que lloren

Some History:

Ivy Queen - La Bichota, La Caballota y muchísimo más - has a song called Que LLoren that is very important to me. Listen to the song, look up the lyrics, translate them & come back.

As a Reggaetonera, Ivy Queen is a musical artist in a male dominated field. I look up to her as a powerful woman who - in the presence of men who sing about people like her as if they were objects - uses her voice to Rise Against.

Reggaeton is the genre that got my people into mainstream consciousness. When we listen to or play Reggaeton out loud, it's like we're saying “Yeah, we did that shit!” Today, women like Villano Antillano are continuing to bring a feminine power to Reggaeton and their success is directly correlated to that of La Bichota.

Some Real Shit:

My whole life I've felt unseen and unheard because I am soft and gentle and very, very gay, while the men in my life were all straight and hell bent on leading their lives with aggression. I look up to the women in my life because I saw them fight so hard to be respected by toxic fucking men that they felt forced to put up with, out of love for their children.

Que LLoren speaks to me - not only because it is a powerful song by a powerful woman in a genre dominated by aggressive men, but also because it is a powerful phrase in itself. “Que LLoren” means [loosely] “let them cry.” When I think on my past - what I and those around me have endured - and the things I want to accomplish in my future, I feel such a strong sense of empowerment that comes directly from this phrase.

Not only do I want to allow myself and others to cry because of how hard life may have been for us, but I also want to make a lot of others cry if they think they’re going to show up in our lives and keep us in that repetitive cycle. Any and all obstacles - whether they be in human form or something else - can and will be damned. I will be me and to those who think they will hold me down, digo: Que Lloren.