Raquel Cepeda
| Raquel Cepeda | |
|---|---|
| Born | Harlem, New York |
| Occupation | Author, Journalist, Filmmaker |
| Citizenship | Dominican-American |
| Genre | Hip-Hop, World Music, Social Justice, Popular Culture, Race and Identity |
| Spouse | Sacha Jenkins |
| Children | Djali and Marceau |
| Website | |
| djalirancher |
|
Raquel Cepeda is an American journalist, critic, film-maker, and autobiographer of Dominican descent. The editor of Russell Simmons’ OneWorld magazine between 2001 and 2004, Cepeda was also the editor of the award-winning anthology “And It Don't Stop: The Best American Hip-Hop Journalism of the Last 25 Years”, the co-producer, writer, and director of the documentary film Bling: A Planet Rock, and the author of “Bird of Paradise: How I Became Latina.”
Cepeda describes her early life in detail in “Bird of Paradise: How I Became Latina.” She was born in Harlem to Dominican immigrants on June 9, 1973. As a young child, Cepeda herself lived in the Dominican Republic before returning to New York in 1981. There, in the Inwood/Washington Heights section of Upper Manhattan, she resided with her father, who was abusive, and her Scandinavian stepmother. Cepeda's relationship with her mother was essentially nonexistent after 1981.
As a student, Cepeda frequently found herself at odds with the authority figures at the schools she attended. This contentiousness stemmed from Cepeda’s belief that the system mis-educated students about American history and their own respective ethnic histories as well. Like many other young and disenfranchised people, Cepeda found community in 1980s hip-hop culture. It was hip-hop, she says, that fueled her passion for exploring the issues of race, identity, and social justice through journalism, writing, and filmmaking.
During the past 20 years, Cepeda has written about music, culture, fitness, politics, race and identity for such publications as People,Time Out New York, The Village Voice,CNN.com,The New York Times, and many other outlets.
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