The Light in the Simple
Text by Rita Indiana
San Juan, December 14, 2019
In September 2017, Hurricane María, a Category 5 hurricane, battered the island of Puerto Rico. Floods, storm surges, crumbling buildings[1] , and the government’s pathetic response created a humanitarian crisis during which entire communities were cut off for days, with no access to food, water, electricity, or medical services. A Harvard University study estimated that there were 4,645 deaths from hurricane-related causes, a scandalous figure compared to the 64 deaths reported by the Puerto Rican government. This apocalyptic landscape of painful material and human losses tested the generosity and creative capacity of an entire people. Faced with scarcity, uncertainty, and abandonment by the authorities, self-management became the vanguard for survivors. New forms of collaboration emerged in this reality in which basic needs were the daily holy grail. What had seemed simple—a piece of bread, a shower—took on a new and resplendent value.
Henry Cole's new album, De Mayagűez, emanates from this reassessment of what’s strictly necessary. Just because it’s simple doesn’t mean the album isn’t sophisticated; it strips away anything decorative or superfluous, finding the shortest path to the heart of the new Afro Puerto Rican Pop. Cole draws from the same arsenal that accompanied him in his first production, Roots Before Branches, but now those trees have borne fruit and the fruit is ripe. De Mayagűez is a solar album that touches on topics such as death (“Dímele que iré”) and the struggle with the forces of darkness (“Diablo”) from the light-giver that is space itself. A sense of elegance and calm persists in the arrangements—Cole isn’t in a hurry; he has never feared the repetition that Afro-Puerto Rican rhythms need in order to fulfill their primary objective: invoking trance.
Although unassuming in appearance, this precise mix of elements is the product of 10 years of musical, spiritual and material effort by Cole, who independently and out of pure determination—or as we say in the Caribbean, “a cojón”—managed to record, mix and master the album with the highest standards of quality and with resources reserved for projects backed by big capital[2] . The patience required to carry out this task is felt in this performance by Cole, who avoids any gimmicks or formulas and gives over to us a purified version of himself—the protagonist here is the music.
After surviving a fire in his New York apartment, Cole has returned to the island, and as this record hints, he’s back for good. Let's celebrate the bounty of his courage to opt for what’s simple: I dare to say that De Mayagűez is a musical manifesto for this new decade.
