|
Hello again, Uprooters! Welcome to The Seedling. It’s me, Angely. I’m back and doing my best to survive the summer humidity in NYC.
This summer has been filled with reporting on heat waves, drought, anti-climate celebs, potential power outages… all things that are becoming more common thanks to the climate crisis. The one highlight of the season for me that has made reporting easier is listening to Bad Bunny’s latest album titled ‘Un Verano Sin Ti.’ It dropped in early May with the release of the Moscow Mule music video and it’s one banger after the other.
One song in particular is called El Apagón, which means power outage or blackout. I listened to it over and over again. I immediately heard climate and energy themes… so I wrote about it. In the song, Bad Bunny mentioned wanting to slap “Pipo,” which is a nickname for the island’s current governor, Pedro Pierluisi — a former coal lobbyist. At the end of the song, Bad Bunny’s girlfriend sings about how she wants to stay, but that “ellos” or they should leave. We can assume that’s referencing people moving to and neo-colonizing the island for cheaper taxes and balmy weather while displacing lifelong Puerto Ricans from their homeland.
I’ve noted, and have written about climate themes in Bad Bunny’s music in the past. He dropped “Las que no iban a salir” during the 2020 lockdown. In one of the songs titled Bendiciones, which means blessings, the artist asks god to protect Puerto Rico from hurricanes and earthquakes. The island was rocked by unexpected seismic activity in the first half of 2020, scaring and worrying many residents. In 2020, I wrote about what I interpreted to be a post climate apocalyptic event in the music video for Una Vez.
For Caribbean communities and other frontline communities, climate has shaped so many of our lives, including creating a larger diaspora. The climate crisis has not been an “if,” it has already happened. It’s shaping the future of the island. It means a lot to see that represented in work by Caribbean artists that reflects the climate anxieties felt by frontline communities, including members of my family that live in Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. That reality has inspired and shaped my environmental and cultural reporting.
So tell me, fellow Uprooters, how does climate show up in your favorite shows and/or songs? How does your community and identity inspire your own reporting? LMK on Twitter @AngelyMercado, and follow more of my reporting on Gizmodo.
|
