Wilfredo “Willy” Aldarondo sings a lament over a deep voice and minimal syncopated beat. “The love of my life left for New York/My mother followed her aunt to Florida/Packed my things, now it’s my turn/The plane has landed and who knows? I didn't even applaud.”
These are the opening lines of “Tierra,” the lead single from Puerto Rican band Chuwi’s latest EP of the same name. Founded in his 2020 in the northwestern coastal town of Isabela, Chuwi is comprised of Willie, his sister Loren Aldarondo, brother Wester Aldarondo and friend Adrian Lopez. Describing the band's sound is a challenge in itself. Are they Latin jazz, indie rock, urban, tropical fusion, or something else entirely? The answer to all these questions is yes.
Over the past two years, the quartet's popularity has grown among listeners and industry insiders. Part of the reason is that they seem to be filling an all-too-common role in Latin American music: bands whose music reflects the sentiments of their activist contemporaries.
The song “Tierra” unmistakably alludes to one of Puerto Rico's most contemporary anxieties. In 2019, Puerto Rico's Congress passed Act 60, which codified generous tax breaks for foreign investors who immigrate and establish resident status in the Puerto Rican Islands.
The result has been what critics say is a nationwide gentrification effort that has priced local residents out of their neighborhoods. Large areas of real estate are being acquired and converted into short-term rental space, causing housing prices to soar. Meanwhile, the benefits promised by the bill's supporters have not materialized. Between this and the one-two punch of the disastrous Hurricane Maria in 2017 and the earthquake and pandemic in 2020, the population decline became rapid and severe, causing even more dire effects. Chewy's lyrics resonate with Puerto Ricans who are dismayed by what is happening around them. Puerto Rico has a strong history of musical groups with hidden political leanings. Groups such as Fier a la Vega, Cultura Prophetica, and El Hijo de Boriquén followed the standards set by Argentine Rock Nacional and Chicano folk music, among others. Even reggaeton became known as “pereo contivo” during the protests on the island that forced then-governor Ricardo Rosselló to resign in 2019.
But Chewie are candid about how, despite appearances, they don't consciously identify as an activist band, even if their songs feel close to the zeitgeist of the island's political discourse. Ta. Instead, the band sees themselves as artists who put their feelings on the page rather than preaching a particular ideology. “We write about what weighs us down and we use it. [music] I started it as an outlet,” Willie says. We just wanted a way to express ourselves about the things that make us uncomfortable and the things we love. ”
Another song on the EP, the meringue-hued “Mundi,” makes listeners feel like the tanned skin of a real Mundi. This African savannah elephant spent his 35 years alone at the Dr. Juan A. Rivero Zoo in Puerto Rico, where he is less than an hour from Isabela near Mayaguez. The elephant's plight attracted attention among local animal rights activists, and Mundi was eventually relocated to an elephant sanctuary in Georgia in 2023.
For Chuwi, the song was inspired by memories of a trip to the zoo when he was young. The song is also an homage to the songs their mother used to play. It's “Laika'' by his band His Meccano, an 80's Spanish pop song about a Soviet space dog sent on a fateful solo mission into space in 1957.
“I wanted this song to be factual, so I did some real research.” [Mundi’s backstory] But it was also catchy, and if people paid attention to the lyrics, they would be emotionally devastated,” laughs Loren, who is also the band's regular lead singer.
One of their most memorable songs is “Guerra” from Palo Dominicano. AfroHe taps into the frenetic rhythms of the Caribbean, creating an aural experience that mimics the enveloping chaos of its namesake ('guerra' means 'war'). While war has certainly been at the forefront of the news for the past seven months, this is another example of their muse working unconsciously.
“We live in this world and we're exposed to these things, and in our personal lives we're passionate about certain things. Musically, [it bleeds in]” explains Loren.
Their eclectic style and seriousness have attracted the attention of larger artists. For example, artists like Eduardo Cabra, the Grammy-winning producer of the iconoclastic rap duo Calle 13, and Bascabulla (“we call them mom and dad,'' says Loren) are still young bands. We are giving advice to those who are in the early stages.
Seeing them live reveals another reason why Chuwi connected so well with audiences. Loren's voice is mesmerizing as it growls and wails with a honey tone, and Adrien's percussion easily gets people's blood pumping and emotions high. In Loren's case, she digs into the old teachings of her time singing in her church to fully involve the listener in the show she and her bandmates put on.
“I rely heavily on emotion in my performance. If I don't feel the emotion, the audience won't feel the emotion either. In church, when you sing something, you're singing to God. And when people see that and show your sincerity, it will inspire them to sing to God, too,” she says. “When you're vulnerable, they're vulnerable. If I'm not authentic, how can I expect the audience to relate to the music we're making?”
And while they hope to showcase even more of their abilities lyrically and sonically on their next projects, including their debut LP, which they're already hard at work on, they're not going to shy away from speaking from the heart. . If only we could tag them as resistance artists.
“I think it means that our music is reaching people, and that what we feel is not just about us,” Wester says. “When I see people relate to it, it makes me feel like we're not alone. I'm okay with being perceived that way.”
Juan J. Arroyo is a Puerto Rican freelance music journalist. Since 2018, he has written articles for PS, Remezcla, Rolling Stone, and Pitchfork. His focus is to expand the canvas of Latin stories and make Latin culture, especially Caribbean Latin culture, more visible in the mainstream.