The need to remain relevant is so pressing for Univision's veteran anchor Jorge Ramos, that he has now incorporated the erasure of women under the cover of 'trans visibility' to his campaign against the traditional values of the public he claims to champion and represent.
This became evident in an interview with Puerto Rican trans urban music performer Villano Antillano (Antillian Villain), that aired over Ramos's Al Punto talk-show last Sunday, February 5th, where the key take-away was: Feminism’s new frontier lies at the threshold of the (100% machista) reggaeton -- and in the hands of women -- like her.
Watch how women- possibly Univision's most valuable demographic -- get swiftly canceled by Ramos in the name of “trans visibility”:
JORGE RAMOS: Sorry… So do you feel that reggaeton – you… the women – are taking it towards a feminist orientation?
VILLANO ANTILLANO: Yes. I would say so – towards focusing it more on that empowerment. Like- that music that is born out of empowering us from other things that are not necessarily gunshots and guns, and stacks of bills so it falls more within a more feminist range, and is much more about oneself.
“Do you feel that reggaeton – you… the women- are taking it towards a feminist orientation?” Ramos asked about a genre, he said, where “most of the songs I listen to are about the power of women.“
Seriously Jorge? Reggaeton is notorious for lyrics that objectify women, something that to 'her' credit, Antillano rectified with “(reggaeton) is not very much for empowering women”, adding that “It's us women who are now like taking it in that direction.”
In what direction, we wonder. For while Ramos elevated deep-voiced Antillano to the level of feminist trailblazer- “a reggaeton and urban music singer who is breaking stereotypes and who by raising her voice with great courage, is opening spaces in music and a society that until very recently were closed to many,” it turns out that 'her' courage stems from elsewhere: revenge.
In Villanos own words: “At the end of the day, who cares who I am with and how I identify? It should not matter to anyone…But since people focus on that so much, then I'm going to show off, get it, and I'm going to serve it on a platter, because if it bothers them so much, it's because they want to see it.”
Ramos has long sought to normalize radical positions for Univision’s audience -- from “democratic socialism”, to Malthusian environmental policy (the Green New Deal), to abortion, to euthanasia. You can now add transgenderism to that mix.
One question remains on our mind: Given Ramos' status as Special Editorial Advisor to the CEO of Univision: Is erasing women now the network's official editorial line?
Press on Expand to read the complete transcript of the segment mentioned above.
Al Punto con Jorge Ramos
02/05/2023
11:52 a.m. EasternJORGE RAMOS: This week I had the opportunity to talk with Villano Antillano. She is a reggaeton and urban music singer who is breaking stereotypes and who by raising her voice with great courage, is opening spaces in music and society that until very recently were closed to many. Thank you for being here. I thank you so much.
VILLANO ANTILLANO: Absolutely. Delighted.
RAMOS: Let me... I want to talk about your music, but I want to take you back to that summer of 2022. Bad Bunny brings you to the stage at the coliseum, in Puerto Rico. The shrieking can still be heard here, but I am interested in what you said; then you said, "Thank you," to Benito. "Thank you for staying on the right side." What did you mean by that?
ANTILLANO: I think that Bad Bunny has taken it upon himself in his career to let us know that he is on the side, I think, of feminism. I think he is a person who has made it very clear through his actions, that he believes in feminism and supports trans women. He definitely stands out as someone important and I think he knows what he's doing.
RAMOS: That's where you met Bizarrap, didn't you?
ANTILLANO: No. I met him later at a party
BRANCHES: OK
ANTILLANO: But it was through him.
RAMOS: It was through him.
ANTILLANO: Yes
RAMOS: I listened to session 51. And what does he have? Of course, everyone knows him now from Shakira's song. But Shakira's session was the 53rd. Yours was the 51st. What does he have, why does Gonzalo Conde do it differently? The one nobody knows as Gonzalo Conde?
ANTILLANO: Bizarrap is a super incredible artist, but he is also a businessman, a person who has a very clear vision of what he wants to do and what he is doing, and he is an excellent producer who knows how to play with his giant audience.
RAMOS: I want to try to understand what is happening in Puerto Rico. While politically everything seems stagnant, the energy coming there from artists like you is truly extraordinary. And not only you, there is Bad Bunny, there is Ozuna, there is Farruko, Daddy Yankee. There are all of you. What's happening in Puerto Rico?
ANTILLANO: I think Puerto Rico has always produced very incredible artists and I think maybe it's a question that I've asked myself. I think maybe it has to do with this great frustration about our status as a colony. Our eternal damnation to misery at the hands of the empire of the United States and a lot of other things. I feel there's a lot of people.
RAMOS: That's very strong. What you just said.
ANTILLANO: Yes, I am very political, I am very clear about many things. I studied political science, actually. But you know, I kind of think that well, that need and a thirst for better things, move us to create things artistically speaking, very next level. And I think we've always led in different genres, salsa, reggaeton.
RAMOS: You say you studied political science and I wanted to ask you about that. Does reggaeton lack politics? Most of the songs I listen to are about the power of women. They talk about interpersonal relationships, but I rarely hear about politics. Maybe in Bad Bunny's Apagón, right?
ANTILLANO: I think that genre is not very much for empowering women. It's us women who are now like taking it in that direction and there's bigger artists in the caliber of Karol G that are like redirecting it. But it's not genre or movement, or a motu proprio moving towards that.
RAMOS: Sorry... so do you feel that reggaeton- you… the women- are taking it towards a feminist orientation?
ANTILLANO: Yes, I would say so- towards focusing it more on that empowerment. Like- that music that is born out of empowering us from other things that are not necessarily gunshots and guns, and stacks of bills so it falls more within a more feminist range, and is much more about oneself.
RAMOS: In Cáscara de Coco you say "I am not easy”, I am not a coconut shell". Is this how you perceive yourself?
ANTILLANO: Yes, I really, that's a saying that my grandmother used to tell me "You are not coconut shell", because I was not easy and she was neither, I also called her that, that we were both very, very strong women. And I grew up listening to that and I grew up knowing that I was very different and very difficult, because of that trait, of not letting anyone ride me. And also very curious, very inquisitive. But if I can't do that, why can't I do it? And I think I always grew up being very aware of that. And I also love being funny and kind of rubbing things in people's faces.
RAMOS: In the lyrics there are... I was going to say honesty, but I think it fell short. There is absolute transparency and total honesty. Is that the idea? To make private life public?
ANTILLANO: It's not so much that private life becomes public. It is that the private life of a person condemned before society becomes public, you understand. Because, at the end of the day, who cares who I am with and how I identify, it should not matter to anyone, because I am a person who deserves the same rights as everyone else. We don't have to get into that idiosyncrasy. But since people focus on that so much, then I'm going to show off, you get it, and I'm going to serve it on a platter, because if it bothers them so much, it's because they want to see it.
RAMOS: And you told me a very Puerto Rican phrase "Don't anyone ride me." Can you explain it to me?
ANTILLANO: Do not let anyone ride you is that you do not let anyone step on you. Do you understand me? Let no one do it to you. Let no one get away with it. May you always be ahead
RAMOS: There's something, there's a lot of rebellion in that.
ANTILLANO: A lot of rebellion. Yes, yes, I am a rebellious person.
RAMOS: Ok. And with that I leave you. But thank you very much for coming and for the trust.
ANTILLANO: My pleasure.
RAMOS: Thank you.
ANTILLANO: Thank you.
