focused national attention on the archipelago and its diaspora. To help sort the implications of the incident and place it in context, WPR’s Wisconsin Today turned to Aurora Santiago Ortiz, assistant professor of …