Por la calle de la memoria
"Latinoamérica" is a song by Calle 13 that, like Bomfim says, is more or less an attempt on the part of Calle 13 to connect Puerto Ricans to the rest of Latin America. However, while I know that that is the meaning that is meant by the artist and the meaning that we draw from it because of the artists' origin and previous works and well-known sociopolitical views, I think that for me the song is, even much more than just for Puerto Rico, an anthem for all of Latin America to rally behind. It draws on details and memories of activities and traditions that are universally relatable for nearly all Latin Americans, and even also upon the New Song movement type of music that was common to much of Latin America--all to create a beautiful, powerful, unifying, empowering song para todos. Another reason I think that it is so firmly a group oriented song is because of the collaboration of all the different artists of different nationalities that are participating, whether it be by singing in Spanish or Portuguese or even by playing the native instruments that make up the background. In so many ways, this song is a peaceful, harmonious, coming together of many. I also appreciated that it managed to highlight very skillfully the connection to nature that exists in all these cultures, which is something I think is passed over all too often.
However, on the very other end of the spectrum is "Querido F.B.I." which is the song that I think brought Calle 13 fully into the public spotlight initially. This song, rather than a unifying, peaceful anthem, is an outright rebellious, aggressive, political rant that they wrote in response to the killing of Filiberto Ojeda Ríos, a Puerto Rican revolutionary leader in a so-called botched raid by the F.B.I. of his house. I read that this song was released only 30 hours after his death, and honestly it would make perfect sense to me if that were true because this song really does appear to be an initial, raw, unfiltered, emotional reaction to an extreme injustice perpetrated by people that maybe don't necessarily get called out very often.
The song that I chose relating to the topics that we talked about is Memory Lane by Nas. Maybe it's a bit too on the nose in relating to memory and such because of the title, but honestly this was a rap song that I had always liked and kind of listened to before just bopping along because it was a vibe that I liked, and I don't know how much attention I ever paid to the details of it before. Also upon reflection, I think it even almost kind of relates back to the urban environment that Rebel Diaz came up in which was fun.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ImSoA_fAVL4
However, on the very other end of the spectrum is "Querido F.B.I." which is the song that I think brought Calle 13 fully into the public spotlight initially. This song, rather than a unifying, peaceful anthem, is an outright rebellious, aggressive, political rant that they wrote in response to the killing of Filiberto Ojeda Ríos, a Puerto Rican revolutionary leader in a so-called botched raid by the F.B.I. of his house. I read that this song was released only 30 hours after his death, and honestly it would make perfect sense to me if that were true because this song really does appear to be an initial, raw, unfiltered, emotional reaction to an extreme injustice perpetrated by people that maybe don't necessarily get called out very often.
The song that I chose relating to the topics that we talked about is Memory Lane by Nas. Maybe it's a bit too on the nose in relating to memory and such because of the title, but honestly this was a rap song that I had always liked and kind of listened to before just bopping along because it was a vibe that I liked, and I don't know how much attention I ever paid to the details of it before. Also upon reflection, I think it even almost kind of relates back to the urban environment that Rebel Diaz came up in which was fun.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ImSoA_fAVL4
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