San Juan, PR (December 5, 2013) - Just one month after releasing their first single"Multi_Viral", Puerto Rican band Calle 13, is back in the news with the release of the accompanying music video, which was filmed in Palestine in the cities of Bethlehem and Beit Sahour. One of the filming locations was the Israeli wall, which is heavily guarded and has security cameras every 30 meters. According to René Pérez, aka Residente, singer-songwriter of the band, the video was filmed in Palestine because he understands that the nation represents many Middle Eastern countries living between war and abuse inflicted by their own or foreign governments.
The video "Multi_Viral" was directed by Kacho López Mari and produced by Zapatero Filmes, a Puerto Rican production company. It tells the story of a group of Palestinian youngsters, who in the midst of the violence that occurs in the region conspire to make an AK-47 into a guitar as a way to transform war into peace. This instrument actually exists and was the creation of the Colombian musician and peace activist César López, who named it "Escopetarra" (shotgun guitar).
The song "Multi_Viral" is about misinformation, the concealment of information, and media manipulation. René elaborates on the topic and affirms, "Palestine is one of the countries that suffers from media manipulation. What occurs there gets back to America totally manipulated and the information people receive is quite different."
To this he added, "that's the idea of the video, to tell a story that appears to be one thing
and then manipulate it through the editing to then mislead the viewer until the very end; to get them to think that these children are preparing an attack with weapons on a specific target and at the end you realize that's not the case, it's in fact quite the opposite." Residente is convinced that what is happening in Palestine can be representative of any country in the Middle East and not just limited to Palestine. So the country is not specified in the video, although it is implied.
When asked about the storyline of the video, Eduardo Cabra, aka Visitante, states, "It trips me out that the story revolves around music, because ultimately this is about converting a weapon into a musical instrument as a sign of peace. The climax is the guitar's moment. It is the highlight of the video, it is a visual recap of everything the boy had to do in order to have his guitar solo. Cabra is the band's musical director, composer, and music producer and together with Residente leads Calle 13.
Cabra compares this with Victor Jara, one of the most iconic artists of the "Nueva Canción Chilena" (New Chilean Song) from the 70's. "In the end, the force of music is powerful, the only tool musicians have when others want them silenced or worse. In trying to censor something that gives the musician more power, they forget that music stays around forever. It is stronger than any weapon. It's like a tattoo," concluded Visitante.
On another note, Kacho López affirmed, "The most interesting location was the market in Bethlehem and the surrounding area; it was an intense and memorable experience...the crowds, the cold, the rain, the scents and textures of this city". He also stated that during the filming of one of René's scenes, detonations were heard which turned out to be the firing of rubber bullets along with tear gas. "For the scene with the soldiers, they ordered us to leave the area for fear of retaliation by the Israelis", said López.
After this experience Residente commented, "I felt a message of peace needed to be sent, one of tranquility, but without bowing down. And that is what is happening in the video, without compromising their ideals, standing firmly on their feet, but with a pacifist message that says 'No to War'." Pérez believes that "this is much more than a video, it is an affirmation, a cry for peace without letting your guard down, a young message of struggle that forces one to think twice before distorting the Palestinian reality".
Following the launch of the single "Multi_Viral", Amnesty International Venezuela supported Calle 13's anti-violence efforts: "We identify with Multi-Viral's lyrics and have helped to spread them because its message is in favor of InfoActivismo (information activism) and participation, in order to achieve a change in people's lives, changes in accountability and transparency, changes in government policies, and saying no to censorship and repression. We are their allies in this important project, which we accept with honor and commitment," said Marcos Gómez Romero, Director of Amnesty International of this sister country.
Calle 13's front men are part of Amnesty International's campaign "Basta de Balas" (Enough of Bullets) which aims to reduce gun crimes in the region. In September of 2012 they were recognized as "Emissaries of Conscience" for their commitment to social justice and the well being of youth in Latin America.
The song "Multi_Viral" is part of Calle 13's 5th studio album to be released by their independent record label El Abismo (The Abyss). The Puerto Rican band recently announced their next tour, which is set to commence simultaneously with the release of the album on March 1, 2014.
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