Alanna Rodriguez English Transcription

Amanda Ortiz Pellot

Well, today is July 26, 2023, my name is Amanda Ortiz and for my research project titled, “Puerto Rican Bomba Fashion: Consumption, Presentation and Meaning Making,” I will be interviewing Alanna Rodríguez. Thanks for being here Alanna.

Alanna Rodríguez

Thanks to you for contacting me.

Amanda Ortiz Pellot

The purpose of this study is to collect and document information from Puerto Rican Bomberos about their experiences with Bomba, as well as with the Bomba dress in order to understand the deeper meanings and uses of the clothing in the context of identity, space and place. Let’s start with some demographic data questions, anything that you don’t feel comfortable answering, there is no problem, you can “skip” it as they say. How old are you?

Alanna Rodriguez

I am 19 years old.

Amanda Ortiz Pellot

And where do you currently live?

Alanna Rodriguez

At the moment I reside in Bayamón, as I have lived there all my life, I was born raised and everything in Bayamón.

Amanda Ortiz Pellot

And your family is from here too?

Alanna Rodriguez

Yes, my family is from Bayamón, my father is from the Santa Juanita area, and my mother is from the Lomas Verdes area, they are both from Bayamón. Now, my dad has family from the Santurce area, who has also grown up in that environment, in that area over there, but as such the three of us, which are just the three of us, are from Bayamón.

Amanda Ortiz Pellot

And what do you do at the moment?

Alanna Rodriguez

Well at the moment, I am do Bomba, it is something I have been doing since I can remember, since I was little. I am working in a store in Teatro Centro in San Patricio, which is to be able to pay for my expenses, something on the side. And in my studies, I am also a student, that for me is the most important thing now, which is my full time and the rest is still like…

Amanda Ortiz Pellot

Super, and speaking of studies, what type of education have you completed and where did you complete it?

Alanna Rodriguez

Well right now the only thing I have is my fourth year, my fourth year diploma and currently I am studying at the University of Sacred Heart and I am studying is communications.

Amanda Ortiz Pellot

And where did you, where did you graduate from high school?

Alanna Rodriguez

Well, I graduated from the Pablo Casals specialized school of Fine Arts. I am specialized, I have specialized in dance. They specialize in other things, like theater, music, but since I was little I have always been attracted to dance, so I specialized in dance. And I was there from seventh year until my senior year when I graduated.

Amanda Ortiz Pellot

Oh wow, okay, and what gender do you identify with, as well as, what pronouns do you use?

Alanna Rodriguez

Well, I identify as myself, a woman, you know, a woman. No, really, my orientation is I like men, I’m straight, I don’t have any other attraction and not really, chilling like that, I flow.

Amanda Ortiz Pellot

Super, are you in a romantic relationship?

Alanna Rodriguez

No, right now I’m single.

Amanda Ortiz Pellot

Do you have sons or daughters?

Alanna Rodriguez

No, thank God.

Amanda Ortiz Pellot

Could you talk a little about your family, like the connection, the dynamics, are they close, is it big?

Alanna Rodriguez

Truly, there are three of us, it is my mother, my father and I. Thank God, they are still together, they are not divorced or separated at the moment. We really are super connected, since I was little they have always given me, like, that trust towards them. Since I was little I have been educated, because obviously good and evil is something that is relative, but I have always been educated about what is right and what is wrong. We are very united. Thanks to them I am what I am today. They were the ones who instilled the culture in me, we are really very close, I do everything with them, I am always on the street with them. We are truly a super united family, I am an only child, thank God I really haven’t needed siblings because they have given me everything, but also my cousins, they were always like their parents also taught them the street is like, the environment, and well, really, I don’t complain about, my family, an excellent family, very common, thank God, we really get along very well, very well, very well.

Amanda Ortiz Pellot

Excellent. And do you have any physical or movement disabilities?

Alanna Rodriguez

Well, as far as I know, at the moment no…

Amanda Ortiz Pellot

Could you share your domestic income at the moment?

Alanna Rodriguez

Well, normal, we are a family that works for their own things, I work for mine, I am very independent, I don’t like asking for money from my father, obviously, well I work for my things, if I want something I work to be able to have it, we are a normal family.

Amanda Ortiz Pellot

Do you have any religious or spiritual affiliation?

Alanna Rodriguez

Look, I couldn’t answer you like a hundred percent, I know that there is something supreme to us, I believe there is a God, I believe that as I say, but in truth I don’t have a religion preference or anything, I am very spiritual, I am believe in energy, if something attracts me, I think it brings me a good vibe, then I go towards that, if not, the same with things, with people, if it brings me a good vibe I attract it, but then, but I don’t have any affiliation now with any specific religion.

Amanda Ortiz Pellot

Okay, super. Now, tell me a little about your Puerto Rican identity. What does it mean to you to be Puerto Rican?

Alanna Rodriguez

It is truly an honor, it is an honor to be able to say that I am Puerto Rican. Not many people like to say that. And I really, I love being able to say that I am Puerto Rican with great pride, I say it, I can go anywhere in the world and I will say with pride, without any worry, without any taboo, that I am Puerto Rican. My identity as a Puerto Rican, really, I appreciate it too much and since I was little, the culture has been instilled in me, what our roots are, what a Puerto Rican really is, well, I really feel super proud to be able to be part of…

Amanda Ortiz Pellot

Has there been a moment or any interaction where you have felt more or less sure of your Puerto Rican identity?

Alanna Rodriguez

That I remember, no. Now I do know people who have, but the truth is that always, as I said, one, when one spends time watching the media, they always give a type of stereotype to the Puerto Rican and the Puerto Rican is much more than what they say. They say, “they are partiers,” well yes, we are festive, we are very happy, we are much more and that is what many people know for me. And I can’t really tell you that they have made me feel uncomfortable for being what I am, as I have always been in the culture, thank God, the people I surround myself with have not made me feel that way either, but yes I meet people at my school many times too, I have heard comments that were out of place, but even so, I never gave it importance, because I have always felt super proud of who I am. I never gave importance to feeling less, but on the contrary, it makes me feel more, it makes me happy, it makes me happy.

Amanda Ortiz Pellot

And what elements or characteristics connect you to your Puerto Rican identity?

Alanna Rodriguez

Well now more than ever, the Bomba, since, well, it is what since I was little, my parents are also very Afro, so music like salsa, I can say that what identifies me more as a Puerto Rican are the arts. I go more into that music, into dancing, because since I was little I have danced everything, my parents always took me to Loíza, they took me to Piñones and even though I had no knowledge of what I was doing, always that music, that always called me. And I understand that I go more for the arts, something that identifies me with Puerto Rican culture, which is something that I can say that identifies me even more as a Puerto Rican.

Amanda Ortiz Pellot

And speaking of the Bomba, are you active in your participation in the Bomba?

Alanna Rodriguez

Yes, I am active. I’ve been there for 11 years since I was eight. Long before, it had already been instilled in me, as I said before, but I had not danced it professionally. I have been there for 11 years now, I started when I was eight years old, more or less 11 or 12 years is how long I’ve been involved. And it was really very random, because I didn’t… It was right here, since we are in the area, here in Bayamon, here is the school of Fine Arts. And I went for jazz, because since I was little I have always danced, but it was ballet, jazz and I remember that I went in for the auditions and my mother told me, “Look, they show folklore here.” “And me, what is that?” “I didn’t even know what folklore was. Like I was saying, I started here in Fine Arts and I went for jazz and ballet, because that was what I had really danced for many years, because I went to dance camp, like that was what I wanted and when mom came in she said, “look here they teach folklore,” I was like, I was 8 years old and I didn’t even know what folklore was. I was like, “what is this?” like, and obviously they had instilled it in me, but as they always told me, they taught me like Rumba, Bomba, Plena, not the general name of what Puerto Rican folklore is, well I kind of said, “ah, no,” I ignored it, like that, like I wasn’t even interested. And well I auditioned and they told me, “look, we didn’t accept you in jazz, but I know the teacher of folklore, I recommended you because I see potential in you, in this.” And I didn’t even have to go through an audition like I had to go through jazz, they just told me, “you’ll start this day, this is your uniform, blah, blah, blah, blah.” And well, I was like sure, I don’t know at the same time not knowing, but excited because it was something different, so I got in. I was taking the basic classes and then I had this great teacher Hilda Hernández, may she rest in peace, who was only with me for one semester. She was the one who did, because there she was diagnosed with cancer and obviously she had to leave. I had a semester with her and that semester for me I can tell you that, of the years that I was in Fine Arts, I am the most grateful for, because she polished me and she is truly one of those teachers who inspired me to continue and not even two months passed and she told me, “look, go make yourself the dress because you are going to join the company.” So it’s this type of people who saw me, she saw my future, so that’s how I got in, during those first years, I didn’t get paid, because to join the company I had to get paid, but since I was very young still, it was just gaining experience, going to activities and I remember she told me, “go get your dressed done, I want you to make it in this color,” she told me, “you are going to make the dress in this color to complement your skin color,” It was orange and I got my dressed done, I remember that in the first activities, she told me, “even if you don’t have the dress, I want you to come to the activities,” and she made me dance until, well I went with my dress and from that day on she told me, “you are going to be my little pumpkin,” that’s what she told me. I was her little pumpkin from the first presentation that was right there in Fine Arts she had me dance and not only her, many people told me, “I see you, I see you in this environment.” And so I stayed there, I developed a great affection for Bomba, for the culture. I took classes with Jesús Cepeda, who was the musician, the director of the group and it was an honor, it is also a honor. He knows the appreciation I have for him, you know, I see him and he is like my grandfather, I ask him for his blessing, because he also saw, he saw me, he saw me, since I was little, he always told me, “I see you, I see you, don’t give up, don’t leave,” and that’s how I grew. And then I decided to leave, not from the Bomba, but from the group, because I felt that I was stuck and I wanted to grow. I decided I wanted to grow. I didn’t want to stay in the same place, since I started I saw that this was something I was passionate about. I decided I said, “this is my thing, I not only want to do it for myself, I want to do it for other people.” I like to teach, that’s what I wanted, to expose myself to be able to teach what our culture is, that many people do not appreciate it, many people do not know or do not educate it as it is supposed to. I left the group for a year, what I went to was Bombazos, and if I’m honest I learned a lot more outside than in the academy because I observed, I like, I’ve always been, salsa, since I was little, I dance salsa too and what I do today was not because I took a class, it was just by observing. And I think that people on the street are one of the best people who can observe and acquire knowledge. And that was, that was what I did, I observed many very important figures from the Cepeda family, from other parts of Puerto Rico and I acquired a little bit of all of them to create my own style, because that is also what Bomba is about, it’s not about being the same as others or better than others, but rather creating your own style and expressing what you are feeling at the moment. Well, I left there after a year, I was like that, then there is the one I am currently with, which is Maribella Burgos, who is like my mother in Bomba. She knows how much love I have for her. Without her, no, the few years that I have been with her, without her, no, I would not have gotten to where I am today, she has also helped me a lot. And one day she told me, “I want you in my group.” And I, and Jesús Cepeda told me, “I don’t want you in any other group, you’re going to stay with me,” that’s what he told me, but he told me, “I’ll leave you with her, I’ll let you fly…”

Amanda Ortiz Pellot

He gave you permission.

Alanna Rodríguez

I’m going to let you go with her because I know that with her you can grow. He knew that I wanted to do something further. I didn’t just want to dance in presentations, no, I wanted much more and I remember, she told me, “Oh, are you going to join my group?” So she invited me to this activity that was part of the Loíza festivities, “you are going to dance with us.” She took my measurements, she made my dress, all without having presented with them before or anything, and I was received as if I had been there for years, like, now they are my family, you know, I can’t live without them. And I remember and that same day the rain, the rain, the rain, they moved the presentation before the one that was after us, and I couldn’t dance with the group. I remember and then I felt very sad. And that’s when the pandemic arrived. So from then on I couldn’t dance, there was nothing. And it happens that everything begins to calm down, they begin to do more activities that she calls me, in fact, I told her like don’t forget about me, I’m still here, I’m interested, I’m still interested in being part of your group , and she tells me, “you are welcome here anytime.” She called me for the other parties because a year had already passed, the upcoming parties in Loíza and there I had the opportunity to participate with them and I am currently with them and now every weekend with them Bombazo here, Bombazo there, presentations, I have already traveled with them in such a short time what I did here, in Fine Arts I did it, but it took me a long time. I came to travel a year before I left later, after 7 years that I was there and I was here in one year, I already traveled to Orlando to the Puerto Rican parade, which was an unforgettable experience. I am still in Bomba and I plan to until I die, that is my plan, that is my plan.

Amanda Ortiz Pellot

And you started dancing, you continue dancing, do you do other things?

Alanna Rodriguez

I started dancing, I have danced all my life. They tried to instill sports in me because my parents are athletes. My dad went through all sports, baseball, basketball, track and field, now he plays golf from time to time, he likes tennis. My mother was a volleyball player, in fact, the volleyball court here in Bayamón is in my grandfather’s name. The Vaqueros one, they are dealing with the Volleyball Vaqueros League, they tried, I am a zero to the left, I was born for the arts and since then when I was little, since I was 3 years old, I started school because they put me in ballet and from there, and I’m still dancing.

Amanda Ortiz Pellot

Okay, so you said that you have your own style, but there are different Bomba regions, do you have one that identifies you the most, that you, that you, that you do more?

Alanna Rodriguez

Well, look, I’m a partier, I like what’s very happy, I love all the regions, all the styles, all their rhythms, I love them, I can dance any, for me, I have dedicated myself to being able to dance everything, a little of everything, I didn’t want to specialized in a particular rhythm either, but what I identify with most is the Holandés and the Seis Corrido. The Holandés comes from the western area, which is from Mayagüez, and the Seis Corrido comes from the Loíza area, from the east. Those are the most cheerful, I am very happy, I am very flirtatious, I like to enjoy myself, come in, smile and well, those are the rhythms that I could say that I identify with the most as a person too, really, since I’ve heard it, it’s the most that appealed to me and I always had that drive to learn, those were the most that I wanted to learn, identify it, you know, that if I danced this I would be able to identify it and in truth that is what I can identify with.

Amanda Ortiz Pellot

And what does Bomba mean to you? I mean, you can tell that it means a lot to you, but…

Alanna Rodríguez

I can tell you that it’s not just a lot, but for me it’s everything. Since I started I connected with Bomba in a way that I never thought that, you know, I don’t connect with other types of genre in dance, because, well, yes I dance everything, but I don’t connect like I connect with the Bomba. I not only use the Bomba to dance outside, but also at home to clear my head, to exercise. If I’m going through a hard time , let’s say, I start dancing and that’s what, for me Bomba is everything, and if I don’t make it, like, it’s what fills me up the most, that I don’t need, if I can’t have like a person by my side or someone specific by my side, Bomba is what fills that void for me, it fills me, it makes me happy, it motivates me to do many things, to study, to continue with the culture, presenting it, to educate because I also like to educate about Bomba. I like, I love children and every time I have to teach them, like children, I love to teach them, because that is what I want. I want them to grow with what their roots are, with what their culture is. Thank God, I have parents who instilled the culture in me, but there are many children in my generation who don’t know, sometimes I talk to them and like, “what is Bomba? or “ah yes Bomba and Plena,” and they think that Bomba and Plena are the same and it is not the same. plena is one thing, Bomba is another. They say that it came from the Africans, but even so it also has many elements from Spanish, because the dance, the clothing, the element, is from the Spanish, the instruments are from the Taínos and the drums some say are African drums, but they are not African drums, they are drums, here they were used with the trees from here, with the trunks, so they are from here, the instruments are from here, that is why many people say, “ah Bomba,” no…the Bomba, Puerto Rican Bomba because there is the African Bomba, the Dominican Bomba, the Cuban Bomba, there are many types of Bomba, but the Puerto Rican Bomba, well, it has its own three mixtures, which is what I like the most because some talk about the Spanish, but it influences Bomba a lot, it influences Bomba a lot, the songs, everything, so really, that…

Amanda Ortiz Pellot

And what messages do you understand that Puerto Ricans make known about Bomba, whether through education or social networks?

Alanna Rodríguez

Well, look, I think it’s very, first of all, what I say is very slight, what Puerto Ricans talk about in terms of our culture and roots. There was a time when, the Bomba is booming now, the Bomba now everyone wants to know about Bomba, but 5 years ago, the Bomba was something more familial. It has always been very familial, generations, figures, but it has been taken further. At least, thank God, I managed to take Bomba to my school, you know, I had the opportunity to dance Bomba in my school, which was not done. In terms of social networks, yes, now there are many young people who care about their roots, where we come from, and are trying to not only instill what Bomba is, but in every sense the culture. Because yes salsa comes from Cuba, but salsa also contributes a lot to Puerto Rico. The merengue, the bachata comes from the Dominican Republic, but it also contributes a lot to what is already part of our culture as well and, well now with time I am seeing that they are taking it further, but that it doesn’t come from a long time ago, that is coming from now, like what the figures are, like for me, Jesús Cepeda, the Cepeda family, their families, the people of Loíza, who are people who don’t want to loose it, who are trying not to lose that, that the people don’t see it as a boom now and that in years they forget about it. What we want is to continue evolving, because we don’t, at least I specifically, I like traditional, but at the same time I want to see it evolve and I want to see it grow. I don’t want to see it in the same way because people get bored, we are Puerto Ricans, Puerto Ricans get bored of everything quickly, what we just want is to continue giving it evolution so that it continues to grow, to continue making itself known, to mix it with others things. Not only, I have a partner in my group called Giomar who has his company from his contracts and he plays Bomba, but he gives Bomba, but Bomba aerobics, Bomba with Zumba, that he is trying to instill it in other things we do normally on a daily basis so that people do not, do not forget what our culture is.

Amanda Ortiz Pellot

Yes, it is something new, but giving it respect…

Alanna Rodriguez

Exact.

Amanda Ortiz Pellot

To customs and tradition. Well, thank you for sharing about those experiences with Bomba, let’s talk a little about the clothing, right, you talked a little too. When participating in Bomba, what clothing or accessories do you usually wear?

Alanna Rodríguez

Well, let’s see, for example, when I’m at a Bombazo or batey I’ve heard a lot of people say, “ah, for the bombazos one also has to have specific clothing.” Bombazos are for you to be free, you arrive, you enjoy it. Now, when I was in, in this group here from, in Bayamón, we had some outfits that were somewhat traditional, because many people, the typical costume of Bomba is a white cotton suit because at that time there was no way to get color fabrics, there was no, it was the dresses, the skirts were short, like, how one sees the movements that one makes with the skirt now that they make movements above, those movements were not done before because there was also a respect, women could not showing your legs, it’s many things. Well, we had what was the very traditional costume, which was with petticoats, scarves, here we gave it color because it was already an experimental folk group as well, the group here was experimental, but sinceit was with the Cepeda family, well, we had what was traditional, what is the origin of Bomba. But now, with the group I am in, we are quite modern, we wear satin dresses, we wear colored dresses, the colors of the Loíza flag, because obviously we are trying to represent Loíza. Garments, we always use cotton garments, we use wooden garments, which also depends on the presentation, the place, the moment, for whom. We went to a black party in Arroyo and we wore a dark, it was dark royal blue like that, you know, depending on the place. Now here it was more like a uniform. We had the dress that was in gingham, each one had their own color, it was not repeated, and it had some holsters but over the years, obviously they changed teachers, they did new things, but traditionally the Bomba’s typical dress is the white dress. But now, as we have said, many young people have arrived who want to evolve the Bomba and give it a more modern touch to also brighten and do something different.

Amanda Ortiz Pellot

And how do you define your own style when you dress yourself, not for a presentation, but how you want to dress yourself?

Alanna Rodriguez

In truth, I have always liked fashion since I was little, but I don’t have a particular style, I am this type of person that how I feel today is how I am going to dress. So today you see me like this, but tomorrow I can be in “baggies” and what do I know, I can also go to a Bombazo like this no problem. There are times when I don’t want to wear a headwrap, so I don’t wear a headwrap. This is not my hair, I have an afro, so if I want to be with my hair down, I go with my hair down, if I want to go bald, if I want to go with my little dress, so as such I define myself in so many ways that I kind of I don’t have a particular style. Many people know that, how they tell me, I always have to pick an outfit on the same day, picking it up a week in advance is not for me because my mood changes, so I am how I feel at the moment and so on.

Amanda Ortiz Pellot

And are there any elements of what we know as traditional clothing that you don’t wear for some reason?

Alanna Rodriguez

No, really no, there isn’t, like each region also has its clothing, it has its style, no, like I haven’t been in a moment where I say, “no, I don’t want to wear this.” Obviously, as I have said, headwraps, many people, people put on headwraps without knowing, headwraps have many meanings. Not now, now we wear them for fashion because we like it because it looks good with the clothes, but before headwraps in Africa or here in Puerto Rico even had a meaning that I am married, I have children, I am single, I am looking for a partner, I am widowed. They have many meanings, the accesories also had a lot to do with them, not only here I also learned that in Africa, the more necklaces, it was because you had a, what do you say? a higher rank, a status, a rank at least or it meant that you were married, that you were single, you were in search, that influences a lot, but right now, as I told you, we are in another generation, so much more modern that we see it more like an outfit, to wear because I look good, I feel good, I like to wear it today, and we don’t have it as a meaning.

Amanda Ortiz Pellot

So when you dance, do you usually dance with a skirt or are you one of the people who needs to have a skirt or if you don’t have one, do you wear a scarf or do you do body dancing?

Alanna Rodriguez

In truth, I can tell you that, I always had, with Marbella in the group, she always tells me, “you bring your skirt, always wear a skirt, dance with a skirt,” because dancing with a skirt represents in many ways, it has its steps, but there are random times when I wasn’t planning to go to some Bomba event and then it came and I don’t have my skirt on. If I have a scarf, I use a scarf, if I don’t, I use my body because even when I have the skirt, sometimes I have the skirt on and I don’t even use it, I am also more of, they tell me that a lot, maybe I am not the best in execution, I may have my things that need to improved, but in projection, many have told me, your face says it all, so sometimes I don’t even need to wear much to show what I want to demonstrate when dancing. Yes, I love dancing in a skirt. I love it, because I feel free, I can do what I want, just like I can dance without a skirt no problem, because I use my body, which sometimes I often don’t use when I have the skirt, because I focus in wearing the skirt. Honestly, I can wear a skirt, no skirt, whatever.

Amanda Ortiz Pellot

It’s not that important, you focus on dance.

Alanna Rodríguez

Exactly, I, obviously, the moment I come in, I have respect, no matter what it is. Now we are in a generation that, as you can see, men dance with skirts, there are women who dance without skirts and dance more masculine. It doesn’t bother me in particular, I don’t find it, because we are changing, we are another generation, but there are people from older generations who don’t like it. That for them is a lack of respect, because obviously the skirt is for the woman, the stronger body movements were for the man, but it is like each, it is as I say how one feels. And also, for example, in Loíza, in Loíza before, skirts were not even worn, Loíza was very street, here if you go to Santurce, Santurce is with a lot of poise, with a lot of elegance, you always have to wear a skirt, not wearing a skirt wasn’t very nice. If you go to the western area, in Mayagüez, which is not used, the skirt is used, but everything is with the feet, because they say it is a connection with the earth. That in truth, it is, it is, it covers a lot because all the regions are completely different, for example, here when you come to Santurce they see a man dancing with skirts, well they quickly start to criticize, but it is not, as I say, if you are doing the movements as they are and with respect, because in the same way, they are doing it, it is executed in the correct way. It is a matter of executing it well with respect and that you do not enter just to enter, like many people, as I have always said, I do not like entering a batey just to enter. Sometimes they tell us, “go and dance, star dancing,” and as they say. Before I used to do it, I did it to please people, but I realized that it wasn’t, it wasn’t fulfilling for me to enter just to enter, I like when the music calls me, when the music tells me it’s your moment and I’m in however long I want to be in the batey, if I want to do something short I do it short, if I want to spend 20 minutes dancing, I’m there for 20 minutes, it’s like, it’s what calls me.

Amanda Ortiz Pellot

And when you dance with a skirt, and in presentations, that have the clothing, you talked about Maribella, that I know she makes skirts, where do you usually get it from? Only from her, different seamstresses, elsewhere…

Alanna Rodriguez

Well right now with this group, well Maribella, she gives us all that, thank God because in the previous group I was in I had to pay for my costumes, I had to pay 500, 600 for costumes, and now well thanks to Maribella, Maribella helped us with that, since it is her company, obviously she provides us with the costumes, even the accessories, she comes to us and we have that expense, sometimes I tell her, “girl, like, let us buy something, let us. ..

Amanda Ortiz Pellot

Let us contribute…

Alanna Rodríguez

No, no, because she with us is like we are her girls, we are her boys, she is dedicated to her group, which is a beautiful group, apart from everything, it is a group that started big and has obviously decreased, not because of bad things, but people change, they have other opportunities, they leave, but the group that is here now is truly a family, a family, we love each other, we support each other. If we are in, if they call us somewhere else, then we can go somewhere else and there is respect. Even so, they have taken me, I have danced with the [inaudible], I have danced with other groups and I love it, but even so it is always like, if they ask me between the junte and another group, I am going to say the junte always, because since I joined, the love that I received here in the three years that I have been in the group was not what I received in my previous group. There were times when I arrived and I did not feel welcomed and being in a group of many years, but you know that I always say, I have always been one of the people who I do not like to shine more than anyone else and I have always said that when one is in a group, you look bad the whole group looks bad, if they look good the group is going to look good, that one shines more than the other, for me that is nothing, we are, if it is a group, it is a group, I do it good, the group is going to look good and well in the previous group not all, obviously there is always the person that one is envious of, one does not want to see him grow, they wanted to rob you of that light that one has and I say, one has to shine by your own light, one does not have to be better than anyone else. I have always said that the only competition is yourself, no one else, and I truly thank God that I have the opportunity to be in this group that I am in now, because from day one, when I entered, they have been welcomed as a daughter, as a sister, as a family and I do not regret having made the decision to join the group.

Amanda Ortiz Pellot

When you put on your clothes, whether it’s only skirt, something more modern, something more presentable, or just your clothes, do you think you feel different when you have those clothes on?

Alanna Rodriguez

Yes, always, as I told you, like, right now it’s like when I dress myself every day, it depends on my “mood”, so there are times when I have an outfit and, thank God, I have always loved my outfits, I’ve danced very well with them. But yes, in truth the costumes affect in a positive and negative way, like there are times when I had my suit with a lot of things and the place was super hot and I hated it, but at the same time well, like no, I like this, I’m doing it because I like it. Yes, sometimes the costume greatly influences what one transmits, what one wants to give, the elegance, everything.

Amanda Ortiz Pellot

And when you dance, do you feel something different with the skirt vs. without the skirt?

Alanna Rodriguez

Yes, there is a lot, for example, right now I do, in my closet I have like 7 costumes and of those 7 costumes, some are complete, others are just skirts that I have there, so to speak, and there are skirts that are heavy, they are, I can’t do the same movements that I can do with a lighter skirt. When I dance without a skirt, many movements are not executed the same. I can interpret it as I do with a skirt, but at the same time it will not look the same, in truth, it feels different, there are skirts that, for example, there are movements that if you do it on top, they don’t look as good, because the skirt is very light and then the movement, the skirt looks strange. If it’s very heavy, I can’t lift my arms well, which yes, it really feels, all the time it feels different and not only the costumes, but also the environment I am in, because if there is a lot of wind and the skirt is very light…the skirt is going to dance on its own, and the movements, well, can’t be done.

Amanda Ortiz Pellot

Do you think that there are some styles, right, that you also mentioned them, that there are the traditional ones, the gingham, nowadays there are many styles, everyone has their own style, they add elements, do you think that there are some that are more authentic than others?

Alanna Rodriguez

No, really, I say that each style is unique. So, for example, here in Loíza, they have their costumes, the Ayalas have very typical costumes, here the junte, they have more modern costumes, here in Bayamón the fine arts team has costumes that are traditional, but it has its modern touch that is actually something very authentic that gives authenticity to the region, to the place, so in truth, for me they are all unique, like I don’t say like, there is this one that is greater than the other, no, no, for me they are all very unique, they all have their own touch, it gives it…how do you say? an identity to each region, to each side, in truth, I do not find that one is better than the other or more authentic for me everyone as they have their, their, their “pick” so to speak.

Amanda Ortiz Pellot

And I have noticed doing these interviews and you have also talked about that, practitioners almost always have a seamstress who is dedicated to making Bomba dresses, Bomba skirts…

Alanna Rodriguez

Yeah.

Amanda Ortiz Pellot

Do you think that where you get it affects how you feel when you put it on? For example, a skirt made by Maribella versus a skirt by another seamstress or a skirt from Walmart, which apparently Walmart is making Bomba skirts, like, what do you think about that?

Alanna Rodriguez

Not everyone knows how to make Bomba dresses, you know that takes time, dedication, you have to look because it really is something that takes time. Where I currently work, they sell Bomba skirts and I have them too, and it really does affect because if you don’t know how to make it, maybe you don’t put the right amount of fabric in it and then you can’t dance properly. Yes, I’d say that it is very important to know who makes the costumes, the skirt. There are people who are dedicated, for example, Maribella has her line and in her line she tries to ensure that it doesn’t get wrinkled, it is a, as she says, it the skirts that dance by themselves, that you make your movements, but at the same time the skirt helps you give more touch to the movement, as there are skirts, when you do a movement and they are heavy and you look heavy and not, as I say, it is very important to know who makes them. Very important.

Amanda Ortiz Pellot

And you mentioned this too, you had mentioned that the place you are in also affects how you feel, do you believe that the context where you are, whether it is a presentation, a protest, a Bombazo, affects how you feel when are you dancing?

Alanna Rodríguez

Yes and a lot, and especially in Bomba. In Bomba there are many people who have their beliefs and everything and in Bomba there is… I don’t want to say it like that, but it’s the truth, in Bomba there is a lot of envy. There is a lot of war between who dances better than who, “you are from this area, I am from this area.” And many times I, for example, sometimes I dance in Loíza, and many people know that I am not originally from Loíza and they don’t like that and sometimes you, when I dance I don’t feel the same, I feel more burdened because I know that there are bad energies surrounding me. Once I had the opportunity, my first time, to dance at a drum gathering, which is something that happens every year. And I went to dance there and the energies were completely different, but in a beautiful way. I mean, I had the opportunity to dance in a Bombazo and I felt so good, I didn’t feel burdened, I didn’t feel, I felt super free. As I have had the opportunity, then in presentations, also in presentations it is something that also takes time because one has to rehearse, practice, learn choreography. Now in a Bombazo you enter on your part, improvise, a moment of improvisation. This is also unlike the group I was in before, it was an experimental group, but I was choreography, so everything was choreography. Yes, there were moments when I had to do my solos, but it wasn’t for me to show off, it was like, “ah, it’s your turn to do your movements,” it was with counts, but in part it was also choreography because I had to practice so I could get that count right. Now here with the group that I am in, each one was supporting, each one to have their song just to have their moment to shine. And there are moments when we are all choreographing, but we have our moment to shine, we dance alone, we do our solos, we express what we want to express, how we feel…

Amanda Ortiz Pellot

And it shows that you have, right, you have shared a lot of knowledge about Bomba, the history of Bomba, where did you acquire this information?

Alanna Rodriguez

I like it, I, in truth, I have always said that I have never liked reading or anything, but when I am interested in something, I am willing to search and learn. Well, obviously through the years with Bomba, in the dance they have taught me, I have listened, I have met very important figures in Bomba, as an example Jesus who hs always, that we have sat down to talk, his brother Mario Cepeda, Maribella, I have sat down with Maribella to talk and I have started to read, in schools they do not teach education, as originally supposed to have happened, but they talk a little about what Bomba is and how it came, and how it arrived, and well, all that and reading, listening, seeing, the songs, the songs say a lot about history. If you listen to the songs, they are messages and have stories, so from there you also acquire history and knowledge of the songs, of what they want to interpret, from the poems.

Amanda Ortiz Pellot

You’re the first person to mention the songs, and I’ve never thought that it tells a story and it’s true, you know, it’s not, something made up…

Alanna Rodriguez

No, many of the songs, that’s why people often confuse it with plena. The plena was also giving a message, that’s why you saw them, the, the, the tambourine comes out of the drum, because you take it in your hand so you don’t have to pick it up, so, there it comes from, they connect, yes they connect, but the Bomba has been around for more than 500 years, plena came later, but music greatly influences what the story is in many songs. I’m not going to sing because I don’t have a voice and I don’t know how to sing, but there are many songs like that, if you want to search later, they have a history and it’s very important, it influences a lot, a lot, also when dancing and everything.

Amanda Ortiz Pellot

And you had already talked a little about this at the beginning, but to reiterate again how important it is, does your experience with Bomba and Bomba’s clothing influence your Puerto Rican identity?

Alanna Rodríguez

I understand that no, in, in, I mean, negatively no, positively yes, obviously, because it is something cultural, it is something that, well, within it has its traditional touch that is how, of, you know, the costumes greatly influence the history of Bomba, how it has evolved, you know, has a lot to do with it. I learned this with a colleague of mine too, who is from Loíza, in the area of, of, many areas of the regions, the slaves obviously had their, what do you say?, not the skirts, what they put on them however they were prisoners, the cuffs or the “chains”, they had the “chains” but they did not dance, there are many steps that are short, for that very reason, because they had those “chains” and they prohibited them from making big movements. They didn’t lift their skirts so they wouldn’t see them, now the free slaves who are, especially those from Loíza, that’s why Bomba is very different, you see that the steps are very open, very aggressive, right because they were escaped slaves who came to, or free ones who, since they no longer had chains, were not in chains, they could do their things more freely, those of the west they also had their chains, well, then also their skirts talked a lot and there wasn’t enough fabric for you to put on 50,000 layers, the petticoats or anything, that’s why you saw them dancing softly, they moved their feet a lot, they didn’t lift their skirts because it was also a lack of respect for you to show everything there. So it influences a lot.

Amanda Ortiz Pellot

And with your daily style, from day to day, do you think there are elements of Bomba that you bring to your daily style or do you think that is separate?

Alanna Rodriguez

Yes, I love accesories, so accesories like that, like, very big, wood, the headwrpas. Sometimes I wear them to go out, I usually wear them to dance, skirts, not Bomba skirts, but “flowy,” so it has an influence, because it’s like something like that, that goes like with the “flow”. Yes, I have brought a lot of Bomba into my life, into my daily “flow”, so to speak.

Amanda Ortiz Pellot

Yes, yes

Amanda Ortiz Pellot

What year is this photo from?

Alanna Rodriguez

It was this year, was it this year? No, 2022. It was 2022. That was at the Roberto Clemente.

Amanda Ortiz Pellot

In the park?

Alanna Rodriguez

Yes, in the park.

Amanda Ortiz Pellot

Was it an event?

Alanna Rodriguez

It was an event we were doing before the game. When the baseball games were on, well, there we had the opportunity to dance and it was an awesome experience…This here too, this here is a video, there I am in white, but that was at the Bad Bunny foundation. There is one, Bad Bunny has a foundation called “Good Bunny”, and then for Christmas he did an activity that was to give free gifts to children. Then we had the opportunity to dance outside, they introduced us and it was really super awesome.

Amanda Ortiz Pellot

And when you do events like this, do you coordinate a color or a type of style?

Alanna Rodriguez

At least ours, Maribella likes us to look uniform, there are times when she tells us a specific color, we can go with any shirt that is that color, but when things are more like a platform and that it’s me, she tries to make us look Let’s see the same.

Alanna Rodriguez

It’s also here, I’m going to show you this one…which was for my first trip with the team.

Amanda Ortiz Pellot

What is the name of Maribel’s group?

Alanna Rodriguez

It is called the Junte Loíceño de Maribella.

Amanda Ortiz Pellot

Ah okay, I think I’ve seen photos and videos.

Alanna Rodriguez

Here I have a complete photo, but it is this gold dress, this gold dress…everything was gold.

Amanda Ortiz Pellot

But was it a “theme” they had?

Alanna Rodriguez

Well, she did it for a goddess from Loíza. A goddess from Loíza, many people criticized us. That we were like that, because they told us that we were not even humble. Humility has nothing to do with what you wear. She did it for a goddess from Loíza and we all felt like goddesses and in truth I am going to wear that costume soon for the Loíza festivities that are on Sunday and it is a costume that I love because one literally feels like a goddess, I mean, what you convey with that dress on is wonderful and since I used it on that trip, that trip for me was amazing. A beautiful experience.

Amanda Ortiz Pellot

But wasn’t that here?

Alanna Rodriguez

This photo, this was in Orlando, at the Puerto Rican parade, that was a spectacular experience. Well, I even left the stage crying, because it was so good, because we, there was a group before us and that was on a street and there was no one, there was no one, we did nothing but step on the stage and it was magic, magic, everyone showed up, boom! And that was amazing, people shouting about an experience and that, that trip, I enjoyed it from the moment we arrived, from the moment I stepped foot in the airport until we left. I didn’t sleep at all that weekend, we had activities at night at another business, it was awesome. Later, I’ll send you the photos of the orange dress, which for me is my most significant dress for me because it was my first dress…and then I didn’t, so when I grew up I was going to do it again, but another colleague took it, because what happened is that when I danced in that group, they divided us into the little girls and the big girls [inaudible] and the one of the big girls got orange because obviously because we almost never danced together. So that happened, I grew up and she still had the orange dress and when she was gone, well, I had already made the dress, I made a blue one, but I still have that orange dress and it’s going to stay there. Yes, I have it and I have always been the pumpkin, the pumpkin, always.

Amanda Ortiz Pellot

How cool, well those were all the questions, that was the interview.

Alanna Rodríguez

Thank you.

Amanda Ortiz Pellot

Thank you for sharing your experiences, I learned a lot, before finishing the recording as such, do you want to share something else?

Alanna Rodríguez

Really, what I’m saying is that culture is something that identifies us a lot as Puerto Ricans and, really, I hope those who see this don’t let it go, that on the contrary, they help it grow, that they instill it in their children, If you have children, they don’t have to be your children, if you are teachers, give the students activities that have to do with culture. If they are grandparents who know that they have gone through that generation that they have been around for a long time, let them teach their grandchildren, their children, their friends, everyone. Don’t lose it, don’t lose it, because culture is really very important for our identity and, really, I wouldn’t like us to lose it because it identifies us a lot as Puerto Ricans.

Amanda Ortiz Pellot

Super.