The Unapologetic Music of Puerto Rico

This week, we’re talking about the second season of “La Brega,” a co-production from WNYC Studios and Futuro Studios. Julio is joined by Alana Casanova-Burgess, co-creator, host and producer of “La Brega,” and Jeanne Montalvo, grammy-nominated audio engineer and radio producer with Futuro Studios, to talk about the series, which takes us through the Puerto Rican experience in eight songs. They discuss how Puerto Rican artists, like Bad Bunny, have raised awareness for political and social issues on the island, and also get into the cultural and musical exchange between the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico. 

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ITT Staff Picks: 

• In this episode of Code Switch, find out how Bad Bunny has become a megaphone for Puerto Rican politics and issues, which have been a major influence in his music career.

• Alana Casanova-Burgess discusses Bad Bunny’s activism and love for his island in comparison to the song Preciosa, one of Puerto Rico’s unofficial anthems, in the first episode of season 2 of La Brega. 

• George Varga unpacks the Grammy’s history of “playing it safe,” often rewarding white artists over artists of color, and details some of the new initiatives that will hopefully make the organization more diverse, in this article for The San Diego Tribune. 

Photo credit: Photo by Rob Grabowski/Invision/AP