BoriCorridor brings Puerto Rican arts to Boston
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BoriCorridor's lineup includes Versos de Mujer, an all-woman trova group. Photo: Courtesy of Ágora Cultural Architects
Puerto Rican arts series BoriCorridor returns to Boston this year with a rallying cry: "No sueltes la bandera" — Spanish for "Don't let go of the flag."
Why it matters: It's not only a lyric in Bad Bunny's song about Puerto Rican displacement, but a call to action to keep Puerto Rico's spirit alive.
- It comes amid struggles with American imperialism and gentrification — even more than 1,600 miles away in Massachusetts.
What they're saying: "We're taking it from a Bad Bunny song, but it represents so much of what is happening," says Elsa Mosquera, the series' lead organizer and founder of Boston arts and culture firm Ágora Cultural Architects.
State of play: The BoriCorridor Tour kicks off Saturday with the premiere of comedian Marisé Álvarez's film special, "Never Say Never," at CROMA Space.
- The tour, now in its third year, is introducing new audiences to traditional Puerto Rican music in its three subsequent events, in Boston as well as Chicago, New York, Baltimore and other U.S. cities.
- The lineup includes concerts from saxophonist Jonathan Suazo, folk music legends Roy Brown and Zoraida Santiago, and an all-female trova ensemble known as Versos de Mujer (or Woman's Verses).
- Trova, an oral storytelling tradition typically associated with rural Puerto Rican communities, was once a male-dominated art form.
Flashback: The U.S. government criminalized possessing the Puerto Rican flag and other acts of Puerto Rican nationalism under a 1948 gag law.
- That law remained in place until it was repealed nine years later.
- That's at least partly why you may see Puerto Ricans hanging miniature flags on their car mirrors decades later in Massachusetts, which is home to one of the biggest Puerto Rican populations.
Between the lines: Part of the acclaim for Bad Bunny's album "Debí Tirar Más Fotos" (or "I Should Have Taken More Pictures") stems from songs that put a modern spin on plena, salsa and other Latin genres rarely seen on global music charts.
- For the first time, people are asking for Puerto Rican music, said Mosquera, who was born in Colombia but lived in Puerto Rico for several years before moving to Boston.
- "I think we're in the mainstream of culture in the biggest way possible," Mosquera said.
What's next: The tour continues in March with concerts by Suazo, followed by shows featuring Versos de Mujer in April and Brown and Santiago in May.