Punk in Puerto Rico

For some, punk rock started in South America (Perú) with Los Saicos in the mid 60’s, for others in New York with bands like The Dictators, Ramones or Heartbreakers in 1973-1974. And for most people, it started in 1977 in London with the Sex Pistols, The Clash and The Damned. The thing is that we don’t know for sure where it started, but what we know is that it had a worldwide influence, even in the Hispanic Caribbean and the island of Puerto Rico, specifically. In that first wave of punk (1977-1984), there was a Puerto Rican diaspora that took part on it. Alan Vega from the noise-pioneers Suicide (NY), Ron Reyes from the hardcore-punk pioneers, Black Flag (LA), John Macías from Circle One (LA), Louie Rivera from the NYHC pioneers, Antidote and Abraham Rivera from Urban Fury (NY). And also worth mention are the Ghetto Brothers, that with their gang-band promoted puertoricanness within the American rock n roll of the 60’s. In the following decades, there has been tons of Puerto Ricans that have stood out in punk bands and it’s sub-genres, stateside. Because of the constant influx of boricuas between the East Coast of the United States and the island, eventually those punk rock seeds arrived in the Puerto Rican archipiélago. Specifically in the capital city of San Juan, a high school band called The M.D.’s recorded their debut album “Brain Damage” in 1981, with a new wave sound with elements of punk, hardcore and anti-system lyrics. Their record had airplay in the newly created station, Alfa Rock.

With the arrival of MTV and counter culture extreme sports like surfing or skateboarding, the first hints of a punk scene started in the West Side of the island by 1984-1985. Pioneer groups like Ostrus with César Juarbe and Phillip Padilla, set standards. By 1986, Subculture Underground were formed in Mayaguez, playing a very raw punk-hardcore. In 1987, bands like Hypocrite Solution and Corrupted Society were formed in Cabo Rojo and Isabela, respectively, playing cross-over with hardcore tendencies. In addition to bands like Frontside Generation, Rotten Core and No More in the late 80’s, this represents the first wave of punk bands in the Puerto Rican west side. In the metropolitan area, in 1987 a punk band named Crystal Shit (yes, from the Dead Milkmen song, “Bitchin’ Camaro”) formed and played L.A. Hardcore covers and original songs in spanish. Drunk Puppets and Tripeo Mortal, in Bayamón and Carolina, respectively, also played covers with some original tunes, were pioneers of the metro area garages. It wasn’t until the arrival of crossover hardcore outfit Sham Pain (Ex FOD) in 1988, that the first strictly Spanish punk/hc came about. In 1990, Jeff Spaz from the Connecticut hardcore band, Seizure, flew to the island after receiving a few record orders from the island, which happened to be his parent’s homeland too. He put out 2 essential pieces for local punks: the compilation “House Arrest” with 4 of the first west side punk bands, plus Sham Pain and the video compilation, “La Decadencia del Cuchifrito”, with videos of all the leading punk bands of the early 90’s like Abuso Legal, Fobia Estatal, No More, Golpe Justo, among others.

In the 90’s, the native punk rock was sung in spanish. Bands like Hijos de Nadie, Rechazo Social, Trato Injusto, Ejército Rojo, Chicken Shit, Psycore and Sin Remedio came into the scene. But things got serious when two bands came into the picture, La Experiencia de Toñito Cabanillas and Lopodrido, which influenced a whole generation of Puerto Rican punks. In the midst of the Rock en español boom, these two groups were like a splash of cold water in between all the commercial pre-fabricated products of that time. The mid 90’s saw the birth of groups like Cojoba, Da’ Pingaz, Odio Simple, Los Espectros and Distorción Rebelde, that carried the torch ignited by LEDTC y Lopo, releasing records, playing all over the island, and basically spreading the gospel of boricua punk. Knocking on the doors of the new millenium, the Borinquen punk rock boom exploded. Bands like Lácteos, Socialmente Muertos, Toygun, Kabezudos de Villa Bajo, Alfalfa y los Kretinos and Tropiezo left a trail wherever they played from Rumba in Old San Juan and El Velero in Moca to community centers all across the island. Well into the 2000’s, the big island was full of bands everywhere. Festivals, tours outside our borders, records and magazine reviews were constant. Groups like Las Ardillas, Un Final Fatal, Anti-Sociales, Necronazis, Diente Perro, Panty Sniffers, and a whole lot more. Until Dávila 666 came into the scene in 2006 with their garage punk style, is that the underground boricua rock n roll was taken seriously by their American, European and Latin American counterparts. To this day, 30 years of Puerto Rican punk had gone by and it’s very common for bands to go out on tour, record albums and classic punk bands (Black Flag, Dwarves, Dickies, etc) to play the island, bands that during their prime were not even aware that punks like them existed on this tiny Caribbean island. Ba-boom!

References

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