Tuning Out Blackness shows the way that blackness has been represented and discussed in Puerto Rican commercial media entertainment programming are examined. The focus of the text is the depiction of blackness, whether through blackface or black voice. Through these depictions in the media, Rivero is able to analyses the racial discourses, cultural, political, and social Puerto Rican practices that have permeated the island. Rivero asserts the local media is not to blame for the mediated blackness, instead by looking at the larger systems of meaning that are located in the specific social formations readers will be able to consider and see the formation of the la gran familia Puertorriquena discourse.

By looking at the unexplored and unexamined location of Puerto Rico’s commercial television, and the primary focus of the discursive realms of televisual events, dialogs, and artifacts that convey the racial ideologies of blackness and family Rivero contributes to the historiography. Seeing how the flow of people into and from Puerto Rico had permeated the local people and culture, and how the foreign media has influenced and created spaces for marginalized communities in Puerto Rico has also been a significant contribution.

These contributions stand in direct contrast to Roberta Astrft’s position that Puerto Rico cannot be used in the discussion of broadcasting because “of the use and quality of Spanish on the island, of solutions to social and economic problems, and of national culture [that] are excluded by both the economic system of broadcasting…and by the decision-makers in the industry who have no interest in creating a public forum for questions they would rather see disappear.” This discourse does not understand and has not done a close analysis of the diverse creatives in the Puerto Rican media.

Blackface and black voice has a large part in Rivero’s argument. In chapter one, Rivero considers the economic and political conditions of Puerto Rican society that influenced and was influenced by the media. The most significant contribution examined in the chapter is Ramon Rivero and his use of blackface and black voice. Through examining the beginning of his career, Yeidy Rivero shows how his performances were directly influenced by a Cuban connection. His use of a Havana accent, appropriation of Cuban Bufo and its racialized stereotypes such as el negrito, la mulata, and el gallego are some good examples of Cuban connection. The influence of blackface Cuban actor Leopoldo Fernandez on Rivero's early performances shows that the portrayals Rivero would later create would be a fusion of Cuba and Puerto Rican influences into what Yeidy Rivero coins CubaRican.

By examining characters such as Diplomacia, Calderon and Lirio Blanco, readers can see the social discussions in Puerto Rican society. The complex character of Calderon and his portrayal in El tremendo hotel show the complex themes such as commentary on US imperialism, the erasure of the racially sexualized mestizaje, the la gran familia Puertorriquena discourse, and the degradation of blackness in Puerto Rico. The complex use of Diplo be a “media vehicle” for criticizing Puerto Rico’s colonialism and oppressive conditions show blackface had more than just a comedic element to its use. By the emergence of Liro Blanco blackface characters had lost the political and social commentary significance that Diplo had produced. Lirio Blanco being portrayed by a black actress normalized and reaffirmed the whiteness Puerto Ricans and the Cuban community within Puerto Rico wanted. The character also showed the marginalization of blacks in Puerto Rico and the CubaRican borderless cultural space by positioning blackness as an Other comedic element in the televisual space.

The assessments Rivero makes through these two characters into the larger media portrayal of blackface and black voice show that there is much more work to be done on the topic. The complexities of the portrayal cannot be understood without nuances of the social and political events during the period. It would be interesting to get the opinion of the black Puerto Ricans on the ground during this time. The more top-down approach Rivero uses is needed to set up a framework for the reader. However, there are few black voices, outside of the actors and actresses, examined in this work that shows how Black Puerto Ricans felt about blackface and black voice and their portrayal in the media.

The latter part of the book is not as strong as the first half. The arguments are not as definitive and the information is not as strong. Overall the book is good enough to read, at least the first half.