Los Pleneros de la Cresta Release Album Fusing Plena With Latin American Rhythms
The Puerto Rican group, known for their work on Bad Bunny’s ‘DTMF’ album, launched ‘Puerto Rico abraza al mundo’ featuring reworked songs from six countries using local instruments alongside traditional plena elements.
PhotoThe short version
- NotiCel reported that Los Pleneros de la Cresta released the album after their world tour with Bad Bunny
- The group reworked songs from Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Mexico and Peru using instruments from those countries along with plena panderos and güiro according to Metro Puerto Rico
- Joseph Ocasio Rivera told EFE the project aims to give visibility to instruments from each country while elevating plena
- The album follows their 2024 release ‘Sentimiento y Cultura’ which fused plena with reggae, jíbara music and rock Metro Puerto Rico reports
New Album After Global Tour
Los Pleneros de la Cresta have released their new album ‘Puerto Rico abraza al mundo’. The group, which stood out on Bad Bunny’s ‘DTMF’ album with the track ‘Café con ron’, combines Puerto Rican plena with rhythms and instruments from countries visited during the artist’s world tour. NotiCel reported the project features the three main plena panderos — requinto, punteador and seguidor — along with the güiro.
The quartet of brothers Joseph, Joshuan and Jeyluix Ocasio Rivera and Josué Román Figueroa reworked well-known songs including ‘De música ligera’ from Argentina, ‘Más que nada’ from Brazil, ‘La Múcura’ from Colombia, ‘Gracias a la vida’ from Chile, ‘Cielito Lindo’ from Mexico and ‘Alma, corazón y vida’ from Peru. Metro Puerto Rico reported that for each track the group selected emblematic songs that would represent those countries from a Puerto Rican perspective.
What the sources posted
Posts and statements below are the sources' own words, quoted as published. They are not independently verified.
La aportación que queremos brindar a través de este proyecto es que no solo la plena está en un momento importante, porque lo están escuchando mundialmente, sino que también podemos darle visibilidad a otros instrumentos de cada país
Our translation: The contribution we want to make through this project is that plena is in an important moment because it is being heard worldwide, and that we can also give visibility to other instruments from each country
The source's own statement, as quoted by EFE via NotiCel. Not verified by PuertoRico.com.
Collaboration and Musical Process
Joseph Ocasio Rivera said in an interview with EFE that the contribution they want to make is that plena is in an important moment because it is being heard worldwide, and that they can also give visibility to other instruments from each country. The group contacted musicians from the visited countries while on the ‘Debí Tirar Más Fotos’ tour, which covered 22 cities across four continents, to decide which local instruments would blend best with plena. Examples include the use of zampoña, quena and Chilean guitarrón for the Chilean song and mariachis with vihuela, tuba, trumpet and guitarrón for the Mexican song.
Joshuan Ocasio Rivera stated that they do not seek any type of recognition through this but simply to elevate the genre of Puerto Rican plena and its diversity. He referenced earlier pleneros such as Ángel Luis Torruellas, Tito Matos and Ramón Pedraza who inspired them. NotiCel reported this is not the first fusion project for the group, following their 2024 album ‘Sentimiento y Cultura’ that experimented with reggae, jíbara music and rock.
Broader Goals and Past Performances
The members expressed hope that musicians in other countries will incorporate Puerto Rican panderos as well as instruments such as the tiple and bordonúa in their recordings. Joshuan described the project as an embrace in a shared musical language. The group is noted as the only plena ensemble to have performed at the Super Bowl halftime show with Bad Bunny. They have also appeared at Spotify’s Billions Club Live in Tokyo, the Billboard Latin Music Awards in Miami, Saturday Night Live and Madison Square Garden in New York.
Both outlets present largely consistent accounts drawn from the same EFE interview with the group members. NotiCel published its story on Sunday while Metro Puerto Rico published two days earlier previewing the imminent launch.
Where the sources differ
NotiCel and Metro Puerto Rico agree on all core facts including the album title, featured songs, instruments used, the connection to Bad Bunny’s tour and the quoted comments from Joseph and Joshuan Ocasio Rivera. The only minor difference is that Metro Puerto Rico, published on Oct. 23, referred to the album launch occurring on the upcoming Friday while NotiCel, published on Oct. 25, reported the album as already launched. Both outlets drew from the same EFE interview material.
What the reports do not say
The reports do not state the exact release date that was ultimately used, whether the album is available on specific streaming platforms, the total number of tracks on the album, or any commercial performance metrics. They also do not mention whether a formal launch event was held or which specific musicians from each country collaborated on the recordings beyond general references.
Sources
Every link below was opened and checked when this story was published. Official means a government body, agency or the organization itself; Reporting means a news outlet.
- Reporting Los Pleneros de la Cresta fusionan ritmos latinos en nuevo álbum tras gira con Bad Bunny
- Reporting Pleneros de la Cresta fusionan la plena con sonidos del mundo en su nuevo disco
How we checked this
NotiCel and Metro Puerto Rico both covered the launch of Los Pleneros de la Cresta’s album ‘Puerto Rico abraza al mundo’. All direct quotes and the description of the creative process rest on the EFE interview with Joseph and Joshuan Ocasio Rivera that both outlets used. Metro Puerto Rico is the sole source for the pre-release timing reference.
Compiled by the PuertoRico.com News Desk from the reports and statements listed above, and checked against them before publishing. It does not include original interviews. Spot an error? Email support@puertorico.com with a link to this story.