In the aftermath of Hurricanes Irma and María, many Puerto Rican artists took to their work in order to share their thoughts and experiences with said catastrophic events. One of the projects to come out of this was José Iván Lebrón Moreira’s Ciénaga and its debut Isla Eterna, an ambient piece which samples a variety of sounds to capture the chaos of said time in Puerto Rican history. Isla Eterna starts with the lead single “Augurio: El grito del eclipse,” an ambient tune that provides a very soulful saxophone as it shows the days before the cyclones hit Puerto Rico. Then, “9-6-17 En ráfagas” perfectly captures the dark and chaotic event of Hurricane Irma. Next, “9:20” presents Hurricane María in full effect as the track is mainly composed out of sound recorded at the moment of said event. Afterwards, “El ojo” samples sounds from Hurricane María and accompanies them with dark, electronic and somewhat psychedelic sounds to present the chaos of going through the eye of such a devastating cyclone. The first half of the Isla Eterna ends with “Desde los balcones,” a powerful tune that blends samples and acoustic guitars to provide a very emotional track set in the aftermath of Hurricane María. Hurricane María. Next, “Sobre las muertes” serves as perhaps the darkest and most difficult song to process as it can easily bring one to tears after reimagining and rethinking the amount of lives lost in such a chaotic time. Afterwards, “WAPA Radio 1” briefly samples the famous Puerto Rican radio station as the track quickly shifts into a sound that can only be described as the vast amount of media coverage the hurricanes received, which, in a way, further enhanced the chaos the island was going through. Finally, the project closes with “Reconstruye,” an ambient tune that provides a glimmer of hope while capturing the start of a long healing process for the entirety of Puerto Rico.
Overall, Isla Eterna is a powerful project that reflects on what is perhaps the most chaotic moment in recent Puerto Rican history. While it might be a hard listen for those who experienced the events because it clearly brings back difficult memories, the album might serve as an eye opener for those who have never gone through such an event. Listen to Isla Eterna on Bandcamp
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AuthorFernando E. E. Correa González is the author behind over 30 self-published poetry books. He has been published by literary magazines & journals [Id]entidad, El Vicio del Tintero, Sábanas Magazine, Smaeralit, The Occulum, Tonguas and Hound Magazine. Other than writing, Correa is also the host of FENCast, a podcast dedicated to documenting the Puerto Rican independent art scene. Aside from this, he experiments with filmmaking, photography, drawing, painting, multimedia and transmedia. He currently lives in his native Puerto Rico. Archives
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