Sonic Sundays |iLe

Ileana Cabra Joglar, aka iLe
Image | Maria Camila Castaño Olarte

Ileana Cabra Joglar, better known by her stage name iLe, is a Puerto Rican singer, songwriter, and performer. As the younger sister of the Calle 13 rappers René Pérez Joglar (Residente) and Eduardo Cabra Martínez (Visitante), iLe started recording and performing with her brothers at 16, earning her the nickname PG-13. The fired-up, often controversial lyrics and heavy reggaeton beats Calle 13 is known for made iLe’s debut album quite a surprise: rather than sticking with modern pop, she chose to draw inspiration from the past. iLevitable harkens back to the 20th century with its bolero, bugalú, and mambo.

The themes in iLe’s music range from love and heartbreak to social commentaries and her Puerto Rican identity. Her second album, Almadura—a play on the Puerto Rican pronunciation of armadura (armor) and alma dura, which means “strong soul”—incorporates more electronic elements and Afro-Caribbean influence, and politics feature strongly in its lyrics. iLe vocally supports Puerto Rican independence from continued US colonialism. In 2019 she, Residente, and Bad Bunny collaborated on a song called “Afilando Los Cuchillos”which became an anthem of protest against corruption in Puerto Rico’s government and exploitation by the US.

“Caníbal” is from iLe’s first album. For this song about deep depression, iLe made an eerie music video which shows her turning her body into a full course meal and then eating it. “Rescatarme,” also on iLevitable, is a bolero, a genre of Caribbean music that deals with love and heartbreak. The music video for “Odio” recreates a kidnapping in 1978, in which two Puerto Rican independence activists coerced a taxi driver to drive them to a remotely-located TV tower in order to compromise it. Betrayed by a cop who went undercover as a fellow activist, the two young men were murdered at the site. Ile sings “let hatred die of hunger / because no one gave it anything to eat” over a bomba rhythm. Bomba is a uniquely Afro-Puerto Rican musical style with a historical connection to anti-colonial resistance. “Contra Todo” is a song inspired by the political upheaval in Puerto Rico in 2019, about finding inner strength against adversity, and was nominated for a Latin Grammy that year.

“Caníbal” (Cannibal)

”Rescatarme” (Rescue me)

“Odio” (Hatred) (content warning: violence, blood)

“Contra Todo” (Against everything)

Bonus video: Tiny Desk Concert