Calle 13 shows canceled in Colombia, Puerto Rico over controversial t-shirt
Calle 13 at Los Premios MTV 2009
A Colombian mayor has canceled a scheduled performance by Puerto Rican rap duo Calle 13 after the group’s lead rapper, René Pérez “El Residente”, wore a controversial t-shirt (shown above) at the recent Los Premios MTV.
The t-shirt calls Colombian president Álvaro Uribe “paramilitary,” most likely referring to the president’s recent deal to allow United States military bases in Colombia.
Juan Manuel Llano, mayor of Manizales, Colombia, banned the duo from performing at an upcoming festival there, saying that Rene’s shirt was an “insult to Colombians.”
Just last Saturday, the mayor of San Juan, Puerto Rico, canceled a Halloween concert that was to be headlined by Calle 13 after Rene called out the governor of Puerto Rico for a recent increase in state worker layoffs.
Whether you agree or disagree with Rene’s beliefs, you have to give him his props. I think it’s excellent for a rapper — someone with such an influence on youth — to be politically active and very honest and open about his beliefs. I can’t help but admire that.
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