Rene
Perez (aka Residente)
of Calle 13 sat down
with MTV Tr3s at a recent
screening of the new
film Pedro, based on
the life of Pedro Zamora,
the first openly gay
and HIV positive cast
member ever featured
on The Real World, at
Florida International
University.
Perez
was in attendance to
sit on a panel and discuss
how AIDS and HIV have
affected his life. The
frontman for Calle 13
had a lot to say on
the topic and it is
one very close to his
heart. Perez explained
how the disease had
a huge impact on Puerto
Rico and how it can
affect anyone. "My
aunt is living with
AIDS now," he said,
"And my uncle who
was homosexual died
of cancer and had AIDS
too. People need to
be aware about how the
situation has developed
and changed. It’s not
just an illness it’s
a social issue. We need
to erase the taboo that
exists with AIDS. Everyone
should be tested."
Rene
also had some interesting
advice for young people,
"Always use condoms.
I always use a condom.
That’s why I don’t have
any children yet. Also,
they should masturbate.
[Laughs] It’s true,
especially for men.
If they do that it cuts
out the urge to have
sex. When you don’t
have the urge as a distraction,
you can think about
it long and hard. So
it buys time to make
a better decision."
Hmm,
sounds like he has tested
out all of the strategies
he's promoting. It's
good to know that Perez
is willing to do whatever
it takes to educate
the youth!**
Courtesy of Latina.com
History
Calle
13 is a five-time Latin
Grammy Award and Grammy
Award-winning Puerto
Rican hip hop and alternative-reggaeton
duo formed by half-brothers
Rene Perez Joglar (born
on February 23, 1978
in Hato Rey, a subsection
of San Juan, Puerto
Rico), who calls himself
Residente (lead singer,
writer) and Eduardo
Jose Cabra Martinez,
(born on September 10,
1978 in Santurce, another
subsection of San Juan)
who calls himself Visitante
(multi-instrumentalist,
particularly keyboards,
vocals, beat producer).
Their sister Ileana
(aka PG-13) has contributed
the female vocals to
some of their songs,
and so has Residente's
mother, Puerto Rican
actress Flor Joglar
de Gracia (on the single
"Tango del Pecado").
Residente and Visitante
come from a family with
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; Visitante's
father (who later became
Residente's stepfather)
is currently a lawyer,
but at one time was
a musician.
When
they were children,
Eduardo 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,
Cabra would identify
himself as a visitor,
while Perez would have
to insist -often, he
claims- that he was
a resident to clear
the gate. The pair named
themselves Calle 13
after the street their
family's house was on.
Residente
originally studied to
be an accountant, and
his brother finished
a computer science degree.
An art course prompted
Residente to pursue
a career as a multimedia
designer, and Visitante
became a full-time musician
and producer. 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
Despota", or "The
Despot"). Meanwhile,
Visitante participated
in Bayanga, a rock and
Brazilian batucada group.
After
Residente finished studying
in Georgia at the Savannah
College of Art and Design
(Sound Design), and
after spending a stint
in Barcelona sneaking
into film classes, he
returned to Puerto Rico.
Soon after, both of
them started working
in their music. They
claim they initially
did it as a joke, but
they still managed to
get some of their songs
heard around.
