VivirLatino

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.

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