Saturday night La Mala headed to the beautiful and historic Brooklyn Academy of Music to see, listen, and experience Songs from the Capeman, part of a month long celebration of musician Paul Simon. The packed house was chock full of a mixed crowd, including many community activists from the Rican community, like Congresswoman Nydia M. Velázquez. I admit that I went in slightly skeptical, having remembered being part of the conversations within the Rican community 10 years ago or so, when the musical came out. Would Paul Simon’s musical be an example of cultural appropriation? Would the musical recounting of the story Salvador Agron be a West Side Story-ish stereotype? I was pleasantly surprised.
Musically, the show was phenomenal. It featured the vocal talents of Obie Bermudez, Frankie Negron, Danny Rivera, and Ray de la Paz. The musical numbers were rooted in Puerto Rican music, like plena, bomba, agunaldos, and salsas. The opening number, Yo Naci en Puerto Rico, was absolutely moving. Also present was the do-wop influences of the time of Agron’s arrival in NYC and struggle with street culture as a Rican immigrant. Lyrically, the show was politically charged, not shying away from racism, the prison industrial complex, and the oh so relevant topic of immigration.

But that isn’t to say that there weren’t issues. In one scene/musical number, when Salvador Agron’s mother Esmeralda, beautifully sung by Claudette Sierra, consults a santero and the caracoles, I admit to feeling uncomfortable about Paul Simon’s interpretation and use of such an important spiritual aspect of Rican culture. Some the lyrics were less than inspiring and contain alot of profanity and use of racial slurs. Understandable, yes, given the historical/cultural context, but still, the N word and the S word give me chills, in a bad way.

Overall however, the show drew in audiences, especially because of the presence of Paul Simon himself, who didn’t appear until the second half of the show. You could tell that some people in the audience had little idea of what was the story behind the Capeman, and came just because it was a Paul Simon show. Actual film from when Salvador Agron was arrested after stabbing two people and from when he passed at the age of 43, helped fill in some gaps.

The end of the show was done in a way for Latino and non-Latino audiences alike to enjoy. Danny Rivera’s reprise of Yo Naci en Puerto Rico, brought the audience to their feet, dancing. Some even raised their fists and clapped upon hearing the Rican social troubadour mention Rican nationalist Pedro Albizu Campos. The audience danced salsa in their seats, and some were even brought on stage. Even Paul Simon himself was dancing salsa.

Overall Songs from the Capeman was a politically charged, musically amazing show. I still wonder if we needed another Rican gang musical, but one can’t deny that included was a wider social context within the tale.

Photos Via / Stephanie Berger for BAM