Calle 13 was on Democracy Now and I’m melting

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Calle 13, the Puerto Rican band made up of step siblings René Pérez Joglar, Eduardo José Cabra Martínez and  Ileana Cabra Joglar, has a new song out, and as usual, it’s stirring some controversial social commentary. The group is among the most popular musical line-ups in Latin America, known for the diversity in their music, but mostly their political commentary, including their outspoken support for the Puerto Rican independence movement.

Last week, Joglar was on DemocracyNow! to discuss the band’s latest work, a piece called “Multi-viral,” featuring WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange’s voice. In the interview, Joglar also talks about Puerto Rico, and the movement for independence:

I think there is a lot of young people, and they’re getting aware of what is happening and our political situation. But a lot of people, they don’t care. And they—I feel like they are like sleeping. But it’s because we have been like for 100 years a colony, and the education, our education, is—in terms of history, is just the history of the United States. Like, we don’t take the history of Puerto Rico, maybe a little bit. But it’s a way to make you dependiente — how you say? Dependent.

In case you can’t get enough, Joglar followed this up with an extended interview in Spanish with Juan González. In it, he takes a moment to thoughtfully tell Juan that in spite of the apathy he has encountered, has great hope for social justice in Latin America: “I feel that the youth are awake, with lots of motivation to make things better.”

Ya we are René. Ya we are.

(For a full transcript, click here).

Juliana has a deal with her partner that if Calle 13 ever agree, they are entering into a polyamorous relationship.