LAS Post #5

Day Five:

The hip hop group, Calle 13 is extremely influential in the hip-hop world in Puerto Rico. The artist, Residente, raps about the political issues that have taken place in the past, in Puerto Rico. He an activist for the community of Puerto Rico, very proud of his people and heritage. And the songs he wrote have been an integral part of the issues of memory and identity. Especially, the songs "Latinoamerica" and "Quierdo F.B.I", which are very different songs, but they both talk about similar issues of memory. 

In the article that we read for class by Ivan Bomfim, the author talks about all the important elements of memory and identity that are communicated through Calle 13's music. They do this by "constituting knowledge" and cultural memory to their audience. They are also creating a sense of community so the people feel strong and powerful in the face of poverty and marginalization. 

We talked in class today about hip-hop music and the influence of it to people today, and all the elements of it contributing to activism in ways socially, politically, culturally and aesthetically. The music has to have a catchy, repeatable, memorable chorus that people want to bang their heads too, but also has a powerful (usually socialist) message to send to the audience. An example of a song that really influenced the people in its time, and even still today is, "They Don't Care About Us" by Michael Jackson. This song is a strong message against the police brutality that happens in the world, specifically in America. This message is apparent, and very aggressive, as it is informing the people of the problems that we face, and gives hope to overthrow the more powerful. But the chorus is easy to remember and has a very powerful beat that makes people feel strong and brave.