BBC - Huey Morgan's Latin Music Adventure Series 1 (2020) Part 3 Puerto Rico

BBC Radio 6 Music DJ Huey Morgan dives into the unique sounds of three countries - Puerto Rico, Brazil and Cuba - on a quest to understand Latin music's enduring appeal.

Part 3 Puerto Rico

Migration has shaped music right across Latin America, but perhaps never more so than in Puerto Rico, where over half the population live, not on the island, but in the United States. Reflecting this story of two halves, Huey starts his final adventure right back on the streets where he first fell in love with the hot sounds of Latin Music - in New York City.

For Latinos leaving their home country and arriving in New York, identity and community was everything. 'El Barrio', or Spanish Harlem, became the focal point for the Puerto Rican community, and Latin music the soundtrack to their survival. Fusing traditional music with American R&B and soul, newly minted Nuyoricans created the 60s Latin dance craze the boogaloo. Huey talks to Joe Bataan about his role as a boogaloo pioneer, and how music saved him from a life running gangs on the streets. Huey also drops in on music writer, and proud Nuyorican, Aurora Flores, who was there in El Barrio during the birth of salsa and witnessed the rise of legendary record label Fania.

Flying south to Puerto Rico itself, Huey sets off on a journey to discover the music that was left behind, hunting down the roots of salsa in the capital San Juan, and the traditional folk styles of bomba and plena. These songs still play an important role in marking births and deaths in rural areas of the country, and Grammy-nominated band Plena Libre believe they are the source of that fierce Puerto Rican pride. Recently Puerto Ricans have needed every bit of that strength and pride - the island is still recovering from the devastating effects of Hurricane Maria in 2017. Huey heads to a local bar to see how traditional music brought the community together after the storm.

Musical migration is still plays a huge part in Puerto Rico's story - some of the most successful pop music of the last few years has come from this small island. Meeting up with cuatro player Christian Nieves, Huey discovers that traditional instruments are right at the heart of the most streamed and downloaded song of all time - Despacito! Huey heads back to the capital to learn about the birth of the world-dominating reggaeton rhythm with DJ Negro, the founder of The Noise, and meets breakout artist iLe to understand why Puerto Ricans are once again looking to their musical roots in their hope for a better future.

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