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Calle 13 is a Puerto Rican alternative hip-hop band formed by stepbrothers Residente (lead vocalist, songwriter) and
Visitante Eduardo José Cabra Martínez (born September 10, 1979, in Santurce, San Juan, Puerto Rico), better known by his stage name "Visitante Calle 13", "Visitante", or more recently, "Cabra" is a Puerto Rican producer, musician, composer, and multi-inst ...
(
multi-instrumentalist A multi-instrumentalist is a musician who plays two or more musical instruments at a professional level of proficiency. Also known as doubling, the practice allows greater ensemble flexibility and more efficient employment of musicians, where ...
, vocalist, beat producer), along with their half-sister
iLe Ile may refer to: * iLe, a Puerto Rican singer * Ile District (disambiguation), multiple places * Ilé-Ifẹ̀, an ancient Yoruba city in south-western Nigeria * Interlingue (ISO 639:ile), a planned language * Isoleucine, an amino acid * Another ...
, also known as PG-13 (backing vocals). Pérez and Cabra first were discovered by Elias De Leon. They were subsequently given a record deal with
White Lion Records White Lion Records is a reggaeton, Latin Music, Latín reggae and urbano record label established by Elías de León with the release of the album '' No Mercy'' by Daddy Yankee in 1995. The label would temporarily change its name to 'Boricua Gue ...
after leaving a demo with A&R Director Carlos "Karly" Rosario. After the song " Querido FBI" was released, the group gained attention in Puerto Rico. In 2005, Calle 13 released its eponymously titled debut album, which included the singles "Se Vale Tó-Tó" and " ¡Atrévete-te-te!" and reached number 6 on the ''
Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large adverti ...
''
Top Latin Albums Top Latin Albums is a record chart published by ''Billboard'' magazine and is labeled as the most important music chart for Spanish language, full-length albums in the American music market. Like all ''Billboard'' album charts, the chart is based ...
chart. In 2007, the group released its second album, ''
Residente o Visitante ''Residente o Visitante'' (''Resident or Visitor'') is the second studio album by Puerto Rican urban/ hip hop band Calle 13, released on April 24, 2007, by Sony BMG. Recorded in various countries while on tour in promotion of the duo's debut a ...
'', which experimented with a wide variety of genres and reached number 1 on the Top Latin Albums chart. The album helped the group gain success throughout Latin America and win three Latin Grammys. The group released its third album, ''
Los de Atrás Vienen Conmigo ''Los de atrás vienen conmigo'' ( en, The Ones Behind Are Coming with Me) is the third studio album by Puerto Rican alternative hip hop band Calle 13 and was released on October 21, 2008 by Sony Music Latin. This album is a bit more colorful th ...
'', in 2008, which won Album of the Year at the 2009 Latin Grammy Awards. Calle 13 released '' Entren Los Que Quieran'' in November 2010 and its latest album, '' Multi Viral'', on March 1, 2014. Calle 13 is noted for its eclectic musical style, often using unconventional instrumentation in its music, which distances the group from the
reggaeton Reggaeton (, ), also known as reggaetón and reguetón (), is a music style that originated in Panama during the late 1980s. It was later popularized in Puerto Rico. It has evolved from dancehall and has been influenced by American hip hop, ...
genre. The band is also known for its satirical lyrics as well as social commentary about Latin American issues and culture. The stepbrothers are strong supporters of the Puerto Rican independence movement, a stance that has generated controversy. For their work, the group has won twenty-one
Latin Grammy Award The Latin Grammy Awards are an award by The Latin Recording Academy to recognize outstanding achievement in the Latin music industry. The Latin Grammy honors works recorded in Spanish or Portuguese from anywhere around the world that has been ...
s, holding the record for the most Latin Grammy wins. They have also won three
Grammy Awards The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...
.


History


2004–2005: Early years

Residente and Visitante met when they were both two years old, when Residente's mother married Visitante's father. The family developed strong ties to the Puerto Rican arts community; Residente's mother, Flor Joglar de Gracia, was an actress in Teatro del Sesenta, a local acting troupe, while Visitante's father (who later became Residente's stepfather) is currently a lawyer, but at one time was a musician. The duo asserts that they lived a relatively comfortable lifestyle growing up, as Residente places himself in a group of Puerto Ricans who are "too poor to be rich and too rich to be poor." Although their parents later divorced, the stepbrothers remained close. When they were children, Visitante would visit his brother at the Calle 13 (13th Street) of the El Conquistador subsection of Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico, every week. Since the subsection is a gated community, visitors were routinely asked "¿Residente o visitante?" ("Resident or visitor?") by a security guard when approaching the community's main gate. Therefore, Visitante would identify himself as a visitor, while Residente would have to insist that he was a resident to clear the gate. The pair named themselves Calle 13 after the street their family's house was on.Latin Hip Hop Interview - "Calle 13 Cross Spanish Rap's Musical Borders"
/ref> Before living there, they lived at Calle 11. Residente originally studied to be an accountant, and Visitante finished a computer science degree. An art course prompted Residente to pursue a career as a
multimedia Multimedia is a form of communication that uses a combination of different content forms such as text, audio, images, animations, or video into a single interactive presentation, in contrast to tradit ...
designer, and Visitante became a full-time musician and producer. Residente states that his degree in design has influenced his musical style: "What I used to do with my visual art is the same thing I do now with my lyrics. My songs are descriptive, very visual." Besides this, Residente was a fan of what was then called "underground rap" in Puerto Rico, and started to earn a reputation as a lyricist (Residente says, with some embarrassment, that his moniker at the time was "El Déspota", or "The Despot"). Meanwhile, Visitante participated in Bayanga, a rock and Brazilian
batucada Batucada is a substyle of samba and refers to a percussive style, usually performed by an ensemble, known as a bateria. Batucada is characterized by its repetitive style and fast pace. As is Samba, the Batucada is a Brazilian musical expression wit ...
group.Latina.com Interview - "A Night Out with Calle 13" by Nuria Net
After Residente finished studying in
Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...
at the
Savannah College of Art and Design Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) is a private nonprofit art school with locations in Savannah, Georgia; Atlanta, Georgia; and Lacoste, France. Founded in 1978 to provide degrees in programs not yet offered in the southeast of the Uni ...
and earned a master of fine arts in animation, illustration, sequential art and film, he returned to Puerto Rico. Soon after, both of them started working on their music. They claim they initially did it as a joke, but they still managed to get some of their songs heard throughout Puerto Rico. They began recording music together in 2004, with the idea of hosting their work on a website, beginning with two demos ("La Tripleta" and "La Aguacatona"). Within a year, the duo began looking for a record label to distribute their music commercially. They decided to pursue a deal at
White Lion Records White Lion Records is a reggaeton, Latin Music, Latín reggae and urbano record label established by Elías de León with the release of the album '' No Mercy'' by Daddy Yankee in 1995. The label would temporarily change its name to 'Boricua Gue ...
, because Tego Calderón was on the label, whom the two admired.


2005–2006: "Querido FBI" and ''Calle 13''

While their first album was being mixed,
Filiberto Ojeda Ríos Filiberto Ojeda Ríos (April 26, 1933 September 23, 2005) was a Puerto Rican independence activist and militant who cofounded the Boricua Popular Army, also known as ''Los Macheteros,'' and its predecessor, the Fuerzas Armadas de Liberación ...
, leader of the Puerto Rican revolutionary group known as Los Macheteros, was killed in the course of arrest by the FBI. Angered by the FBI's action, Residente wrote a song protesting against what had happened to Ojeda and asked his record label to allow the group to release it on the Internet through
viral marketing Viral marketing is a business strategy that uses existing social networks to promote a product mainly on various social media platforms. Its name refers to how consumers spread information about a product with other people, much in the same way tha ...
through
Indymedia The Independent Media Center, better known as Indymedia, is an open publishing network of activist journalist collectives that report on political and social issues. Following beginnings during the 1999 Carnival Against Capital and 1999 Seattl ...
Puerto Rico, an alternative news website. Public controversy about the song's lyrics ensured immediate attention from mainstream media in Puerto Rico. The song, according to critics, "redefined what a reggaeton vocalist's relationship to Puerto Rico should be." Soon after this, the duo rose to fame in 2005 with two back-to-back hits on Puerto Rican radio stations: "Se Vale Tó-Tó" and " Atrevete-te-te!" Both songs were later included on their eponymously titled debut album, which was released on November 29, 2005. After this rise to fame, the duo was sought by other reggaetón artists, and they collaborated with artists such as Voltio in the song "Ojalai" (also known as "Chulin Culin Chunfly", whose name is a minor variation of a song written by Mexican comedy writer
Roberto Gómez Bolaños Roberto Gómez Bolaños (21 February 1929 – 28 November 2014), more commonly known by his stage name Chespirito, or "Little William Shakespeare, Shakespeare", was a Mexican actor, comedian, screenwriter, humorist, director, producer, and au ...
, of whose comedic characters Residente is a fan—by citing the name, Gómez Bolaños is legally a co-author of the song,) and with the
Three 6 Mafia Three 6 Mafia is an American Hip hop music, hip hop group from Memphis, Tennessee, formed in 1991. Emerging as a horror-themed underground hip hop group, they would eventually go on to enjoy mainstream success. The group's 1995 debut album ''Mys ...
in the remix, singing or co-writing songs. At the end of 2005, they finally released their album, which received great critical praise. In 2006 the duo kept on working as they broke into a wider-music scene with at least two more smash hits that were played throughout Puerto Rico and U.S. Urban music radio and television stations, including the songs "Japón" ("Japan"), and "Suave" ("Soft/Slow"). The group had their first massive-venue concert on May 6, 2006, at the José Miguel Agrelot Coliseum in
San Juan San Juan, Spanish for Saint John, may refer to: Places Argentina * San Juan Province, Argentina * San Juan, Argentina, the capital of that province * San Juan, Salta, a village in Iruya, Salta Province * San Juan (Buenos Aires Underground), ...
. They also toured Central and South America, playing "Atrévete-te-te" before an ''escola de
samba Samba (), also known as samba urbano carioca (''urban Carioca samba'') or simply samba carioca (''Carioca samba''), is a Brazilian music genre that originated in the Afro-Brazilian communities of Rio de Janeiro in the early 20th century. Havi ...
'' in Venezuelan television, and also visiting, among others, Guatemala, Chile, Honduras and Colombia. In light of the criticism directed towards the band, Calle 13 has become a cultural reference to be reckoned with in Puerto Rico. An example of this is the constant references made to the band and to Residente by satirical writer Fiquito Yunqué in the weekly pro-independence newspaper ''
Claridad ''Claridad'' ("Clarity") is a Spanish-language weekly newspaper based in San Juan, Puerto Rico. It was founded in June 1959. The paper served as the official publication of the Puerto Rican independence movement and later the Puerto Rican Social ...
''. Yunqué's columns sometimes feature Calle 13 lyrics as their titles, and Yunqué even introduced the band onstage at one of their live performances in Puerto Rico (mentioned in the section "Major success in the Americas" below). Acceptance of Calle 13's music even influenced the former
Governor of Puerto Rico The governor of Puerto Rico ( es, gobernador de Puerto Rico) is the head of government of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and commander-in-chief of the Puerto Rico National Guard. The governor has a duty to enforce local laws, to co ...
,
Aníbal Acevedo Vilá Aníbal Salvador Acevedo Vilá (born 13 February 1962) is a Puerto Rican politician and lawyer. He served as the governor of Puerto Rico from 2005 to 2009. He is a Harvard University alumnus ( LL.M. 1987) and a graduate of the University of Pu ...
who, in December 2005, admitted to listening to Calle 13 because his son had copied some of their songs to his
iPod The iPod is a discontinued series of portable media players and multi-purpose mobile devices designed and marketed by Apple Inc. The first version was released on October 23, 2001, about months after the Macintosh version of iTunes wa ...
. Acevedo claimed that "songs such as Calle 13's were eye openers" to him. As a result, since the country had a chronic problem of people being unknowingly injured or killed by stray bullets fired to the air on
New Year's Eve In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Eve, also known as Old Year's Day or Saint Sylvester's Day in many countries, is the evening or the entire day of the last day of the year, on 31 December. The last day of the year is commonly referred to ...
, Acevedo felt compelled to invite the duo to
La Fortaleza La Fortaleza (lit., "The Fortress" ) is the official residence of the governor of Puerto Rico. It was built between 1533 and 1540 to defend the harbor of San Juan. The structure is also known as Palacio de Santa Catalina (Saint Catherine's Palac ...
and to have them record a song against shootings bullets in the air as a way of celebrating the holiday. The single, "Ley De Gravedad" (Law of Gravity) was released as part of a public-service campaign for that matter. Some political adversaries of Acevedo dismissed this as a trick to ingratiate himself with Puerto Rican youth and pro-independence advocates, and was criticized by the local press due to the fact that an artist who seemingly promoted violence with their "Querido FBI" song was now supposed to be a
role model A role model is a person whose behaviour, example, or success is or can be emulated by others, especially by younger people. The term ''role model'' is credited to sociologist Robert K. Merton, who hypothesized that individuals compare themselves ...
for anti-violence. However, the campaign was thought to be effective in reducing the injured, from twelve (and one death) the previous year, to three the year the campaign was run, though many members of the artistic community contributed to this effort in separate campaigns.


2007: ''Residente o Visitante''

As the duo has risen to fame, other international artists of various genres have sought them. In 2006 and 2007, they recorded songs with Canadian
Nelly Furtado Nelly Kim Furtado (; ; born December 2, 1978) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. Furtado has sold over 40 million records worldwide making her one of the most successful Canadian artists. She first gained fame with her trip hop-inspired de ...
and Spanish
Alejandro Sanz Alejandro Sánchez Pizarro, better known as Alejandro Sanz (; born 18 December 1968), is a Spanish musician, singer and composer. Sanz has won 22 Latin Grammy Awards and four Grammy Awards. He has received the Latin Grammy for Album of the Yea ...
. In their recent album, they feature contributions with such diverse groups like Orishas (a hip hop group whose members had emigrated from Cuba), Mexican
Café Tacuba Café Tacvba (Pronounced ''kaˈfe taˈkuβa'') is a band from Ciudad Satélite, Mexico. The group gained popularity in the early 1990s. They were founded in 1989, before they had the current lineup of Rubén Isaac Albarrán Ortega (lead vocals, ...
, Argentine Vicentico (from Los Fabulosos Cadillacs), and
La Mala Rodríguez LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note * "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figure ...
(from Spain), among others. On May 19, 2006, the band celebrated their first international concert, held in
Panama City Panama City ( es, Ciudad de Panamá, links=no; ), also known as Panama (or Panamá in Spanish), is the capital and largest city of Panama. It has an urban population of 880,691, with over 1.5 million in its metropolitan area. The city is loca ...
to a crowd of 5,000. During the summer of 2006 Calle 13 was featured on
MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...
's ''My Block: Puerto Rico''. From September 15 – October 31 ''Calle'' 13 was ''Artist Speaking Tr3s'' on
MTV Tr3s MTV Tres (taken from the Spanish word for the number three ''tres'', stylized as tr3s, with an acute accent over the '3') is an American owned by Paramount Media Networks, a subsidiary of Paramount Global. The channel is targeted toward bilingu ...
. On November 2, 2006, the band won three
Latin Grammys The Latin Grammy Awards are an award by The Latin Recording Academy to recognize outstanding achievement in the Latin music industry. The Latin Grammy honors works recorded in Spanish or Portuguese from anywhere around the world that has been ...
(Best New Artist; Best Urban Album; and Best Short Version Video, for the song "Atrévete-te-te"). They later filmed a video along with Voltio for "Chulín Culín Chunfly", where Residente, dressed as a priest and later as
Bruce Lee Bruce Lee (; born Lee Jun-fan, ; November 27, 1940 – July 20, 1973) was a Hong Kong and American martial artist and actor. He was the founder of Jeet Kune Do, a hybrid martial arts philosophy drawing from different combat disciplines th ...
, is given a severe beating by a gang. On April 24, 2007, their second album ''
Residente o Visitante ''Residente o Visitante'' (''Resident or Visitor'') is the second studio album by Puerto Rican urban/ hip hop band Calle 13, released on April 24, 2007, by Sony BMG. Recorded in various countries while on tour in promotion of the duo's debut a ...
'' was released. Tracks in the album were partially recorded in
Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...
and while on tour in Colombia, Argentina and Venezuela. While recording the album, Residente and Visitante took a trip to South America to explore areas populated by Latin America's indigenous and African-descended minorities. The duo was strongly influenced by the experience; Visitante discovered and purchased several new musical instruments on the trip including a quijada, a
charango The charango is a small Andean stringed instrument of the lute family, from the Quechua and Aymara populations in the territory of the Altiplano in post-Colonial times, after European stringed instruments were introduced by the Spanish during co ...
and a bombo legüero, all of which were used on the duo's song "Lllegale a Mi Guarida". Residente considered this album to be darker than the first, but also more introspective and biographical. The album garnered controversy for its sexual and religious overtones. As part of the album, Calle 13 filmed the video for their first single off the album, " Tango del Pecado", on February 25, 2007. In May 2007, the duo performed at Vive Latino, and the public answered them by throwing beer bottles filled with urine. In 2010, when taking part of the same festival, they were less bitterly welcomed. In July 2007, Calle 13 teamed up with
Julio Voltio Julio Voltio (born as Julio Irving Ramos Filomeno on June 11, 1977 in Santurce, Puerto Rico) is a Puerto Rican former reggaeton artist. A pioneer of the reggaeton genre, Voltio retired from music in 2014 and dedicated himself to preaching Christi ...
to speak out against police brutality in Puerto Rico. After recording a song titled "Tributo a la Policía", Calle 13 distributed the single free on the streets in front of the Police Headquarters of
San Juan San Juan, Spanish for Saint John, may refer to: Places Argentina * San Juan Province, Argentina * San Juan, Argentina, the capital of that province * San Juan, Salta, a village in Iruya, Salta Province * San Juan (Buenos Aires Underground), ...
. On November 8, 2007, Calle 13, along with Orishas, performed the song "Pa'l Norte" at the
8th Annual Latin Grammy Awards The 8th Annual Latin Grammy Awards took place on Thursday, November 8, 2007, at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. The show aired on Univision. Juan Luis Guerra was the night's big winner, winning 5 awards including Album of the ...
, held at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in
Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Veg ...
,
Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...
. Their live performance featured the percussion/dance group Stomp. A troupe of dancers dressed in traditional Latin American garb and wearing bandannas in their faces (as if they were
bandits Banditry is a type of organized crime committed by outlaws typically involving the threat or use of violence. A person who engages in banditry is known as a bandit and primarily commits crimes such as extortion, robbery, and murder, either as an ...
) were also featured. Two members of the traditional Colombian folk cumbia band
Los Gaiteros de San Jacinto Los Gaiteros de San Jacinto are a Colombian traditional folkloric cumbia group formed in the Caribbean Region of Colombia which have been active since 1940. Their folkloric music preserves the traditional rhythms and sounds product of a mixture ...
, as well as members from an indigenous tribe local to the Gaiteros' hometown in northern Colombia, followed Residente to the stage at the beginning of the song. The subtext of the presentation was that Latin Americans were "invading the North" (the United States) and were there to stay. Calle 13 earned two Latin Grammys later that night: "Best Urban Music Album" for ''Residente o Visitante'' and "Best Urban Song" for "Pal Norte". They were nominated for two other categories, the others being Best Short Form Music Video and
Album of the Year Album of the Year, often abbreviated to AOTY, may refer to: Awards * ARIA Award for Album of the Year, Australia * Brit Award for British Album of the Year, UK * Grammy Award for Album of the Year, US * Juno Award for Album of the Year, CA * Lati ...
. The Gaiteros de San Jacinto, who had also received a Grammy for their album ''Un Fuego de Sangre Pura'', could only accept it when Calle 13 intervened to finance their trip to Las Vegas and obtain a temporary visa to visit the United States on their behalf. A later tour of the Americas had Calle 13 perform to sell-out crowds in Colombia, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, Uruguay and Argentina. The band also performed in the United States, including an appearance at the
New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival (commonly called Jazz Fest or Jazzfest) is an annual celebration of local music and culture held at the Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans, Louisiana. Jazz Fest attracts thousands of visitors to New ...
on April 27, 2008. The band received all three possible audience acceptance awards when they performed at the 2008 Viña del Mar International Song Festival in
Viña del Mar Viña del Mar (; meaning "Vineyard of the Sea") is a List of cities in Chile, city and Communes of Chile, commune on Zona Central, Chile, central Chile's Pacific coast. Often referred to as ("The Garden City"), Viña del Mar is located within ...
, Chile, taming the usually demanding crowd (traditionally nicknamed "El Monstruo", or "The Monster"—because of its fickleness—by Chilean media). They also performed to a sold-out crowd at Luna Park in
Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...
, Argentina. They finished their tour at the 34th Annual
Claridad ''Claridad'' ("Clarity") is a Spanish-language weekly newspaper based in San Juan, Puerto Rico. It was founded in June 1959. The paper served as the official publication of the Puerto Rican independence movement and later the Puerto Rican Social ...
Support Festival in San Juan on April 24, 2008. Denise Quiñones joined the band onstage for their abbreviated song set.


2008–2010: ''Los de Atrás Vienen Conmigo''

On 2008, their "Atrévete-te-te" song was a featured track on the game '' Grand Theft Auto IV'', playing in the lineup of the fictional San Juan Sounds radio station. On October 9, 2008, Calle 13 participated in the "MTV Tr3s Pass Tour". In an interview done during the production of their third album, ''
Los de Atrás Vienen Conmigo ''Los de atrás vienen conmigo'' ( en, The Ones Behind Are Coming with Me) is the third studio album by Puerto Rican alternative hip hop band Calle 13 and was released on October 21, 2008 by Sony Music Latin. This album is a bit more colorful th ...
'', Calle 13 stated that the production would include songs discussing poverty. The duo also noted that the production would include cumbia villera and "sounds from Eastern Europe". On October 21, 2008, the album was released. A series of songs off the album began to be released weekly as singles. Four singles were released: "Que Lloren" (September 16, 2008); " Electro Movimiento" (September 23, 2008); " Fiesta de Locos" (September 30, 2008); and " No Hay Nadie Como Tú", the latter featuring
Café Tacuba Café Tacvba (Pronounced ''kaˈfe taˈkuβa'') is a band from Ciudad Satélite, Mexico. The group gained popularity in the early 1990s. They were founded in 1989, before they had the current lineup of Rubén Isaac Albarrán Ortega (lead vocals, ...
. On August 11, 2009, the duo was invited to Ecuador by
Rafael Correa Rafael Vicente Correa Delgado (; born 6 April 1963), known as Rafael Correa, is an Ecuadorian politician and economist who served as President of Ecuador from 2007 to 2017. The leader of the PAIS Alliance political movement from its foundation ...
's government, serving as guests in the local celebrations that commemorate the coup that began the
Ecuadorian War of Independence The Ecuadorian War of Independence was fought from 1820 to 1822 between several South American armies and Spain over control of the lands of the Royal Audience of Quito, a Spanish colonial administrative jurisdiction from which would eventuall ...
. They played in
Quito Quito (; qu, Kitu), formally San Francisco de Quito, is the capital and largest city of Ecuador, with an estimated population of 2.8 million in its urban area. It is also the capital of the province of Pichincha. Quito is located in a valley on ...
, performing in Estadio Olímpico Atahualpa for the first time, in an activity that included Nueva Canción: Argentina,
León Gieco Raúl Alberto Antonio Gieco, better known as León Gieco (born on November 20, 1951 in Cañada Rosquín, Argentina) is an Argentine folk rock performer, composer and interpreter. He is known for mixing popular folkloric genres with Argentini ...
and speeches by Correa, Venezuelan president
Hugo Chávez Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías (; 28 July 1954 – 5 March 2013) was a Venezuelan politician who was president of Venezuela from 1999 until his death in 2013, except for a brief period in 2002. Chávez was also leader of the Fifth Republ ...
, deposed president of Honduras
Manuel Zelaya José Manuel Zelaya Rosales (born 20 September 1952) Encyclopædia BritannicaManuel Zelaya/ref> is a Honduran politician who was President of Honduras from 27 January 2006 until 28 June 2009, and who since January 2022 serves as the first Fi ...
, Cuban president
Raúl Castro Raúl Modesto Castro Ruz (; ; born 3 June 1931) is a retired Cuban politician and general who served as the first secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba, the most senior position in the one-party communist state, from 2011 to 2021, succee ...
and Nicaraguan president
Daniel Ortega José Daniel Ortega Saavedra (; born 11 November 1945) is a Nicaraguan revolutionary and politician serving as President of Nicaragua since 2007. Previously he was leader of Nicaragua from 1979 to 1990, first as coordinator of the Junta of Na ...
. During the performance Residente said that he wished Puerto Rico could be an independent country such as Ecuador. Pérez made a cameo appearance in the 2009 film '' Old Dogs'', being cast to interpret a tattoo artist. On October 15, 2009, Calle 13 won the Premios MTV Latinoamérica for Best Urban Artist. Pérez also served as host throughout the ceremony, using this exposure to insult Puerto Rican governor Luis Fortuño and comment about a civilian general strike that was organized earlier that day, held to protest the firing of more than 25,000 public employees by Fortuño's administration. Pérez was criticised after referring to Fortuño as an "hijo de la gran puta". The phrase is commonly translated as "son of a bitch", although the phrase places emphasis on the mother of the subject being a prostitute, which many found disrespectful to Fortuño's mother. Fortuño responded by saying "This individual disrespected all Puerto Rican women, all Puerto Rican mothers and the people of Puerto Rico in general." ''Los de Atrás Vienen Conmigo'' was nominated in five categories for the 2009 Latin Grammy Awards winning all of them, including Album of the Year, Best Urban Album, Record of the Year and Best Alternative Song for the hit single "No Hay Nadie Como Tu" along with Café Tacuba, as well as Best Music Video (in Short Format) for "La Perla" featuring salsa artist Rubén Blades. The winners were announced on November 5, 2009, in a ceremony held at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. On March 23, 2010, the band performed their first concert in Cuba, the event was held at the
José Martí Anti-Imperialist Plaza José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced differently in each language: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ). In French, the name ''José'', pronounced , is an old vernacu ...
before an estimated crowd that ranged between 500,000 and 900,000 fans. The band performed "No Hay Nadie Como Tú", "La Cumbia de los Aburridos", "Se Vale Tó-Tó", "La Hormiga Brava", "Un Beso de Desayuno", "Pa'l Norte", "Fiesta de Locos", "Querido FBI", "La Jirafa" and "Tango del Pecado", before adding "Electro Movimiento" and "Atrévete te-te" due to popular demand. During this event, Calle 13 received the international Cubadisco award from representatives of the Instituto Cubano de la Música (lit. Cuban Music Institute). The group originally planned to participate in Paz Sin Fronteras II, but were unable to acquire visas in time. The band has also filmed a documentary. The film, ''Sin Mapa'', is about their journeys through South America and the land's indigenous culture and art. The movie became available on iTunes and DVD on July 28, 2010.


2010–2012: ''Entren Los Que Quieran''

Calle 13 released their latest album, '' Entren Los Que Quieran'', on November 22, 2010. The singles "Calma Pueblo" and "Vamo' a Portarnos Mal" have been released to the
iTunes Store The iTunes Store is a digital media store operated by Apple Inc. It opened on April 28, 2003, as a result of Steve Jobs' push to open a digital marketplace for music. As of April 2020, iTunes offered 60 million songs, 2.2 million apps, 25,00 ...
. Visitante explained that the title of the album means that "Everyone's invited to enter. If you don't want to, well don't." He also stated that the album continues to experiment with different styles of music, with collaborations with Omar Rodríguez-López from The Mars Volta on "Calma Pueblo", giving the song a "
Beastie Boys Beastie Boys were an American rap rock group from New York City, formed in 1978. The group was composed of Michael "Mike D" Diamond (vocals, drums), Adam "MCA" Yauch (vocals, bass), and Adam "Ad-Rock" Horovitz (vocals, guitar, programming) ...
vibe". He stated that there would also be influences from
Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" ...
and South American rhythms. The promotional tour for ''Entren Los Que Quieran'' featured over a hundred presentations in 2011, spanning most of Latin America and parts of Europe. Among the most notable being serving as the sole representation of Puerto Rico at the inauguration of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States and their performance at the 2011 Viña del Mar Festival, where Calle 13 decided to go against the event's rules, refusing further awards beyond a "Silver Torch" in order to avoid further interruption, despite being the most clamored artist in that night. On November 19, 2011, the group offered a concert in El Salvador where the entrance gate was fully paid in rice and beans, the collected food was subsequently donated to flood victims in that country. Pérez also remixed an exclusive version of "El Hormiguero" for four-time world boxing champion Miguel Cotto, who used it in his entrance prior to a successful title defense on December 3, 2011. Upon release, the music video for "Calma Pueblo" generated controversy for its violence and full-frontal nudity, which the band claims is a metaphor for self-liberation. The album received more nominations for the 12th Latin Grammy Awards than any other production that year. It went on to win nine categories in total "Album of the Year", "Best Urban Music Album" and "Producer of the Year" in general; "Best Urban Song" for "Baile de los Pobres"; "Best Tropical Song" for "Vamo' a Potarnos Mal"; "Best Short Form Music Video" for "Calma Pueblo"; "Song of the Year" and "Record of the Year" for "Latinoamérica". Following this ceremony, Calle 13 emerged as the artist or group with most awards won in the event with 19, besting Juanes' 17. This accomplishment also shattered several records, including "Most Honored Album", "Most Latin Grammies won in one night" and increased their leadership in the "Most Latin Grammies won by a group" category to 13 more than their closest competitors. In the press conference that followed, the group was interviewed by journalist Elvis Castillo of VENFM regarding his support to some elements of the Latin American left-wing. The journalist, a member of the conservative Venezuelan opposition, cited the work of local cartoonist Edo, a sketch of one of Pérez's characteristic black shirts scribbled with the phrase ''A Calle 13: No es lo mismo ver la Revolución como Visitante que como Residente'' (lit. "To Calle 13: It is not the same to see the
Revolution In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...
as a Visitor as it is as a Resident") to question a supposed sympathy for Chavismo. Pérez disregarded that notion, stating that " alle 13does not support any president, because when we support any president we stop belonging to the people." On June 22, 2011, Calle 13 performed at The Pachamama Peace Festival and supported the project together with 8 Latin American embassies as the Godparent of the Pachamama Project. On December 22, 2011, the group received the Medalla Ramón Emeterio Betances from the Ateneo Puertorriqueño, the oldest cultural institution in Puerto Rico, as part of their Puerto Rican Flag Day celebrations. In the event, Pérez was heralded as the "
Roberto Clemente Roberto Enrique Clemente Walker (; August 18, 1934 – December 31, 1972) was a Puerto Rican professional baseball right fielder who played 18 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates. After his early death, he was pos ...
of modern music" by host
Luis Gutierrez Luis is a given name. It is the Spanish form of the originally Germanic name or . Other Iberian Romance languages have comparable forms: (with an accent mark on the i) in Portuguese and Galician, in Aragonese and Catalan, while is archai ...
, only to respond that he was "merely another member of he Puerto Rican peoplewho decided to express ismessage". However, he admitted that being recognized in his motherland held more weight than any other award received during his career.


2013–present: ''Multi Viral'' and hiatus

On November 13, 2013, the group released the track and video " Multi Viral", which featured
WikiLeaks WikiLeaks () is an international non-profit organisation that published news leaks and classified media provided by anonymous sources. Julian Assange, an Australian Internet activist, is generally described as its founder and director and ...
founder
Julian Assange Julian Paul Assange ( ; Hawkins; born 3 July 1971) is an Australian editor, publisher, and activist who founded WikiLeaks in 2006. WikiLeaks came to international attention in 2010 when it published a series of leaks provided by U.S. Army int ...
and Palestinian singer Kamilya Jubran on vocals and
Tom Morello Thomas Baptist Morello (born May 30, 1964) is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, and political activist. He is best known for his tenure with the rock band Rage Against the Machine and then with Audioslave. Between 2016 and 2019, More ...
on guitar. In December 2013, they announced that their new album would be named '' Multi Viral'' and it would be followed by a Latin American tour, which saw the band performing in Paraguay, Uruguay, Chile, Venezuela, Colombia, Costa Rica and Mexico. The album was released through their new own label, El Abismo, since they decided not to continue their contract with Sony Music Latin. The tour unofficially began at the
University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus The University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus ( es, Universidad de Puerto Rico, Recinto de Río Piedras; UPR-RP, or informally La IUPI) is a public land-grant research university in San Juan, Puerto Rico. It is the largest campus in the Univ ...
in San Juan, where Calle 13 held an impromptu free concert on February 25, 2014. The event was announced only six days before and did not receive formal promotion. The concert, which featured interludes where the group opposed a revision in the UPR's enrollment fee and allowed a low income child to voice the concerns of his community, managed to attract an estimate of 50,000 fans. The event featured the live debut of "El Aguante", which opened the show. Despite recognizing that his political ideology conflicted with the inmovilist conservative ideals of governor
Alejandro García Padilla Alejandro Javier García Padilla (; born August 3, 1971) is a Puerto Rican politician and attorney who served as the governor of Puerto Rico from 2013 to 2017. Prior to this position, García Padilla held various roles in the political la ...
, Pérez accompanied the same child to a reunion in
La Fortaleza La Fortaleza (lit., "The Fortress" ) is the official residence of the governor of Puerto Rico. It was built between 1533 and 1540 to defend the harbor of San Juan. The structure is also known as Palacio de Santa Catalina (Saint Catherine's Palac ...
the following day. In May 2014, the duo once again performed at Vive Latino. When they were playing "El Aguante", one spectator jumped onto the stage and tried to take Residente's microphone. Five security guards grabbed the invader and Residente tried to punch him. The duo later issued a statement (with a fan-made video of the incident) in which they say Residente's punch never actually hit the aggressor. They also included a video in which Residente is shown with the attacker sharing a drink and celebrating the fifth album. Following the end of their ''Multi_Viral'' world tour, Residente and Visitante went separate ways to focus on personal projects - the former would see the release of his first solo effort, '' Residente'', in March 2017. In October 2018, Visitante premiered his new musical project "Trending Tropics", a collaboration with Dominican singer Vicente García. Though at the time of his album's release some media outlets referred to Calle 13 as a defunct band, Residente had previously said on multiple occasions that the band is not over and is just taking a break.


Musical style

Although most people have labeled Calle 13's music as
reggaeton Reggaeton (, ), also known as reggaetón and reguetón (), is a music style that originated in Panama during the late 1980s. It was later popularized in Puerto Rico. It has evolved from dancehall and has been influenced by American hip hop, ...
, the band has tried to distance itself from the style. Indeed, Residente once admitted the group played reggaeton in their first album as way of gaining some initial popularity more easily, while assuring that the group has nothing against the genre. Visitante, being a professional musician, tries to fuse diverse styles in the group's songs. Early cuts featured elements from
jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...
,
bossa nova Bossa nova () is a style of samba developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is mainly characterized by a "different beat" that altered the harmonies with the introduction of unconventional chords and an innovat ...
and
salsa Salsa most often refers to: * Salsa (Mexican cuisine), a variety of sauces used as condiments * Salsa music, a popular style of Latin American music * Salsa (dance), a Latin dance associated with Salsa music Salsa or SALSA may also refer to: A ...
, while recent songs feature
cumbia Cumbia refers to a number of musical rhythms and folk dance traditions of Latin America, generally involving musical and cultural elements from American Indigenous peoples, enslaved Africans during colonial times, and Europeans. Examples include: ...
,
tango Tango is a partner dance and social dance that originated in the 1880s along the Río de la Plata, the natural border between Argentina and Uruguay. The tango was born in the impoverished port areas of these countries as the result of a combina ...
,
electronica Electronica is both a broad group of electronic-based music styles intended for listening rather than strictly for dancing and a music scene that started in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the term is mostly used to ...
and others. In their recent tours around Latin America they have added different musical elements according to the place the band is playing in, yet many of their songs carry the traditional reggaeton "Dem Bow" beat such as in their hit " Tango del Pecado" and the remix to "Suave". Singer Residente is reluctant to label their music in a specific genre, instead calling it plain urban style. In an interview with Rueben Blades, Rene mentioned that he is wary of making generic hip hop and traditional reggaeton. He added that even though he welcomes the "urbanity" of Hip Hop, he does not consider it to be an authentic Latin American musical expression. On the other hand, he believes that reggaeton has become generic and watered down with pop aesthetics. Calle 13 has maintained a healthy distance from the orthodoxy of
reggaeton Reggaeton (, ), also known as reggaetón and reguetón (), is a music style that originated in Panama during the late 1980s. It was later popularized in Puerto Rico. It has evolved from dancehall and has been influenced by American hip hop, ...
and both he and his brother justify it by saying that only three songs out of fifteen songs in their eponymous debut album, as well as four out of fifteen songs in their album ''
Residente o Visitante ''Residente o Visitante'' (''Resident or Visitor'') is the second studio album by Puerto Rican urban/ hip hop band Calle 13, released on April 24, 2007, by Sony BMG. Recorded in various countries while on tour in promotion of the duo's debut a ...
'', feature reggaetón beats. Residente said of the group's musical style "I love to mix things up, like on our song 'La Jirafa’. We have drumming from Brazil combined with the theme music from the film '' Amélie''. It's a pretty song, a love song for a woman, but it's about Puerto Rico too. I think this why people like our music, because – sexually speaking or politically speaking – it's just very genuine." Residente's lyrical style is inspired partly by the lyrical approach used by artists such as
Vico C Luis Armando Lozada Cruz (born September 8, 1971), known by his stage name Vico C, is an American rapper and record producer. Regarded as the founding father of reggaeton, Vico C has played an influential role in the development of Latin America ...
and Tego Calderón, trying to minimize what they refer to as "clichés" of the genre -such as open confrontations with other rappers, known in Spanish as ''tiradera'' (pronounced in Puerto Rican dialect). He attempts to stray away from the "wannabe gangster aesthetic" typical of reggaeton music. Residente's trademark is a lyrical style full of sarcasm,
satire Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming o ...
,
parody A parody, also known as a spoof, a satire, a send-up, a take-off, a lampoon, a play on (something), or a caricature, is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satiric or ironic imitation. Often its sub ...
and shock value, which some critics and fans have likened to
Eminem Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), known professionally as Eminem (; often stylized as EMINƎM), is an American rapper and record producer. He is credited with popularizing Hip hop music, hip hop in Middle America (United Sta ...
's. Jason Birchmeier of
AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Music ...
writes that Residente's lyrical style and delivery "eschews reggaeton's clichés, showcasing a healthy sense of humor and an almost clownish approach to sarcasm ... A world apart from the kingly bravado of most reggaeton vocalists, not to mention the obligatory glimmers of
misogyny Misogyny () is hatred of, contempt for, or prejudice against women. It is a form of sexism that is used to keep women at a lower social status than men, thus maintaining the societal roles of patriarchy. Misogyny has been widely practice ...
and
violence Violence is the use of physical force so as to injure, abuse, damage, or destroy. Other definitions are also used, such as the World Health Organization's definition of violence as "the intentional use of physical force or power, threatened ...
that accompany such streetwise swaggering." Residente also utilizes Puerto Rican
slang Slang is vocabulary (words, phrases, and linguistic usages) of an informal register, common in spoken conversation but avoided in formal writing. It also sometimes refers to the language generally exclusive to the members of particular in-gr ...
considerably (which in turn incorporates a sizeable dose of
Spanglish Spanglish (a portmanteau of the words "Spanish" and "English") is any language variety (such as a contact dialect, hybrid language, pidgin, or creole language) that results from conversationally combining Spanish and English. The term is m ...
), as well as
allegory As a literary device or artistic form, an allegory is a narrative or visual representation in which a character, place, or event can be interpreted to represent a hidden meaning with moral or political significance. Authors have used allegory t ...
. Early in his career, Residente expressed a desire to write lyrics only in Spanish, however he has recently stated that he will begin to write more lyrics in English in order to help communicate with English-speaking listeners. Residente's lyrics treat a wide and eclectic variety of subjects. He mentions (and sometimes derides) celebrities and icons such as
Mickey Mouse Mickey Mouse is an animated cartoon Character (arts), character co-created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. The longtime mascot of The Walt Disney Company, Mickey is an Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic mouse who typically wears red sho ...
, Redman, and
2Pac Tupac Amaru Shakur ( ; born Lesane Parish Crooks, June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), also known as 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper. He is widely considered one of the most influential rappers of all time. Shakur is among the b ...
, in "Tengo Hambre" (''I'm Hungry'');
50 Cent Curtis James Jackson III (born July 6, 1975), known professionally as 50 Cent, is an American rapper, actor, and businessman. Born in the South Jamaica neighborhood of Queens, Jackson began pursuing a musical career in 2000, when he produced ...
in "La Crema" (''The Cream'');
Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...
("I mean,
Maradona Diego Armando Maradona (; 30 October 196025 November 2020) was an Argentine professional football player and manager. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of the sport, he was one of the two joint winners of the FI ...
", Residente says) in "Sin Exagerar" (''Without Exaggeration''); Puerto Rican singer Nydia Caro (rather affectionately) in "La Era de la Copiaera", wrestler
Abdullah the Butcher Lawrence Robert Shreve (born January 11, 1941), better known by the ring name Abdullah the Butcher, is a Canadian retired professional wrestler. He has a reputation for being involved in some of the most violent and bloody hardcore wrestling m ...
in "Tributo a la Policía" (''A Tribute to Police''), golfer
Tiger Woods Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods (born December 30, 1975) is an American professional golfer. He is tied for first in PGA Tour wins, ranks second in men's major championships, and holds numerous golf records. * * * Woods is widely regarded as ...
in "Baile de los Pobres" ("Dance of the Poor") he also made a
diss track A diss track, diss record or diss song (diss – abbr. from ''disrespect'') is a song whose primary purpose is to verbally attack someone else, usually another artist. Diss tracks are often the result of an existing, escalating feud between the t ...
to Diddy in the song "Pi-Di-Di-Di (La Especialidad de la Casa)" (''House Specialty'') and a diss track aimed at the
Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice ...
in "Querido FBI" (''Dear FBI''). Visitante, on the other hand, is strongly influenced by
electronica Electronica is both a broad group of electronic-based music styles intended for listening rather than strictly for dancing and a music scene that started in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the term is mostly used to ...
, world music, and particularly Latin American folk and popular music. He has also said that he is influenced by music from Central Europe such as
Fanfare Ciocarlia A fanfare (or fanfarade or flourish) is a short musical flourish which is typically played by trumpets, French horns or other brass instruments, often accompanied by percussion. It is a "brief improvised introduction to an instrumental per ...
(particularly its collaboration with
Romani Romani may refer to: Ethnicities * Romani people, an ethnic group of Northern Indian origin, living dispersed in Europe, the Americas and Asia ** Romani genocide, under Nazi rule * Romani language, any of several Indo-Aryan languages of the Roma ...
band Kaloome, also known as The Gypsy Kings and Queens) and
Emir Kusturica Emir Kusturica ( sr-cyrl, Емир Кустурица; born 24 November 1954) is a Serbian film director, screenwriter, actor, producer and musician. He also has French citizenship.http://www.serbia.com/emir-kusturica-artist-builder-and-anti-glo ...
's group, The No Smoking Orchestra. He also stated that his musician father introduced the
Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developm ...
and
Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...
to him at a young age, which has greatly influenced his music. In live presentations, Visitante can be seen playing a variety of instruments: an electric guitar, synthesizers, an accordion, a
melodica The melodica is a handheld free-reed instrument similar to a pump organ or harmonica. It features a musical keyboard on top, and is played by blowing air through a mouthpiece that fits into a hole in the side of the instrument. The keyboard usua ...
, a Puerto Rican cuatro and a
theremin The theremin (; originally known as the ætherphone/etherphone, thereminophone or termenvox/thereminvox) is an electronic musical instrument controlled without physical contact by the performer (who is known as a thereminist). It is named afte ...
.


Members

Recording members * Residente (René Pérez Joglar) – lead vocals *
Visitante Eduardo José Cabra Martínez (born September 10, 1979, in Santurce, San Juan, Puerto Rico), better known by his stage name "Visitante Calle 13", "Visitante", or more recently, "Cabra" is a Puerto Rican producer, musician, composer, and multi-inst ...
(Eduardo Cabra Martínez) – guitar,
melodica The melodica is a handheld free-reed instrument similar to a pump organ or harmonica. It features a musical keyboard on top, and is played by blowing air through a mouthpiece that fits into a hole in the side of the instrument. The keyboard usua ...
, harmonica, piano, synthesizer, cuatro, accordion, keyboard, banjo, ukulele, violin, organ,
theremin The theremin (; originally known as the ætherphone/etherphone, thereminophone or termenvox/thereminvox) is an electronic musical instrument controlled without physical contact by the performer (who is known as a thereminist). It is named afte ...
, kalimba and other instruments * PG-13 ( ILE (singer)) – backup vocals Touring members * Andrés Cruz – drums * Héctor Barez – congas * Arturo Verges – trombone * Víctor Vázquez – saxophone * Ismael Cancel – drums * Jonathan González – bass guitar * Jerry D Medina – trumpet * Michael Santana –
clarinet The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The instrument has a nearly cylindrical bore and a flared bell, and uses a single reed to produce sound. Clarinets comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitch ...


Discography

* '' Calle 13'' (2005) * ''
Residente o Visitante ''Residente o Visitante'' (''Resident or Visitor'') is the second studio album by Puerto Rican urban/ hip hop band Calle 13, released on April 24, 2007, by Sony BMG. Recorded in various countries while on tour in promotion of the duo's debut a ...
'' (2007) * ''
Los De Atrás Vienen Conmigo ''Los de atrás vienen conmigo'' ( en, The Ones Behind Are Coming with Me) is the third studio album by Puerto Rican alternative hip hop band Calle 13 and was released on October 21, 2008 by Sony Music Latin. This album is a bit more colorful th ...
'' (2008) * '' Entren Los Que Quieran'' (2010) * '' Multi Viral'' (2014)


Awards and nominations

Grammy Awards , - , , , ''
Residente o Visitante ''Residente o Visitante'' (''Resident or Visitor'') is the second studio album by Puerto Rican urban/ hip hop band Calle 13, released on April 24, 2007, by Sony BMG. Recorded in various countries while on tour in promotion of the duo's debut a ...
'' , , Best Latin Urban Album , , , - , , , '' Los de Atras Vienen Conmigo'' , , Best Latin Rock, Alternative or Urban Album , , , - , , , '' Entren Los Que Quieran'' , ,
Best Latin Pop, Rock or Urban Album The Grammy Award for Best Latin Pop, Rock or Urban Album was an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for releasing albums in the latin pop, ...
, , , - , , , '' Multi Viral'' , , Best Latin Rock, Urban or Alternative Album , , Latin Grammy Awards , - , rowspan="3",
2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro votes to declare independence from Serbia; The 2006 ...
, , Calle 13 , ,
Best New Artist The Grammy Award for Best New Artist has been awarded since 1959. Years reflect the year in which the Grammy Awards were handed out, for records released in the previous year. The award was not presented in 1967. The official guidelines are as ...
, , , - , '' Calle 13'' , , Best Urban Music Album , , , - , "Atrévete-te-te" , , Best Short Form Music Video , , , - , rowspan="4",
2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple Inc., Apple's first iPhone (1st generation), iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakis ...
, , ''
Residente o Visitante ''Residente o Visitante'' (''Resident or Visitor'') is the second studio album by Puerto Rican urban/ hip hop band Calle 13, released on April 24, 2007, by Sony BMG. Recorded in various countries while on tour in promotion of the duo's debut a ...
'', ,
Album of the Year Album of the Year, often abbreviated to AOTY, may refer to: Awards * ARIA Award for Album of the Year, Australia * Brit Award for British Album of the Year, UK * Grammy Award for Album of the Year, US * Juno Award for Album of the Year, CA * Lati ...
, , , - , ''Residiente o Visitante'', , Best Urban Music Album , , , - , "Pa'l Norte" (feat Orishas) , , Best Urban Song , , , - , "Tango del Pecado" , , Best Short Form Music Video , , , - , rowspan="5",
2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; Protests ...
, , ''
Los de Atrás Vienen Conmigo ''Los de atrás vienen conmigo'' ( en, The Ones Behind Are Coming with Me) is the third studio album by Puerto Rican alternative hip hop band Calle 13 and was released on October 21, 2008 by Sony Music Latin. This album is a bit more colorful th ...
'', ,
Album of the Year Album of the Year, often abbreviated to AOTY, may refer to: Awards * ARIA Award for Album of the Year, Australia * Brit Award for British Album of the Year, UK * Grammy Award for Album of the Year, US * Juno Award for Album of the Year, CA * Lati ...
, , , - , ''
Los de Atrás Vienen Conmigo ''Los de atrás vienen conmigo'' ( en, The Ones Behind Are Coming with Me) is the third studio album by Puerto Rican alternative hip hop band Calle 13 and was released on October 21, 2008 by Sony Music Latin. This album is a bit more colorful th ...
'' , , Best Urban Music Album , , , - , " No Hay Nadie Como Tu" (featuring
Café Tacuba Café Tacvba (Pronounced ''kaˈfe taˈkuβa'') is a band from Ciudad Satélite, Mexico. The group gained popularity in the early 1990s. They were founded in 1989, before they had the current lineup of Rubén Isaac Albarrán Ortega (lead vocals, ...
) , ,
Record of the Year The Grammy Award for Record of the Year is presented by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without reg ...
, , , - , " No Hay Nadie Como Tu" (featuring
Café Tacuba Café Tacvba (Pronounced ''kaˈfe taˈkuβa'') is a band from Ciudad Satélite, Mexico. The group gained popularity in the early 1990s. They were founded in 1989, before they had the current lineup of Rubén Isaac Albarrán Ortega (lead vocals, ...
) , , Best Alternative Song , , , - , "La Perla" (featuring Rubén Blades) , , Best Short Form Music Video , , , - , rowspan="9",
2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrates ...
, , '' Entren Los Que Quieran'', ,
Album of the Year Album of the Year, often abbreviated to AOTY, may refer to: Awards * ARIA Award for Album of the Year, Australia * Brit Award for British Album of the Year, UK * Grammy Award for Album of the Year, US * Juno Award for Album of the Year, CA * Lati ...
, , , - , '' Entren Los Que Quieran'' , , Best Urban Music Album , , , - , " Latinoamérica" (featuring
Totó la Momposina Sonia Bazanta Vides (born 1 August 1940), better known as Totó la Momposina, is a Colombian singer of Afro-Colombian and Indigenous descent. She reached international attention with the release of her 1993 album ''La Candela Viva'' on Peter G ...
, Susana Baca and Maria Rita) , ,
Record of the Year The Grammy Award for Record of the Year is presented by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without reg ...
, , , - , "Latinoamérica" , , Song of the Year , , , - , "Calma Pueblo" , , Best Alternative Song , , , - , "Baile de los Pobres" (featuring Rafa Arcaute) , , Best Urban Song , , , - , "Vamo' a Portarnos Mal" , , Best Tropical Song , , , - , Rafael Arcaute and Calle 13 , , Producer of the Year , , , - , "Calma Pueblo" , , Best Short Form Music Video , , , - , rowspan="9",
2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wa ...
, , '' Multi Viral'', ,
Album of the Year Album of the Year, often abbreviated to AOTY, may refer to: Awards * ARIA Award for Album of the Year, Australia * Brit Award for British Album of the Year, UK * Grammy Award for Album of the Year, US * Juno Award for Album of the Year, CA * Lati ...
, , , - , '' Multi Viral'' , , Best Urban Music Album , , , - , "Respira el Momento" , ,
Record of the Year The Grammy Award for Record of the Year is presented by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without reg ...
, , , - , "Ojos Color Sol" (feat
Silvio Rodríguez Silvio Rodríguez Domínguez (born 29 November 1946) is a Cuban musician, and leader of the Nueva Trova movement. He is widely considered Cuba's best folk singer and arguably one of Latin America's greatest singer-songwriters. Known for his in ...
) , , Song of the Year , , , - , "El Aguante" , , Best Alternative Song , , , - , "Adentro" , , Best Urban Song , , , - , "Cuando los Pies Besan el Piso" , , Best Urban Song , , , - , "Adentro" , , Best Urban Performance , , , - , "Adentro" , , Best Short Form Music Video , , , - , rowspan="2",
2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the April ...
, , "Ojos Color Sol" (feat Silvio Rodríguez) , , Best Short Form Music Video , , , - , "Así de Grandes Son las Ideas" , , Best Short Form Music Video , , , - Billboard Latin Music Awards , - ,
2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple Inc., Apple's first iPhone (1st generation), iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakis ...
, , '', Calle 13'' , , Best Reggaeton Album , , , - ,
2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; Protests ...
, , " No Hay Nadie Como Tu" , , Hot Latin Song of the Year Vocal Duet or Collaboration , , , - Lo Nuestro Awards , - ,
2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
, , "Pa'l Norte" , , Video of the Year , , , - ,
2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; Protests ...
, , "Un Beso de Desayuno" , , Video of the Year , , , - ,
2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...
, , " No Hay Nadie Como Tu" , , Collaboration of the Year , , , - Los Premios MTV Latinoamérica , - , 2006, , Calle 13 , , Promising Artist , , , - , 2007 , , Calle 13 , , Best Urban Artist , , , - , 2009 , , Calle 13 , , Best Urban Artist , , Instituto Cubano de la Música , - , 2010 , , Calle 13 , , Premio Internacional Cubadiscom , , Ateneo Puertorriqueño , - , 2011 , , Calle 13 , , Medalla Ramón Emeterio Betances , ,


See also

* Music of Puerto Rico * Alternative-reggaeton


References


External links


Calle 13 official website

Rubén Blades interviewing Calle 13

Calle 13, in Search of the Real Latin America
by ''Los Angeles Times''
Calle 13: With the People, Without a Map
{{DEFAULTSORT:Calle 13 (Band) Puerto Rican alternative rock groups Grammy Award winners Latin Grammy Award winners Latin Grammy Award for Best New Artist Puerto Rican musical groups Latin Grammy Award for Producer of the Year Musical trios Puerto Rican reggaeton musicians 2004 establishments in Puerto Rico Musical groups established in 2004 Puerto Rican independence activists Musical groups disestablished in 2015 Puerto Rican hip hop musicians American hip hop groups Sony Music Latin artists