Calle 13 (band)
Calle 13 is a Puerto Rican alternative hip-hop band formed by stepbrothers Residente (lead vocalist, songwriter) and Visitante (multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, beat producer), along with their half-sister iLe, also known as PG-13 (backing vocals).
For their eponymous debut album, see Calle 13 (album).
Calle 13
2004–2015 (hiatus)
- El Abismo[1]
- White Lion
- Sony
Pérez and Cabra first were discovered by Elias De Leon. They were subsequently given a record deal with White Lion Records after leaving a demo with A&R Director Carlos "Karly" Rosario. After the song "Querido FBI" was released, the group gained attention in Puerto Rico. In 2005, Calle 13 released its eponymously titled debut album, which included the singles "Se Vale Tó-Tó" and "¡Atrévete-te-te!" and reached number 6 on the Billboard Top Latin Albums chart. In 2007, the group released its second album, Residente o Visitante, which experimented with a wide variety of genres and reached number 1 on the Top Latin Albums chart. The album helped the group gain success throughout Latin America and win three Latin Grammys. The group released its third album, Los de Atrás Vienen Conmigo, in 2008, which won Album of the Year at the 2009 Latin Grammy Awards. Calle 13 released Entren Los Que Quieran in November 2010 and its latest album, Multi Viral, on March 1, 2014.
Calle 13 is noted for its eclectic musical style, often using unconventional instrumentation in its music, which distances the group from the reggaeton genre. The band is also known for its satirical lyrics as well as social commentary about Latin American issues and culture. The stepbrothers are strong supporters of the Puerto Rican independence movement, a stance that has generated controversy.[2] For their work, the group has won twenty-one Latin Grammy Awards, holding the record for the most Latin Grammy wins. They have also won three Grammy Awards.
History[edit]
2004–2005: early years[edit]
Residente and Visitante met when they were both two years old, when Residente's mother married Visitante's father.[3] The family developed strong ties to the Puerto Rican arts community; Residente's mother, Flor Joglar de Gracia, was an actress in Teatro del Sesenta, a local acting troupe, while Visitante's father (who later became Residente's stepfather) is currently a lawyer, but at one time was a musician.[2] The duo asserts that they lived a relatively comfortable lifestyle growing up, as Residente places himself in a group of Puerto Ricans who are "too poor to be rich and too rich to be poor."[4] Although their parents later divorced, the stepbrothers remained close.[3] When they were children, Visitante would visit his brother at the Calle 13 (13th Street) of the El Conquistador subsection of Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico, every week. Since the subsection is a gated community, visitors were routinely asked "¿Residente o visitante?" ("Resident or visitor?") by a security guard when approaching the community's main gate.[2] Therefore, Visitante would identify himself as a visitor, while Residente would have to insist that he was a resident to clear the gate.[3] The pair named themselves Calle 13 after the street their family's house was on.[5] Before living there, they lived at Calle 11.[6]
Residente originally studied to be an accountant, and Visitante finished a computer science degree. An art course prompted Residente to pursue a career as a multimedia designer, and Visitante became a full-time musician and producer. Residente states that his degree in design has influenced his musical style: "What I used to do with my visual art is the same thing I do now with my lyrics. My songs are descriptive, very visual."[2] Besides this, Residente was a fan of what was then called "underground rap" in Puerto Rico, and started to earn a reputation as a lyricist (Residente says, with some embarrassment, that his moniker at the time was "El Déspota", or "The Despot"). Meanwhile, Visitante participated in Bayanga, a rock and Brazilian batucada group.[7] After Residente finished studying in Georgia at the Savannah College of Art and Design and earned a master of fine arts in animation, illustration, sequential art and film, he returned to Puerto Rico.[2] Soon after, both of them started working on their music. They claim they initially did it as a joke, but they still managed to get some of their songs heard throughout Puerto Rico.[7] They began recording music together in 2004, with the idea of hosting their work on a website, beginning with two demos ("La Tripleta" and "La Aguacatona").[3] Within a year, the duo began looking for a record label to distribute their music commercially. They decided to pursue a deal at White Lion Records, because Tego Calderón was on the label, whom the two admired.[3]
2005–2006: "Querido FBI" and Calle 13[edit]
While their first album was being mixed, Filiberto Ojeda Ríos, leader of the Puerto Rican revolutionary group known as Los Macheteros, was killed in the course of arrest by the FBI.
Angered by the FBI's action, Residente wrote a song protesting against what had happened to Ojeda and asked his record label to allow the group to release it on the Internet through viral marketing through Indymedia Puerto Rico, an alternative news website.[8]
Public controversy about the song's lyrics ensured immediate attention from mainstream media in Puerto Rico. The song, according to critics, "redefined what a reggaeton vocalist's relationship to Puerto Rico should be."[9]
Recording members
Touring members