Alana Casanova-Burgess

You know, it's interesting to think also about when the album came out, which is the Eve Vifera of Reyes, Three Kings Day. So Puerto Rico has just like the longest and most intense Christmas period in the world.

Absolutely. And so I don't think the release date of this album is accidental. There's also this instrument called the cuatro, which is kind of a guitar, but not. And so that's played in the mountains a lot. And you hear that in this album. So I hear all of that. That's very Puerto Rican.

Absolutely. And so I don't think the release date of this album is accidental. There's also this instrument called the cuatro, which is kind of a guitar, but not. And so that's played in the mountains a lot. And you hear that in this album. So I hear all of that. That's very Puerto Rican.

Absolutely. And so I don't think the release date of this album is accidental. There's also this instrument called the cuatro, which is kind of a guitar, but not. And so that's played in the mountains a lot. And you hear that in this album. So I hear all of that. That's very Puerto Rican.

And so, you know, even as he's like celebrating Puerto Rican-ness, and I think at this point, like probably this is a good time to talk about Jibaros. Mm-hmm. So a jíbaro is a figure, like a Puerto Rican mountain person peasant, except peasant has this, I think, sort of negative connotation. Right.

And so, you know, even as he's like celebrating Puerto Rican-ness, and I think at this point, like probably this is a good time to talk about Jibaros. Mm-hmm. So a jíbaro is a figure, like a Puerto Rican mountain person peasant, except peasant has this, I think, sort of negative connotation. Right.

And so, you know, even as he's like celebrating Puerto Rican-ness, and I think at this point, like probably this is a good time to talk about Jibaros. Mm-hmm. So a jíbaro is a figure, like a Puerto Rican mountain person peasant, except peasant has this, I think, sort of negative connotation. Right.

But a jíbaro is someone who wears a straw hat, who holds a machete, who works in the plantations often. Right. That imagery, that symbolism has been used historically in Puerto Rico to sort of describe like a quintessential Puerto Rican-ness. This is what Puerto Rican culture is, you know, almost like our cowboy.

But a jíbaro is someone who wears a straw hat, who holds a machete, who works in the plantations often. Right. That imagery, that symbolism has been used historically in Puerto Rico to sort of describe like a quintessential Puerto Rican-ness. This is what Puerto Rican culture is, you know, almost like our cowboy.

But a jíbaro is someone who wears a straw hat, who holds a machete, who works in the plantations often. Right. That imagery, that symbolism has been used historically in Puerto Rico to sort of describe like a quintessential Puerto Rican-ness. This is what Puerto Rican culture is, you know, almost like our cowboy.

Who has particular values, very traditional, very of the earth, you know. And there are some people who I think rightly also cringe at that imagery because it is so... old school because it doesn't leave a lot of room for things like reggaeton, for blackness. In the same way that cowboy is limited, jibaro is limited. It's also been a symbol that's been used politically in Puerto Rico. Yes.

Who has particular values, very traditional, very of the earth, you know. And there are some people who I think rightly also cringe at that imagery because it is so... old school because it doesn't leave a lot of room for things like reggaeton, for blackness. In the same way that cowboy is limited, jibaro is limited. It's also been a symbol that's been used politically in Puerto Rico. Yes.

Who has particular values, very traditional, very of the earth, you know. And there are some people who I think rightly also cringe at that imagery because it is so... old school because it doesn't leave a lot of room for things like reggaeton, for blackness. In the same way that cowboy is limited, jibaro is limited. It's also been a symbol that's been used politically in Puerto Rico. Yes.

And also visually, you know, he put out this short film that takes place in a platanal, which is a plantain plantation. You know, so when Karina was mentioning earlier, this like fleeing the plantation or return to the plantation, that's part of the jibaro aesthetic. Right.

And also visually, you know, he put out this short film that takes place in a platanal, which is a plantain plantation. You know, so when Karina was mentioning earlier, this like fleeing the plantation or return to the plantation, that's part of the jibaro aesthetic. Right.

And also visually, you know, he put out this short film that takes place in a platanal, which is a plantain plantation. You know, so when Karina was mentioning earlier, this like fleeing the plantation or return to the plantation, that's part of the jibaro aesthetic. Right.

And so I don't think Bad Bunny is giving us answers or and I don't even know if these are the questions that he's intending to pose. He's a very intentional artist. But the questions that I come out of the album with are like, well, what do we imagine Puerto Rican culture to be? Is it the jibaro? What's the jibaro in 2025?

And so I don't think Bad Bunny is giving us answers or and I don't even know if these are the questions that he's intending to pose. He's a very intentional artist. But the questions that I come out of the album with are like, well, what do we imagine Puerto Rican culture to be? Is it the jibaro? What's the jibaro in 2025?

And so I don't think Bad Bunny is giving us answers or and I don't even know if these are the questions that he's intending to pose. He's a very intentional artist. But the questions that I come out of the album with are like, well, what do we imagine Puerto Rican culture to be? Is it the jibaro? What's the jibaro in 2025?

You know, and and, you know, in the same way that like, what does a cowboy do for us?