Plena music began to develop in Puerto Rico around the turn of the 19th century. Originally the music served as a type of "sung newspaper" in poor barrios of the island, for some of its lyrics narrated important events of the day or made some sort of social commentary on actual issues. Other Plena songs, however, had a more festive or even humorous character. The genre was commercially popularized during the 1930s by Manuel "Canario" Jiménez and later, during the 1950's, by Rafael Cortijo y su Combo (with Ismael Rivera on vocals). Plena music is still widely performed in the island for many occasions. For instance, continuing Plena's tradition as music for social commentary, the genre is commonly performed during civic protests, but it has also retained its more festive character like we can see in the video below of the Fiestas de la Calle San Sebastián.