P OP C ULTURE E NTHUSIASTS

Pop Culture Enthusiasts were mostly a female-based community of practice. The group was composed of five girls and one boy, ages 17 to 18. They are named after their investments in American popular culture, global cultures, and verbal opposition against local youth culture, primarly those who followed Spanish hip hop genre Reggeaton. Their linguistic and behavioral practices corroborated this fascination with outside world entertainment and commodities. They often met at lunch time, sat in a corner of a hallway, and listened to music from their iPods – pop acts from North America and the U.K., such as Bruno Mars and One Direction. Members from this community of practice followed EDM culture (Electronic Dance Music) and attended concerts and festivals hosted on the island featuring international artists.

Laura. Laura was one of the main group members, who self-identified as a D.J. and model. After winning a talent contest on young artists of EDM on the island, Laura advertised her gigs and music through YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook. She described herself online as a D.J. from the West Side of Puerto Rico. She owned high-end sound equipment which she used to compose music, record demos, and play at a number of local gigs64_{. Some of these gigs were held at venues with age restrictions, such as bars and}

clubs. This meant that often she was surrounded by others older than her, in this way she engaged in adult-oriented practices and on occasion invited friends to watch her play. Going to these events added an element of ‘coolness’ and rebellion by bending the rules and drinking.

Laura and another community member, Tatiana, were enrolled in a modelling academy and were regularly photographed for fashion shoots. They also participated in after-school theatre classes offered by La Escuela Libre de Música (‘The Free School of Music’), colloquially known as ‘La Libre’. This government funded institution offered programmes in music and the theatre arts65_{. Cristina, another community member,}

practiced dance at a local dance academy, in addition to participating in local dance recitals, she was also a part of the annual Puerto Rican parade in New York City. Cristina held dual social ties as simultaneous member of the Jocks CofP, and can often be seen interacting with them in lunch hours in the school courtyard. Unlike her peers, she is not

enrolled in all of the Advanced Classes, but part of her class schedule is divided among others

Fernando. A fourth member of this CofP was Fernando, enrolled in the school

choir, which often tours around the island playing at religious events and churches. He enjoyed singing in his free time, learning songs on the piano, and recording himself singing popular songs from artists like Ed Sheeran and Demi Lovato. He followed American music competitions like the X-Factor and The Voice. In the exchange below, Fernando speaks of his time with friends outside of school. He lives near Laura and visits her often. Fernando confirms his continuous fascination for music in his after school activities at Laura’s place listening to music in ‘escuchamos música’ (we listen to music). Fernando’s speaking style is notably Spanish-dominant with several insertional items in dialogue, these practices are highlighted in bold.

EXAMPLE #1 FERNANDO DESCRIBING COFP PRACTICES

(Regular font = PR Spanish; Bold = English; Underline = Discourse marker) 01 Laura Especificamente cuando tu bieneØ a casa, ¿qué tu haceØ? 02 Fernando Okei. Si quiere ehpecificamente I knock the door= 03 ((Laura starts laughing out loud)).

04 Katherine No pero literal como que ¿qué tu hace? ¿Te pone a vel película:Ø? 05 Fernando We:ll (.) actually: (.) mira, [ehcuchamo música=

06 Valeria [Uhtede ehtudian. Aja. 07 Fernando Ehte, ehcuchamo música, yeah (.) ehte: pue-pue chavo al helmano de 08 ehta, boy pa su cualto lo chavo, (.) ehte Jasmine me ataca:.

Translation:

01 Laura Specifically when you come home, what do you do? 02 Fernando Okay. Well, if you want specifics, I know the door= 03 ((Laura starts laughing out loud)).

04 Katherine No, but literally, like, what do you do? Do you watch movies? 05 Fernando Well, actually, look, we listen to music.

06 Valeria [You study. Yeah.

07 Fernando Um, we listen to music, yeah (.) umm, well-well I bother her* brother, 08 and I go to his room, umm Jasmine ((Laura’s sister)) attacks me.

Insertional strategies:

Ø Verb Phrase: I knock the door.

Ø Filler (Stalling techniques + clarification): Well, actually… Ø Adverb (Sentence ender / emphasis): Yeah.

The Pop Enthusiasts had an overall inclination towards the arts and adult-oriented practices. They also unashamedly took part of other practices that would not seem as ‘cool’ or edgy. They were fervent followers of the Disney Channel and Disney movies. Their affinity was visible in some of their attire: for example, two of the community

members owned Disney-themed backpacks of the movies Frozen and A Nightmare Before Christmas. At times, I noted them discussing the latest Disney films during lunchtime and occasionally citing them. Additionally, at the end of my fieldwork they created a ‘Goodbye Card’ that further cemented their shared love for Disney as part of their overall group identity. Figure 36 illustrates the protagonist of the Disney Pixar film

Big Hero 6 (2014) ‘Baymax’, surrounded by ‘wugs’66 _{(Gleason, 1978). Inside of the card}

are the printed words ‘Are you satisfied with your care?’ (Reed & Conli, 2014) a joint intertextual reference to the movie. Their fascination with Disney adds an element of playfulness to their overall identity. Despite their status in the school hierarchy as ‘seniors’ and ‘most experienced’, and their partial participation in adult-oriented activities, the Pop Culture Enthusiasts also perfomed youthful identities through their Disney referencing. This playful demeanor was also visible in their decision of labelling themselves as the ‘the Potatos’ (in English), in reference to a popular meme in social media culture. Miguel from the Jock CofP referred to them as ‘the Chill Girls’ (Interview, December 2015), hinting at their relaxed approach to social situations.

Figure 36. Illustrates a "Goodbye Card" by the Pop Enthusiasts for the Researcher.

This community generally succeeded in school academic matters, tests, projects, and relationships with teachers and faculty. They especially got along with the English

66 _{In one of my interactions with members from the Pop Girls community of practice, I spoke to them a bit}

about what I studied and linguistics in general. The subject of the “wug” experiment came up as they saw one day that I had a picture of one in my binder. I explained to them what it was and left an impression on them, such that they drew it on my goodbye card.

teacher, who they saw outside of classroom hours and, at times, sat outside her classroom to talk. All members of this community of practice were enrolled in Advanced classes: Spanish, English, Sciences and Mathematics. Despite their apparent academic success, not all of them felt positively about school. In the exchange below, Fernando voices his dislike for school and belief that it does not prepare a person to succeed in life or to acquire necessary life skills like ‘going to the bank’ or ‘running errands’. Fernando’s stance on school was unexpected, as his parents were both involved in academia, his mother was a school science teacher and his dad was a university Mathematics professor. The dominant language in this exchange is English.