Left: Kali Uchis at the 2021 American Music Awards. Photo by Matt Winkelmeyer / Getty Images.
Right: Ozuna at the 2019 Latin American Music Awards. Photo by JC Olivera / Getty Images.
Kali Uchis and Ozuna have shared their first collaboration, a new single titled "Another day in America." The song is a redux of Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim's "America," a satirical rendering of the way the U.S. treats newcomers and non-whites, performed as an argument between the patriotic Anita and a more critical group of her recently arrived Nuyorican friends. The song cleverly sets up a division between "America" and Puerto Rico, tacitly illustrating that white Americans make no distinction in their discrimatory treatment of Puerto Ricans and Latin American immigrants, even though Puerto Rico has been a U.S. territory since 1917.
"Another day in America" updates West Side Story's 1957 cultural commentary to fit our current era: "Everything changed in America / Except nothing changed in America," Uchis sings. It was inspired by Steven Spielberg's new film production of the musical, which will arrive in theaters nationwide on December 10. West Side Story Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, which is set to drop this Thursday, December 3, does not include Uchis and Ozuna’s track.
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The release of "Another day in America" comes on the heels of Sondheim's passing. The acclaimed composer and songsmith became nationally famous after writing West Side Story's lyrics and went on to create hit musicals such as Sweeney Todd and Sunday in the Park with George. He died on November 26 at 91.
Listen to "Another day in America" below.
