There is a scene within the music video for iLe and Ivy Queen’s single “Algo Bonito,” launched on Mar. 2, the place iLe stares down three nameless males in a western standoff style. Wearing all black, her palms holstered on her hips, she dispatches all three con solo una mirada. It is grow to be clear that, whereas iLe’s music has all the time been a medium for her progressive and feminist values, the observe off her newest album “Nacarile” is not pulling any punches. As she tells POPSUGAR, “Las mujeres están hartas.” Translation: girls are fed up.
In response to the singer, it was this patriarchal frustration that grew to become the seed from which “Algo Bonito” would sprout. “I used to be simply feeling pissed off with the day-to-day of being a girl,” iLe says. “You realize there have been so many issues taking place that simply had me feeling this sense of rage. The idea for the tune actually got here out of desirous to vocalize that.”
“I used to be simply feeling pissed off with the day-to-day of being a girl.”
That need to “desahogar” or let all of it spill out is comprehensible. Over the previous few years, girls world wide have seen their rights and security come underneath assault. Whether or not it was the criminalization of abortion in several states and nations or the minimal features in wage equality, it is irritating and disappointing to comprehend you are still combating the identical fights you had been many years in the past, and, in some circumstances, shedding floor. That is very true in iLe’s native Puerto Rico, the place, in 2021, the federal government declared a state of emergency resulting from will increase in femicide and gender-based violence. However since then, regardless of continued stress from activist teams throughout the island, the stark actuality stays: girls will not be protected in Puerto Rico.
“It is unhappy and upsetting that they do not appear to care,” the singer says.
However fairly than simply settle for a nonresponse as a response, iLe determined to vent and shake the pot much more with a tune aimed proper on the root of the difficulty: the patriarchy. This is not the primary time iLe has used her artwork and platform to name consideration to the hazards of patriarchal norms. Her single “Temes” (TW: video comprises depictions of sexual assault) is a cerebral takedown of gendered energy dynamics and poisonous masculinity that asks the easy query: “Why do you worry me?” However “Algo Bonito” is a special beast.
Relatively than opening with the smooth riff of a guitar, the tune opens with a delicate but thudding dembow rhythm. The singer created the skeleton of the bassline herself utilizing audio creation software program earlier than sending it off to longtime collaborators Ismael Cancel and Trooko (Jeffrey Penalva) in order that they might add their little “toquesitos (touches).”
“I needed it to sound like a march,” recounts the singer. With the percussive components in place, iLe had the right canvas to jot down a rousingly feminist name to arms. It was then that the primary inklings of a collaboration began to take root. Nevertheless it was her brother and fellow musician, Gabriel Cabra Joglar, who first instructed the concept of bringing in “La Caballota,” the legendary Ivy Queen. However whereas now it looks as if a no brainer, iLe admits she was a bit intimidated at first.
“It may be unusual to work with somebody you admire a lot,” she says. At a latest present the singer opened up about how, as one of many solely girls within the early reggaeton scene, Ivy served because the mannequin for a refrain she would write a tune on Calle 13’s acclaimed debut album. The tune, “La Aguacatona” can be the world’s introduction to iLe’s distinctive artistry. But, regardless of this connection, the 2 artists had by no means met earlier than, which solely added to the stress of securing the characteristic.
“I assumed, ‘What if she would not just like the tune,’ or ‘what if she would not assume I am cool sufficient,'” iLe recollects with some amusement. “Nevertheless it turned out nice. She ended up loving the tune as quickly as she heard it.”
With the collaboration set and each verses recorded, the 2 icons met for the primary time whereas filming the video. Directed by Puerto Rican filmmaker Claudia Calderon and that includes an all-woman crew, the video makes use of a minimalist strategy with hints of magical realism, contrasting the stark figures of iLe and Ivy in opposition to surreal backdrops.
This excessive distinction model completely enhances the singers’ defiant lyrics as they flip patriarchal turns of phrases into affirmations of female empowerment:
Cada vez que tiran los canones/se pone pesado mi artillería
Todo que me ataca lo devoro/como leona de caceria
Ya me tienen las huevas hinchadas/si protesto me llaman subversivo
Y se que me rabia te incomoda/ porque me prefieres compasiva
And on the subject of taking the patriarchy to job, iLe could not have chosen a greater accomplice than Ivy Queen. Over a profession that has spanned many years, Ivy Queen has not solely held her personal in a style dominated by the male voice and gaze, however she additionally helped form it. By no means one to carry her tongue, iLe knew that an Ivy Queen characteristic meant “La Diva’s” biting lyrics and lots of flows can be on full show.
“I instructed her simply to say it how she needed to say it, and if we wanted to vary one thing or dial one thing again we might have that dialog later. However as soon as I heard the verse, it was clear that from the start [the feature] might have solely been her.”
It is true. There is just one Ivy Queen. However there’s additionally just one iLe. And with “Algo Bonito,” they’ve proven us what occurs when two forces in Puerto Rican music and tradition come collectively to rejoice their power, bond over their shared experiences, and encourage the subsequent technology to proceed the struggle regardless of the typically irritating setbacks.
“The patriarchy impacts us all. And typically it is exhausting to make progress as a result of it is so entrenched — girls may also unfold patriarchal concepts,” says iLe.
However on the finish of the day, she is aware of that the one solution to transfer ahead is by not accepting the setbacks and to maintain knocking on the door till she hears “algo bonito.” So, what is the “one thing fairly” iLe is ready to listen to? “Oh, so many issues. That abortion can be legalized and that we get the respect and empathy that we deserve.”
