Assignment: Reggaeton - the pride of Puerto Rico?
The Documentary Podcast
BBC
4.3 • 2.7K Ratings
🗓️ 16 April 2024
⏱️ 27 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Reggaeton’s the soundtrack to Puerto Rico. The globally popular music reflects what’s going on in the cultural and political scene of the Spanish-speaking Caribbean Island.
It started out as underground music in marginalised communities but was criticised for allegedly promoting violence and being too sexually explicit.
Reggaeton has since been used as an anthem to overthrow a local governor and a way to criticise the island’s complex relationship with the United States.
It’s also evolved from misogynist roots to reach new audiences in the LGBTQ community.
Jane Chambers travels to Puerto Rico to meet the people and hear the music which is both maligned and revered.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Thank you for downloading this podcast from the BBC. I find that people have strong opinions about the music on a reggaeton. |
| 0:07.0 | Some dislike the often hypersexualised lyrics, which they say to mean women and encourage violence. |
| 0:12.0 | While for others its catchy tunes make it part of daily life around Latin America |
| 0:17.2 | and its increasingly popular worldwide. I was curious to visit the beautiful |
| 0:22.1 | Caribbean island Puerto Rico, |
| 0:24.0 | which has produced some of the biggest reggaeton stars in the world |
| 0:27.0 | to discover how the music addresses important social and political issues for the people living there. |
| 0:33.0 | Regaton's a soundtrack to people's lives in Puerto Rico, |
| 0:40.0 | with music blasting out from cars in the capital San Juan. |
| 0:44.0 | It's a cocktail of influences stretching from Panama to |
| 0:48.0 | rapper New York and Jamaican dance-all reggae |
| 0:51.0 | mashed up with Puerto Rico's own particular style. Homegrown |
| 0:55.3 | artists like Bad Bunny heard here with his song Garo. Young Miko and Vico C Sea are all global stars. |
| 1:04.0 | There's a huge stage in front of us right next door to the crystal blue sea with the palm tree swaying in the |
| 1:16.0 | distance and there's a lot of work setting everything up for the big festival. |
| 1:21.2 | I'm here with... |
| 1:22.2 | Victor Mercado, I'm the producer, executive producer for the show. |
| 1:26.0 | The name of the festival is Motherland based on Puerto Rico being the Motherland to Regaton. |
| 1:32.0 | We're doing housing on one of the stages and we're |
| 1:35.0 | doing Regaton in the other stage. Why do you think that this beautiful item |
| 1:39.7 | Puerto Rico is so important for Regaton. |
| 1:43.0 | Well, you know, it was born here 30 something years ago. |
... |
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