Written Task 1

Amirah Abualeez

Written Task 1

Word count for rationale: 275

Word count for Written Task: 991

Rationale

This interview with musical duo, Calle 13, explores the vulgar and politically targeted language and theme of their music. I will be using the question and answer format because it allows me to pick which things get asked and be able to construct the responses in a way that allows the reader to understand the overall message. Using an interview with Calle 13 and “Democracy Now” and secondary sources such as, “Calle 13, On Being Loved And Hated In Latin America” By Jasmine Garsd, I have been able to compile a list of questions and answers that allow the reader to step into the shoes of Calle 13 and understand the purpose behind their music. This written task will explore the correlation between language and cultural/societal context while also touching up on how the specific language and context of the music have made a both negative and positive impact in their society.

This interview will be conducted by “Foreign Affairs Magazine” because they cover stories about international affairs and political issues worldwide, without taking a stance on the subjects. The interview will neither be completely formal or completely casual, seeing as Calle 13 does not sing in formal language but they also have a serious undertone. Because the interview is in a political magazine, the targeted audience is meant to be an older audience who is more interested in the message of their music rather than an audience who just “enjoys” the music. The interview will build on itself by starting with questions about the music and content specifically and then will go on to explore the language and overall impact in society.

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Foreign Affairs Magazine

Calle 13- Latin America’s Most Controversial Artists

Calle 13 (Street 13) was formed by stepbrothers René Pérez Joglar and Eduardo José Cabra Martínez. Originally from San Juan, Puerto Rico, the two siblings decided to chase their dreams by traveling around Latin America and performing. What started off as two siblings rapping about raunchy and vulgar music evolved into an international phenomenon whose message extends far beyond the Latin world.

You began your career with raunchy and unfiltered music and then you shifted to a more politically targeted genre. Why did you have such a sudden change?

From the beginning, our music has always had a small political streak in it. Our music did not completely shift but rather the political stances we had continued to grow. Back when we began our career, our political positions were not strong. We began going around Latin America and we began seeing all the problems that people face daily. One of our fans began asking us to talk about our thoughts on certain topics. Soon enough, it was two fans that were asking us. Eventually, we had thousands of people that began wanting us to publically discuss these issues. We began breaking certain barriers and eventually, we paved our status as a socially mindful band.

Who would you say your target audience is and why? Does your language affect who your audience is?

Frankly, our target audience is anyone who has ever been oppressed, denied rights, or unjustly treated. We aim to educate and empower the society that has been blinded by the higher powers. We try to educate the youth of our society on how to grow up and understand the world around them and not be brainwashed by the threats of society. The fact that our language is not filtered has limited our audience because not every parent wants their child listening to raunchy music. But this language is necessary to effectively communicate our message.

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Many of your songs refer to society as “brainwashed”, such as in the song, “Multiviral” where you say, “The one who dictates/ Wants to get you sick to sell you drugs/ And we take those pills”. How does this change people’s views of your songs?

That is a very tough subject because many people have a hard time understanding what is around them and seeing the truth. Because we are very blunt about certain topics, society is a bit taken back when they see that we are directly stating that they are brainwashed. At the end of the day, there are two types of people. The people that shut their computer and never listen to us again, and the people that open their eyes and understand what we are saying.

Why do you think your music makes a large portion of Latin America uncomfortable? One of your most famous songs repeats the line, “Let’s behave badly”. Don’t you believe this could have a negative impact on society?

Many will say that our music is “rude and disrespectful” and that it is not something that they will allow their children to listen to. It is obvious that people have developed deep hatred and disgust for us. The matter of the fact is that the reason that many people have hatred towards our music is because we have exposed the ugly truth of societies such as Puerto Rico. We uncover things that the people of Puerto Rico certainly would not want the rest of the world to know. In a society like Puerto Rico where people discuss the issues of corruption, the high unemployment rate, or the poor and dirty neighborhoods over a cup of tea, we bring these issues to light. We are hated not because we are raunchy or wrong, we are hated because we are right.

How do you think the actual language of your songs and your choice of words have an impact on the theme and the message of your music? Do you think your language can negatively impact your message?

It is clear that we use vulgar and angry words to express our messages. We break many sexual, political, and social barriers and we do not do so with formal wording. That would never get our message across. We use Puerto Rico’s street lingo in order for people to listen and understand something they would not otherwise. Because we use curse words and slang, we are able to reach a wider audience and include everyone from the lowest class to the richest. No one would listen to us talk about police brutality if it were worded in a way that is meant for students in school to read. It is not unusual that our language has turned away a large amount of people. If we lose some people because of the use of our language, we also gain an entire new audience because of it. We use such vulgar and angry sounding words because we are angry. We have learned that it is not only the content that is vital to delivering our message, it is also the language.

What impact would you like your music to have in the long run?

That’s a very simple question. We want our music to empower and educate. We want to empower the people who feel like they do not have a say in society and who feel like they are constantly targeted by higher powers. We want to show them that we are all Latin America and Latin America sticks together. We want to educate the youth of our society to grow up and not hide and do something about the problems. Although we are just standing on stage and singing, we believe our music can have a lasting influence. We do not only speak about our political stances, we are the voice for millions of people who are too afraid to voice their opinions.

Thank you very much for your cooperation. 

Works Cited

"Calle 13's René "Residente" Pérez on Revolutionary Music." Interview. Democracy Now. Democracy Now, 15 Nov. 2013. Web. 18 Oct. 2014.

Garsd, Jasmine. "Calle 13, On Being Loved And Hated In Latin America." NPR. NPR, 5 Apr. 2014. Web. 18 Oct. 2014.

Joglar, René, and Eduardo Martinez. MultiViral. Calle 13. Visitante, 2014. CD.

Llorente, Elizabeth. "The Accidental Activist: Calle 13's Residente Says His Fiery Politics Are Just 'Social Causes'" Fox News Latino. FOX News Network, n.d. Web. 18 Oct. 2014.