Cultura Profética (in English, Prophetic Culture) is a Puerto Rican reggae band formed in 1996. The band has undergone several lineup changes, but founding members Willy Rodríguez (bass guitar, vocals), Eliut González (guitar), and Omar Silva (guitar, bass guitar) have remained in the group throughout its history. Despite primarily performing reggae music, Cultura Profética has experimented with genres such as bossa nova, tango, jazz, and salsa. Lyrically, the group discusses socio-political and ecological issues including Latin American identity and environmental concerns, as well as interpersonal relationships and love.
After gaining popularity in Puerto Rico as a cover band, Cultura Profética began performing original music and released its debut album, Canción de Alerta, in 1996. The group followed up with Ideas Nuevas in 2000, which featured further musical experimentation with a wider variety of musical styles, and then Diario in 2004. After relocating to Mexico, the band released M.O.T.A. in 2005, which peaked at number 12 on the Billboard Hot Latin Albums chart. In 2010, Cultura Profética released La Dulzura, which took a more romantic lyrical focus and produced the radio hit "La Complicidad". In recent years, Cultura Profética has released the singles "Saca, Prende y Sorprende" (2014), "Le Da Igual" (2015), and "Musica Sin Tiempo" (2017). The group released their most recent album, Sobrevolando, in November 2019.
History
1996–99: Formation and Canción de Alerta
Cultura Profética originally began as a cover band, performing popular reggae songs in small bars and clubs before beginning to perform original music in Spanish. Shortly after transitioning to perform original music, the group adopted the name Cultura Profética, which was inspired by the view that "music is a voice of culture and is prophetic because the reggae music that we love, and that influenced us, is from the '70s with themes of what's happening now that can affect our future", according to guitarist/bassist Omar Silva.
Many of the original members of the group attended the Escuela Elemental and the Escuela Secundaria of the University of Puerto Rico, an institution noted for its progressive and experimental teaching approaches. Vocalist/bassist Willy Rodriguez commented, "It is a school in which you are allowed to decide a few things on your own, you have free time between classes [when] you can do your own things, and there is a lot of musical culture in the school. It tends to allow you to explore your artistic interests ... There was always an air of liberation, of thinking on your own. I think that influenced a lot in what we do today musically and ideologically." Group members Boris Bilbraut, Willy Rodríguez, Eliut González, Juan Costa, and Ivan Gutiérres began jamming together in 1996, bonding over a shared interest in reggae music, particularly Bob Marley. These rehearsal sessions took place in El Hoyo, a neighborhood in the San Juan metropolitan area.
After transitioning away from being a cover band, the group quickly gained popularity in the Puerto Rican reggae scene. Cultura Profética began performing in major reggae festivals and opening for Jamaican reggae musician Don Carlos. The band's first album, Canción de Alerta (1998), was recorded in the Tuff Gong studios at Jamaica with Errol Brown, frontman of Hot Chocolate and Bob Marley's sound engineer. The group was the first Spanish-language act to record in Marley's studios. The record discusses a number of social issues in Puerto Rico, including the importance of acknowledging the island's African influence.
1998–2009: Ideas Nuevas, Diario, and M.O.T.A.
The group returned to Tuff Gong studios in 1999 to record its second album, Ideas Nuevas, which was released in May 2000. On this record, the band began experimenting with a variety of rhythms such as bossa nova, salsa, ska, and jazz. The album was dedicated to a music instructor at the University of Puerto Rico. The band performed in Tito Puente's amphitheater on May 12, 2000, later releasing a recording of the performance in the form of the live album Cultura en Vivo. In 2002, the band released its third studio album, Diario. On this album, the band aimed to produce a record that represents Puerto Rican daily life, occasionally introducing songs with interludes of casual conversations and background noise, exemplified by songs such as "De Antes" and "Pa'l Tanama".