| René Pérez Joglar was born on February 23, 1978 in Hato Rey, Puerto Rico; his half brother, Eduardo José Cabra Martínez, on September 10, 1978 in Santurce. When they were children, Eduardo would visit his brother weekly on 13th Street (Calle 13), a street in the suburbs of El Conquistador, in Trujillo Alto. When Rene aka Residente (Resident) and Eduardo aka Visitante (Visitor) became adults and developed their artistic talents they united to form Calle13.
Visitor grew up enveloped by music. At six, his mother exposed him to the Suzuki method of learning music, and then he proceeded to take piano lessons with the luminary maestro, Jose Acevedo. Shortly after, he initiated his studies in the Music Conservatory and later enrolled in the Manolo Acosta School Of The Arts. There, Visitor became an exemplary student and mastered the saxophone, flute, and piano. Later on, he taught himself to play classical guitar.
"During my last years in school, I started playing music in the streets," remembers Visitor. "Having done this lead me to experience the rhythms of the streets…pop, salsa, Brazilian music."
He majored in accounting and IT communications at Pio Piedras, Recinto de Río at the University Of Puerto Rico, though, he claims, "never worked at either field. The music was what kept me going."
The musical knowledge he acquired through his studies and his ability to produce and engineer as he did with the band Bayanga, lead Visitor to create the unique sound of Calle 13's music. His artistic talents are exemplified in their debut single, "Se vale To-to," and in their second single, "Atrévete," which are smash hits in Puerto Rico.
On the other hand, Resident grew up writing poetry, film scripts, and songs which led to him to develop into an exceptional lyricist. His mother, Flor Joglar, an actress, taught him to love soap operas, books, and literature. Until the age of 14, he was obliged to write about certain themes in school. Later, he began to enjoy the liberty of writing songs for his own fulfillment.
Resident studied for five consecutive years at the Escuela de Artes Plásticas in Puerto Rico and studied animation at Savannah University in Georgia. He lived in Spain, U.S.A. and Puerto Rico, searching ways to fulfill his artistic drive. He filmed videos for art galleries, wrote songs and a short film influenced by Dadaism art about morals and pleasures that aired in Spain.
November, 2005, the duo decided to establish the group Calle 13 by recording five tracks at Resident's home. They went a step further by presenting them to White Lion Records, whom within a week initiated negotiations with the duo.
While Calle 13 was a project that developed from shared childhood experiences, it is no longer a childhood address lost in time but a musical passport for the world to hear and experience. It's a key that will open the door to unimaginable places that welcome their relentless art, once hidden, allowing Calle 13 the freedom to say "I dare you." |
