Amilcar Priestley testifies for Resolution 625 and reggaeton's Panamanian roots
Amilcar Priestley of the Afro-Latino Project and Afro-Latino Festival says reggaeton began with Afro-Caribbean communities in Panama translating Jamaican reggae into Spanish, traveled through Brooklyn, and was fused by Puerto Rican artists into a global genre.
Next, we have Amilcar.
You may begin.
Good afternoon, Chairwoman Williams, members of the Council.
My name is Amrita Priestley.
I'm here on behalf of the Afro-Latino Project and the Afro-Latino Festival, and I'm here also representing the Panamanian community here in New York.
Thank you to Council members Lewis and co-sponsors Farias and Sanchez for bringing Resolution 625A to the floor.
Reggaeton is one of the most popular genres on earth currently.
Its story is often told as if it began in one place.
The truth is much richer.
In the late 1970s and 80s, Afro-Caribbean communities in Panama, many descended from West Indian workers who built the canal, began taking Jamaican reggae and putting it into Spanish.
They called it reggae en español, or plena.
It traveled by cassette, by radio, by Diablo Rojo bus.
Artists such as El General, Renato, and many others carried that sound across borders.
It was influenced in Brooklyn.
It permeated many of Brooklyn's most popular venues.
And it was one of the seeds that germinated right here in Brooklyn.
That sound also reached Puerto Rico, and I want to be clear, Puerto Rican artists took it, fused it with hip-hop, and built it into the global force that we now see today.
This resolution enhances the contributions of both.
A shared...
Caribbean story.
It also honors New York, the city's mix of dancehall, hip-hop, and
Latin communities helped shape the genre.
Reggaeton is part of who we are.
It's not the only time that Puerto Rico and Panama have come together.
Carlos Russell, who you'll know, was one of the mentors of the Young Lords, as told by the famous Felipe Luciano.
So this continues that important line of shared cultural heritage and shared political history.
For Panamanians, it's important for this resolution to pass.
Many of our pioneers never received the credit or the rewards of the industry that they helped create.
Thank you.
Your time expired.
Our African-American communities have too often been overlooked, even at home.
Recognition from the largest city in the country says that this history is important and it counts.
Heritage Month gives schools, artists, and community groups a moment each October to tell this full story.
I respectfully urge the council to pass this resolution.
Thank you once again.