Puerto Rican cop sings back at Calle 13

Some of Puerto Rican reggaeton group Calle 13’s songs are political in nature with one prominent example being a tune released over the summer against police brutality on the island. As a September article from the New York Daily News observed:

“Tributo a la Policía” refers to the brutality of the Aug. 10 shooting of Miguel Cáceres, which was videotaped by a bystander [ed. blog post link], but also to the killings and beatings of other unarmed civilians over the last decades.

“I wanted to leave a testimony about the killing of all these people,” Calle 13’s René (Residente) Pérez said on the phone from Puerto Rico. “I wanted the song to be part of the case files.”

Now the police are fighting back (pun unintended) against the perceived negative image from Calle 13’s music. According to an article from Voy Music, Puerto Rican radio stations are catching on to a song allegedly written and performed by a police officer against Calle 13:

“The theme by the supposed officer criticizes the way in which (Calle 13) sings against the work of the Puerto Rican police by pointing to recent cases of police brutality…

The new song insults Calle 13 lead singer Residente for “Tributo a la Policía”; Calle 13’s public relations representative said that the group “will not comment (on the song).”

Sources (English)- The Latin Americanist, New York Daily News, Voy Music

Sources (Spanish)- El Diario/La Prensa, El Vocero de Puerto Rico

Image- batanga