Calle 13

René Pérez Joglar was born on February 23, 1978 in Hato Rey, Puerto Rico; his half brother, Eduardo José Cabra Martínez, on September 10th, 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 a.k.a. Residente (Resident) and Eduardo a.k.a. Visitante (Visitor) became adults and developed their artistic talents they united to form Calle 13 (13th Street).

Eduardo, 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 of course the piano. Later on, he taught himself to play classical guitar.

“During my last years in school, I started playing music in the streets.... having done this lead me to experience the rhythms of the streets…pop, salsa, Brazilian music…”, remembers Visitor.

He majored in accounting and IT communications at Pio Piedras, Recinto de Río at the University of Puerto Rico, “though I never worked at either field, the music was what kept me going,” Visitor claims.

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, Rene, (Residente–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 (Residente) 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, USA 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.

Last November the duo decided to establish the group Calle 13 by recording 5 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.

Calle 13, a project that developed from shared childhood experiences 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 “Atrévete' meaning 'I dare you”