30 Preindustry reggaetón

Reggaeton originated as hip-hop in Spanish in the 1980’s among a community of Puerto Ricans in New York. It was an underground genre. Gradually it received influence by Jamaican dancehall and Latino Caribbean music, until becoming mainstream in the late 1990’s. It was Daddy Yankee’s La gasolina that in 2003 made reggaetón known in the United States reaching global audiences singing in Spanish.

Everything that happened in reggaetón before 2003 is something I decided to call pre-industry reggaetón. Also, all Latino music not labeled as reggaetón after 2003 with reggaetón vibes is something I call counter-industry reggaetón.

Puerto Rico is an island located in the Caribbean sea. The island was annexed to the United States in 1898 after the Spanish-American war. In this war, the United States fought against Spain over Cuba. The war ended with the annexation of Puerto Rico to the United States. Notice that Puerto Rico is the Eastern most island in the map, and the smaller of the Antillas Mayores.

Yo soy boricua

One of the first songs in reggaeton is “Yo soy boricua” (=I’m PuertoRican”) (1995) by the boricua singer Taíno. The stage name “taíno” is taken from the original native islanders who were indigenous peoples who were exterminated by the Spanish. This shows that el cantante is trying to assert his inner-group identity against colonization trends.

Listen to the video in YouTube during the first minute:

Taíno – Yo Soy Boricua, Pa’ Que Tu Lo Sepas.

El título y el coro (=refrain) Yo soy boricua significa I am Puerto Rican. El nombre de la isla de Puerto Rico es Borinquén, entonces un nombre para los puertorriqueños es boricuas, both female and male end in an A. Pa que tú lo sepas is a common expression in Spanish to show information in a boastful manner, so this sentence implies pride. Idiomatically means “in your face”. La palabra “pa” es “para” or “for”, que en la expresión “pa que”=”para que” significa “so that” idiomatically.

He says that people yells to him: “100% Boricua”, then a choir responds in English with a hesitation word: what? Notice the video on 0:50-1:31:

La gente a mí me grita What?
The people to me screams: what?
cien por ciento boricua What?
one hundred per cent Puertorican

This part means the identity of the individual is being questioned by someone who speaks English. Then he starts asserting his identity as someone who expresses through singing and dancing:

al compás de mi rima activa
at the beat of my active rhyme
siempre doy la / iniciativa
always (I) give the inciative
en fuego yo vengo, por eso entretengo
in fire I come, that is why I entertain
a todo aquel que mira que sepa moverlo
to all the one that looks, that knows how to move it
muévelo, muévelo, muévelo sin parar Yo’
move it, move it, move it, no stop, I
hazlo con fuerza y ponte a brincar
do it with strength and set yourself to jump

Reaction against colonization is taking pride in their Latin American and Caribbean origins. En la canción, notice that Taíno says: Si eres boricua o no eres boricua, si eres parte de mi raza latina, alza la mano, relaja el cuerpo” (=If you are boricua or you are not boricua, if you are part of my Latino race, raise the hand, relax the body). This expresses his identification with the Latino ethnicity regardless of being part of the United States. The relaxed, free style type of dancing reflects this Hispanic-Caribbean identity.

La recta final

The rapper Vico C and the DJ Negro released in 1990 a hip-hop album “La recta final” (=the final stretch) where they develop criticism against all kinds of social inequalities happening in Puerto Rico:

Vico C “La recta final” – Prime Records

In minute 1:00, the song starts by saying that the money controls everything aquí en el sur=here in the South, but also allá en el norte=there in the north, probably referring to the United States. The high value to money and lujo=luxury is the cause of corruption which is also the source of injustice against el pobre=the poor. La recta final=the final stretch refers to Puerto Rico to a place that is always at edge.

Dinero puede controlar hasta la corte
Money can control even in the Court
Tanto en el sur como alla en el norte
As much in the south as there in the north
Creen que lo lujoso es la salvación
They believe that the luxury is the salvation
Y ahi es que el corrupto entra en acción
And there is that the corrupt enters in action
Aplastando, abusando, asesinando
Crushing, abusing, killing
Con el dinero poniendose al mando
With the money setting themselves to commanding
El pobre siempre se sienta a esperar
The poor always seats to wait
Que se haga justicia aqui en la recta final
That justice is made here in the final stretch

The singer says he’s not pro-independence, that’s why he says: Yo no planto bandera=I don’t plant a flag in 1:30. He suggests sarcastically that independence and country issues are for people in power by saying: yo no soy Cristóbal Colón=I’m not Christopher Columbus. He identifies as someone from his own neighborhood not interested in political issues, but still criticizes colonization by calling some people: los guapos que se creen conquistadores=the boastful ones who believe they are conquerors. He still believes all non-puertorricans are foreigners, so people of the United States are foreign to the country: no soy extranjero, soy puertorriqueño=I’m not foreign, I’m puertorrican.

Yo no planto bandera pues yo no soy Cristobal Colon
I don’t plant flag because I’m not Christopher Columbus
Yo soy de Las Acacias cien por siento de corazón
I am from The Acacias (a neiborhood) one hundred percent of heart
De ningun caserio yo me quiero hacer dueño
Of no village I want to become owner
No soy un extranjero soy puertoriqueño
I’m not foreigner I’m Puertorrican
Lo guapos se creen que son conquistadores
The brave they believe that are conquerors
Y quieren adueñarse de todos los sectores
And they want to take ownership of all the areas

Then inside the island, recognized criminals come on the side of the power and start killing, disappearing and abusing the people with less power. Somehow colonizers who want to own lands condone to secret alliances with people in power against to who oppose the plunder.

Ahi es que empiezan a reglar el asunto al tratar
There is that they start regulate the subject to treat
De desasparecerlos del punto
Of disappear them from the point
Entonces vienen los tiros y puñaladas
Then come the shots the stabs
La vida del guapeton esta destrozada
The life of the boastful is destroyed
La gente lo vio la policia llegó
The people saw it the police arrived
El asesino es bravo asi que nadie habló
The killer is brave so that no one spoke
Así es la ley del asesinato aquí en Borinquen
So is the law of killing here in Borinquen

El meneaíto

About the ability to dance was the single by Gaby “El general” entitled “El Meneaíto” (1992). He is from Panamá, one of the most Caribbean Central American countries. The title comes from the word “meneo” which means the sway or swish of the body especially on las caderas (=the hips). It’s the sexy and smooth shaking of las caderas and los hombros together. The single was a mega hit around all the Spanish speaking countries. It set the idea of individual or group dancing without the need of a dancing partner to enjoy the party.

Original – Meneaito “El Meneaito” Exclusive (HR) uploaded by El Menaítomanía.

Pay attention to the constant repletion of “el meneaíto” (=the wavy shake) then “y ahí” (and over there). The rapping part I quote below is on 0:55-1:06:

Me dicen que soy gordo, pero, no me ofendo
They-say me that I’m fat, but I don’t get offended
No soy pequeño, pero si muy tremendo
I’m not small, but very tremendous
Me gustan catiras, morenas y bellas
I like them (women) blonde (Panamá slang), tan and pretty ones
Flacas, gorditas y de piel canela
Skinny, wee-fat and of cinnamon skin
Que le guste el meneo y no tenga pena
That she like (=subjunctive) the sway and don’t have shame

Una parte importante de la identidad caribeña es ser moreno or morena or to have piel morena (dark skin). El cantante usa el símil canela (=cinnamon) para nombrar el color de la piel. El cantante de El meneaíto dice que las prefiere morenas, pero también le gustan catiras (Panamá slang for blonde women). Sin embargo, si la piel no es tan o morena, no importa, si bailas bien, te meneas y gozas puedes ser caribeño o caribeña. She could be flaca (=skinny) or gordita (=wee fat), but either one is likeable if she does the meneo.

Tradicionalmente negro or negra (=black) era una palabra (=word) neutral para referirse a las personas de descendencia africana. Hoy en día hay afro-descendientes que les gusta la palabra negro o negra porque es como se identifican. Some of them even feel that calling them Afro-Latinos or any other fancy word is a form of whitewashing. However, others prefer “Afro” because they feel that’s more accurate and politically correct. You would say “Afro” to refer to both women and men. In any case, “Persona de color” (=person of color) is incredibly offensive and politcally incorrect. And it only refers to people of African descent.

A reading about morena in Spanish: https://bloglenguaencolombia.blogspot.com/2021/11/trigueno-versus-moreno.html

Ivy Queen

Una cantante llamada “Ivy Queen” released an album called En mi imperio (=In my empire) in 1996, and her song “Como mujer” (As woman) canta sobre las dificultades que implica ser mujer en la escena del hip hop. She mentions the amount of loneliness she faced while trying to share her art towards others on 0:17-0:33.

Como mujer – Ivy Queen.

No es fácil treparse a la tarima y comentar lo que pasa
It’s not easy to climb-oneself on the platform and comment what happens
Cuando uno rueda de casa en casa
When one rolls down from house in house
Te cierran la puerta tus mejores amigos
(They) close (to) you the door your best friends
Aquellos que siempre estuvieron contigo
Those that always were with you
El que dijo que te amaba, te engañó y se marchó
The one that said that loved you, cheated (on) you and departed
Tu hermano cayó encerrado en la prisión y tu madre se divorció
Your brother fell confined in prison and your mother divorced

Notice the verbs with an accent mark. When a word ends in a vowel and has an accent mark, it’s because stress is enforced on that part. In this case, the “ó” endings mean she’s talking in the past tense about someone else:

• Engañó=(he) cheated, from “engañar”=to cheat
• Marchó=(he) marched, from “marchar”=to depart
• Cayó=(he) fell, from “caer”=to fall
• Divorció=(she) divorced, from “divorciar”=to divorce

Notice the word TE that goes before the verbs. It means “to you” thought the word “to” is implied, or sometimes other prepositions are implied: El que dijo que te amaba=the one who said he used to love you, te engañó=cheated on you. Also: te cierran la puerta=they close the door on you. The word SE in se marchó or in se divorció is a reflexive pronoun. En la canción significa se marchó: took one’s own leave, or se divorció: got divorced. It has a wide range of idiomatic meanings, and always goes before the conjugated verb.