Puerto Rico is truly one of the great hotbeds for Caribbean culture. Beyond its celebrated status as a capital of salsa and reggaeton, San Juan is home to a music and arts scene that is as diverse and progressive as any city in North or South America. We had Geko Jones — DJ, Que Bajo?! party founder, New York City-based Boricua (and Colombian) and frequent San Juan denizen — put us up on the innovators and creatives moving P.R. forward.
I made my list about 10 people that I believe are changing the face of Puerto Rico. Not all of them are musicians —I included a couple of prominent street artists, a dance choreographer — for a more varied look of the island. This is, to me, a fair sample of folks that are doing innovative work out there. —Geko Jones
Celso Gonzalez of Cero Design & Built
Public Artist
It’s hard to drive around the island, and not spot one of the many mosaic tile murals Celso Gonzalez and his Cero Design & Built partner Roberto Biaggi have installed in the past few years. Contributors to the colorful Los Muros Hablan, an international urban art festival that has helped change the look of San Juan’s Santurce district (along with Santurce es Ley), they have added a street art edge to what’s traditionally considered a fine art medium. Cero Design has the distinction of having traveled internationally, leaving a trail of moving and culturally relevant broken tile murals in their wake. Their public works have added a fine art quality to the vibrant street art community.
Xavier “Boomone” Muñoz Torres is a multi-medium artist famed on the island for his layered stencil work. Often painting unsung heroes from the neighborhood, there’s something distinctly local about his work that you can appreciate, but not necessarily grasp without context. Perhaps one of the better known contributors of the Santurce Es Ley movement, he is one of the most prolific street artists in the San Juan metro area.
If you want to know what’s trending in hair and fashion in Puerto Rico than look no further than Om Studios. This tiny hair salon on la calle Loiza is tough to get an appointment at, but always worth the wait. Founder Laura Om specializes in insane dye jobs, total makeovers and curl care. Her #MarantaPower hashtag, celebrating natural hair, has gone viral on the island. Laura has also made a name for herself as a trend forecaster and a voice for empowerment for Latina entrepreneurs at business conferences across the US. She’s opinionated and sassy and everything you’d expect from a stylist that’s made it.
Visit her site here.
If ever there were an artist that belonged on stage in a Quentin Tarantino movie, this is her. Calma Carmona represents the unique sound of Latin Soul. In 2013, she released There’s No Other Girl, an EP complete with videos for all five songs. She quickly found herself opening for Beyonce on her Mrs. Carter World Tour. The innovation in her music is the language. You know what happens when your island is slowly, and deliberately, colonized? Everyone learns a new language. After generations of English class in elementary schools, a huge percentage of the island’s inhabitants are now fluent and that means we can anticipate more music being exported in both English and Spanglish.
La Tribu De Abrante
Bomba Band
On the lips of all of my favorite musicians in Puerto Rico as well as many music journalists right now, La Tribu De Abrante has been burning down stages across PR. Bringing the Bomba tradition to a new generation, they have the energy of a Nawlins brass ensemble and invoke a crowd participation level that makes it very difficult to please the rowdy audiences left in their wake. Led by Abrante, formerly a percussionist in Tego Calderon’s band, the new project puts him in the foreground as el cacique, or chief, of his own tribe. He’s carrying forward the evolution of a centuries old Afro-Caribbean tradition: BOMBA.
Los Chinchillos Del Caribe
Cumbiaberos
Of all the Latin rhythms in the Caribbean, cumbia has historically had the least presence in Puerto Rico. Allow us to introduce Los Chinchillos del Caribe. Putting a Boricua spin on the cumbia villera sound born in Argentina, they’ve taken a punk rock attitude toward naysayers, on an island where cumbia just doesn’t exist. These guys have fought tooth and nail to earn the respect of their audience and, as of the writing of this article, they have just been picked up by Universal Music. Against all odds, they have consistently won the love of crowds, and raised the flag for cumbia in Puerto Rico.
Joaquin Ruddy Medina
Photographer
One of my favorite photographers on the island, Joaquin Medina has a pretty dreamy job. His focus is shooting natural hair enthusiasts for Diosas Al Natural. His colorful images celebrate the vibrancy of Afro-Latin beauty, and he’s taken on an important role in what’s becoming a worldwide movement if you’re following fashion trends. The United Nations declared last year that the decade of the curly wave is coming, with beauty conferences and festivals dedicated strictly to curly hair maintenance. Joaquin will certainly go down as one of the documentarians of this movement. Check out his work at diosasalnatural.tumblr.com
Griselle Agosto
Choreographer/Dance Instructor/PR Advisor
Visionaries are those that can imagine the future without evidence to support it, and then be the catalyst for change. A choreographer and dance instructor at Essence Dance Academy, Griselle Acosto makes our Top 10 list as the only Kizomba Dance instructor on the island. Kizomba is an Angolan/Portuguese music with a distinctly sensual partner dance style that has become popular globally as it’s begun to take on more urban influences. An internationally traveled dancer from the Salsa Congress community, she sees the inevitable dance revolution that is coming into Latin America via its dance competitions and forward-thinking artists like Farruko who are already making their first attempts at the genre. Doubling down as a public relations rep, she’s positioned herself as the liaison most likely to handle a dance getaway for the genre on the island.
Lucha Libre DJ Set
Event Producer/DJ
Quickly rising as one of Puerto Rico’s DJs to watch, Victor Lleras aka Lucha Libre DJ Set is poised to lead the musical revolution that makes Global Bass a local sound in Puerto Rico. A native of Old San Juan, he hosts several residencies in the metro area and seems comfortable in his stride as he continues to create platforms to host the incoming wave of barrioteca DJs championing rave-y new latin sounds. His Que Sabroso parties have been extremely well attended and offer an alternative scene he likes to refer to as local bass. He’s recently started to work with brands to add production value to the events allowing him to build some highly creative activations.
Don Pablo Candela
Bar Owner/Business Developer/Music Enthusiast
The Unofficial Mayor of Old San Juan, Pablo Rodriguez has been an influential player in Puerto Rico’s underground scene for over 25 years. His Candela Records imprint gave Latin House new life and eventually landed him a track on an ipod commercial, with “Mi Swing Es Tropical.” He’s the proprietor behind several well known businesses and establishments, including his own liquor, Papa Jac, and his most recent endeavour, La Factoria, a cocktail lounge bringing mixology to the island with the adventurous feel of a nightlife wonderland. Hidden doors and passageways lead into six other rooms and bars making it a must-visit for tourists. I remember seeing a young Aloe Blacc singing from behind the bar at one of his old pubs on la calle San Sebastian some years ago with the Do Over crew. The strength of relationships Don Pablo has built over the years is very evident in the bookings at his establishments. He’s created the platform for over a thousand great DJs and musicians over the years, and should really be recognized for all he’s brought, and is still bringing, to the island.
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