In 2016, the Colombian band Bomba Estéreo released a music video for their hit single “Soy Yo.” The video stars 11-year-old Sarai Isaura Gonzalez, who comes from both Peruvian and Costa Rican descent. In the video, Gonzalez journeys throughout the city with confidence and poise as she sings “don’t worry if you’re not approved. When they criticize you, just say ‘it’s me.’ I’m still walking, I’m still laughing, do what I want, die trying.” She plays the recorder, dances, and challenges a group of boys to a basketball game, even as she receives disapproving and quizzical looks.

discussion

How is the young girl, played by Gonzalez, different from the other characters in the video? What are the various ways we see her difference?

Why cast a young Latinx girl in this video?

What is the young girl’s attitude? How and why does she defy or ignore the various people she encounters in her neighborhood?

How can the video and song’s message apply to an immigrant or someone of mixed descent like Gonzalez?