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Former OTM producer Alana Casanova-Burgess is back with season 2 of her critically acclaimed podcast series, La Brega. This one is all about the music!

For over a century, Puerto Rican musicians have been influential across the hemisphere. From the Harlem Hellfighters of WWI who helped develop jazz to the reggaetoneros who dominate today\\u2019s charts, Puerto Rican music is everywhere. We start the season with the island\\u2019s most celebrated composer Rafael Hernandez, who wrote beloved songs like \\u201cLamento Borincano,\\u201d \\u201cAhora Seremos Felices,\\u201d and \\u201cPerfume de Gardenias\\u201d \\u2013 and one of the island\\u2019s unofficial anthems, \\u201cPreciosa.\\u201d It\\u2019s a love song written for Puerto Rico that praises the island\\u2019s beauty and, remarkably, also calls out the forces that oppress it.

When Bad Bunny exploded onto the scene and became the most-streamed artist in the history of the world, it became undeniable that Puerto Rican lyrics \\u2013 the poetry of what people sing about, the bregas in every chorus \\u2013 resonate all over the hemisphere. In September, he put out a music video for his hit \\u201cEl Apag\\xf3n,\\u201d (\\u201cThe Blackout,\\u201d) which then turned into a mini-documentary about gentrification \\u2013 the way people from the states are taking advantage of tax benefits and displacing Boricuas. It\\u2019s called \\u201cAqui Vive Gente" ("People Live Here").

\\u201cEl Apag\\xf3n,\\u201d has become somewhat of an anthem \\u2013 an installment in the long tradition of Puerto Ricans singing about home, longing and belonging, popularized by Rafael Hernandez. But Bad Bunny isn\\u2019t singing about yearning for Puerto Rico \\u2013 his music is often about never even leaving in the first place. It\\u2019s about staying, and creating a future for Puerto Ricans in Puerto Rico. If the video\\u2019s Youtube comments \\u2013 declarations of solidarity \\u2013 are any indication, his music has touched on something deeply relatable across Latin America.

Learn more about the voices in this episode:\\u2022\\xa0Myzo, the singer from the plane\\u2022\\xa0Bobby Sanabria, Grammy-nominated bandleader and educator\\u2022\\xa0Elena Mart\\xednez, folklorist at City Lore and the Bronx Music Heritage Center\\u2022 Watch Marc Anthony\\u2019s\\xa0performance of \\u201cPreciosa\\u201d\\u2022 Watch Bianca Graulau\\u2019s\\xa0documentary \\u201cAqu\\xed Vive Gente\\u201d (\\u201cPeople Live Here\\u201d)

Our cover of \\u201cPreciosa\\u201d is by the artist\\xa0Xenia Rubinos\\xa0(out in March).

You can listen to first season of La Brega and hear new episodes from this season here. Listen to the La Brega\\xa0Spotify playlist, featuring music from this episode \\u2013 and this season.\\xa0It will be\\xa0added to each week as new episodes come out.

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