Golpe de Agua
Golpe de Agua is a call to an ancient future ritual of song and dance. Electronic tropical sounds flourish at the root of the clave and the cuembé rhythm of the Afro-Puerto Rican bomba tradition as Esotérica Tropical’s vocal flow is amplified by a chorus of voices and melodious clarinet licks, that speed up into a rallying cry towards flowing with uncertainty, letting go of obstructions, and letting in the fresh and the new.
Serpiente
Serpiente is the fourth single of Esotérica Tropical’s self-titled debut album. Serpiente blends Afro-Puerto Rican bomba drums with the sounds of the cuatro, a central instrument of Jíbaro music, music from the mountains of Puerto Rico. Featuring luscious electronic production by Luis Maurette (of Lulacruza/Uji), Serpiente invites us to dive deep into our waters so that we can commune with the moon and the mysteries of the night. Serpiente is a spell for our feminine essence to rise and undulate like a serpent, shining luminously like the full moon.
Despierta
“Having grown up in the Caribbean, I have always identified with the element of water. Be it through floating and swimming, sometimes drowning in deep emotional landscapes, the study of the cerebro-spinal fluid through cranio-sacral work, or finding solace in the salty watery womb of the sea. I have sung to and praised the waters all my life. A fellow acupuncturist, bruje and friend casually told me that I needed to work more with the energy of fire, to transmute, transform, and move. Despierta is a song that grounds an unfolding relationship with fire, of learning to let the fire guide me to the good. In the song I give thanks to the sun, to light, to the fire, and to the sea. Everyday I take time to be grateful for all the life sustaining and nourishing relationships in my life. Be it the sun, friends, or my own cells and breath.”-Esotérica Tropical
Realismo Mágico
A joy-inducing single and video “, the second off of her forthcoming debut album Esotérica Tropical, due out next year. The song features production contributions from Atropolis and vocals from Merrill Garbus of TuneYards. The video, was directed by Ana Paula Teixeira,
‘Realismo Mágico’ is an ode to the magic of the ordinary- “Realismo Magico is a way of perceiving that is full of wonder and appreciation of the magic in all things. There is something childlike and innocent about being able to tap into these dimensions that are always here, where wonder and awe recide. Were spirits from the beyond guide us and bless us with light, joy, and levity. These are ancient practices that support our communal wellbeing, through connection to the unseen, ceremony and celebration. Archetypes our deepest joy and authenticity longs for us to embody,” -Esotérica Tropical
HURACAN
Huracán is a song born out of the collective rage that Puerto Ricans on the island and in the diaspora grappled with in the aftermath of Hurricane María. The Fiscal Control Board, popularly called La Junta, is an unaccountable entity created by the federal government to oversee Puerto Rico’s economy while restructuring the debt. La Junta primarily serves Wall Street vulture funds and corrupt island elites, cutting social services through a disaster capitalism agenda. The result is that hundreds of thousands of Puerto Ricans have to leave the island while neo-settler colonialists move in. The unpayable debt La Junta seeks to restructure has never been audited. This song speaks of the need for autogestión (self-governance), and the practices that colonial subjects engage in to embody freedom and grow their collective power. This original bomba emerged out of years of study with Taller Bombaléle, an Oakland-based, queer-led drum and dance troupe founded by Julia Caridad Cepeda and Denise Solis. Featured in the video are bomba dancers Julia Caridad Cepeda and Lío ViIlahermosa.