que lloren

I have [two] things to say.

1: "Que Lloren" is the name of one of my favorite songs by Ivy Queen.

2: It means "let them cry" - something I've been yearning to do all my life.

Some History:

Ivy Queen is a Reggaetonera - meaning: she is a musical artist in a male dominated field. I look up to her as a powerful woman who, in the presence of men who sing about people like her as if they were objects, uses her voice to Rise Against the occasion. Reggaeton is so important to me as a Boricua. It is the genre that got my people into the mainstream consciousness. After having been conquered over and over again, basically ever since Columbus landed on our shores, the biggest struggle for a Boricua is the struggle to be seen.

Reggaeton is symbolic for the pride in our heritage that comes from a place of oppression - where anyone who is a true Boricua is each other's family. When we listen to or play Reggaeton out loud, it's like we're saying “Yeah, we did that shit!” Today, people like Bad Bunny, Villano Antillano, etc. are changing the game as far as Reggaeton is concerned and are using the genre to wake people up in new ways, outside of the [previous] realm of toxic masculinity.

Some Real Shit:

My whole life I've been gay. My whole life I've been Boricua. My whole life I've looked up to powerful women. My whole life I've wanted to cry. I've wanted to cry because I couldn't be who I really was. I've wanted to cry because I saw the women who I looked up to fight so hard to be respected by men, which made me feel guilty for being a man myself. I've wanted to cry just because I was never allowed to.

This ends now. In the name of those before me, I will cry from now on and I will be proud as fuck while I do it. I will make others cry if they think that my tears make me less of an individual just because my physical form is male.

I will be me and towards those who cannot accept that, digo: Que Lloren.