{"id":57910,"date":"2026-02-11T23:25:40","date_gmt":"2026-02-11T23:25:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/musicianvoice.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/11\/los-pleneros-de-la-cresta-talk-lady-gaga-plena\/"},"modified":"2026-02-11T23:25:40","modified_gmt":"2026-02-11T23:25:40","slug":"los-pleneros-de-la-cresta-talk-lady-gaga-plena","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/musicianvoice.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/11\/los-pleneros-de-la-cresta-talk-lady-gaga-plena\/","title":{"rendered":"Los Pleneros De La Cresta Talk Lady Gaga, Plena"},"content":{"rendered":"


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\n\tThis past Sunday, Los Pleneros de la Cresta found themselves on the biggest stage of their career: They joined Bad Bunny<\/a> for the Super Bowl halftime show<\/a>. Not only did they perform the Debi Tirar Mas Fotos<\/em> title track \u201cDtMF\u201dand their Bad Bunny plena collaboration \u201cCAF\u00e9 CON RON\u201d in front of millions of spectators (128.2 million to be exact)<\/a>, they also backed surprise guest Lady Gaga<\/a> during a salsa rendition of \u201cDie with a Smile.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tFor a couple of young guys from the small Puerto Rican town of Ciales, it was a day that they never imagined would be possible. \u201cIt was one of those moments we\u2019re still processing,\u201d says Joshuan Ocasio Rivera, founding member of the group. \u201cBeing chosen to sing backing vocals \u2014 which, in our case, we were doing for the first time in English \u2014 on one of her songs, and at the same time witnessing Lady Gaga singing salsa, was truly iconic for us.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tOn DeB\u00cd TiRAR M\u00e1S FOToS<\/em>, Bad Bunny honored native Puerto Rican genres that haven\u2019t been celebrated much outside of the archipelago. One of those is plena, a folkloric sound that emerged in the early 1900s in the southern town of Ponce, initially as a way for marginalized communities to share news and events between each other, led by instruments like panderetas and g\u00fciros. Since then it has stayed alive during the holiday season, when lively partygoers go caroling home-to-home or at festivals, performing a mix of classic and spontaneous improvised jingles over plena rhythms.<\/p>\n

\n\tLos Pleneros de la Crest had been one of those bands, keeping the genre alive through sheer enthusiasm and passion. The quartet is composed of twins Joshuan and Joseph Ocasio Rivera, their brother Jeyluix, and close friend Josu\u00e9 Rom\u00e1n Figueroa. They have been active since 2013 when the group was founded at the R\u00edo Piedras campus of the University of Puerto Rico. They\u2019ve toiled for the past decade-and-change, releasing three albums (their last one in 2024, just months before DtMF<\/em>) and doing shows around Puerto Rico. In November of 2024, they were one of the artists who performed at Puerto Rico Independence Party candidate Juan Dalmau\u2019s campaign closing event, where Bad Bunny made a surprise appearance<\/a> to endorse the candidate. A giant boom for plena was around the corner, but most didn\u2019t know it yet.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\t\tEditor\u2019s picks<\/p>\n<\/h2>\n<\/section>\n

\n\tWhen Bad Bunny decided he wanted to bring plena to the forefront, he tapped them. Together they cooked up one of the album\u2019s most popular breakout hits, \u201cCAF\u00e9 CON RON.\u201d The track is an ode to the country\u2019s centrally located mountain towns, celebrating them just as warmly and eagerly as Puerto Rico\u2019s beaches and coasts tend to be.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWe were speechless. It was one of those moments that tightens your chest and brings tears to your eyes. Then came gratitude, and also a profound sense of responsibility,\u201d says Joshuan. \u201cHumbly, we understand that it wasn\u2019t just a personal achievement: it was plena music reaching a space it truly deserves.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThis wasn\u2019t the first time plena has hit the mainstream. Bad Bunny\u2019s Super Bowl guest Ricky Martin featured the sound in his 2006 hit \u201cP\u00e9gate,\u201d but \u201cCAF\u00e9 CON RON\u201d thrust it into the spotlight and quickly catapulted up the streaming charts. The track sticks to plena\u2019s traditional sound, with no compromises in tone. The approach worked, and suddenly the Pleneros were also the center of attention.They were onstage every date of Benito\u2019s San Juan residency, where he would cede a block of the set list to them while he did a wardrobe change.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tTo Los Pleneros, plena isn\u2019t a fad or trend, but \u201ca living flag, honoring those who brought it to life in their neighborhoods, through challenges.\u201d They want to elevate plena to the same level as salsa, bachata, merengue, and other popular genres that started out as niche. \u201cI believe we\u2019re now at a great moment for independent projects dedicated to Puerto Rican culture to establish themselves, record songs, release albums, and plan for future concerts,\u201d says Joshuan. \u201c[Making] dynamic activities so as to create value in the industry and allow it to continue growing and expanding.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\t\tTrending Stories<\/p>\n<\/h2>\n<\/section>\n

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\t\tRelated Content<\/p>\n<\/h2>\n<\/section>\n

\n\tTheb Super Bowl was the culmination of their mission as artists. As they tell it, keeping plena alive is tantamount to keeping Puerto Rican identity alive. Plena, with its roots and ties to both j\u00edbaro and afro-latine culture is a genre that perseveres, and they\u2019re eager to play a significant role in continuing to keep it relevant.\u201dWe thought of our communities, of those who shaped us, of every plena musician who has sustained this tradition for generations. We didn\u2019t feel like we were alone; we were carrying history, identity, and a piece of Puerto Rico with us,\u201d says Joshuan.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWe want to be facilitators so that plena continues to expand into more and more spaces. To make it accessible so that the rest of the world can embrace it,\u201d adds Jeyluix. \u201cPlena was born in our communities and today it seeks to unite with other communities around the world.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n


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