Gasolina

This study adopts a cross-disciplinary approach to explore the cultural and political impact of Daddy Yankee's “Gasolina” in post-millennial Puerto Rico, engaging with cultural history, popular music studies, Puerto Rican studies, and mobility studies. By combining textual analysis, archival research, and cultural critique, the study examines the song's lyrics, music video, and global reception to uncover its significance beyond the realm of entertainment. Aníbal Quijano's concept of the “coloniality of power” and Cara Daggett's notion of “petro-masculinity” provide the theoretical framework through which the song's implications for Puerto Rico's colonial status, socio-economic conditions, gender roles, and identity are analyzed. This framework enables the study to demonstrate how Daddy Yankee's “Gasolina” transcends surface-level interpretation as a party anthem to become a critical commentary on Puerto Rico's political status. The analysis suggests that the song-through its lyrics, music, and global reach-reflects the lived realities of Puerto Ricans navigating a world shaped by colonial legacies, including the archipelago's dependence on motor vehicles and imported petroleum. Cara Daggett's concept of “petro-masculinity” allows for a nuanced understanding of how the song's content and its reception articulate a form of masculinity that is deeply entwined with Puerto Rico's colonial history and its economic dependence on fossil fuels to offer insights into the ways Puerto Ricans, and Latines more broadly, use music to negotiate their identities and cultural expressions within a globalized context marked by historical power imbalances.