Weekend music thread #02 Bad Bunny

by liberal japonicus

I may be asking for trouble by doing a music post that shades into politics, but I thought it might be interesting to link to some Bad Bunny videos. Quick précis: Bad Bunny is the stage name for Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, a Puerto Rican DJ, rapper, actor and record producer. He also has dabbled in professional wrestling, which surprised me, though I shouldn’t be, given that Dwayne Johnson, John Cena and Dave Batuista have all used wrestling as a springboard. He was tapped to do the Super Bowl halftime show, and the MAGA crowd absolutely lost their shit.

If you’re looking for an illustration of “coping mechanism,” you’ll find no better example than MAGA’s reaction to Turning Point USA (TPUSA) announcing “The All American Halftime Show,” an alternative to the actual Super Bowl halftime show, airing on Feb. 8. The event doesn’t have a lineup or even a location yet. But what the far-right organization, co-founded by the late Charlie Kirk, does have is a groundswell of racist rage about the real Super Bowl halftime show, which will feature reggaeton star Bad Bunny.

This link also gives a nice rundown.

Now, the twist in the knickers is all typical MAGA pet hates, so I don’t mean to validate the shit that lives in their heads, but I thought it would be good to know who Bad Bunny is. Let’s start off with Yo Perreo Sola, which translates roughly to ‘I twerk alone’. It was listed as #1 in this Billboard article and #2 in the Rolling Stone listing

Taking in the video, after the kneejerk response, you might see more stuff the MAGA crowd can have a cow over with this guy doing the Super Bowl halftime. The gender fluidity and the sexuality would be enough, but the song itself, emphasizing female autonomy, and ending with the phrase Si no quiere bailar contigo, respeta, ella perrea sola (If she doesn’t want to dance with you, respect her, she twerks alone) is really the chef’s kiss. I think there is a lot to unpack with the visual images, what interested me was that the song is a reggeaton song. A couple of videos that got me up to speed on it

And this has more of the history, which talks about the diasporic character of Reggaeton as well as the campaigns to censor the music, which has made it a lot bigger. If you get in discussions with any folks who want to raise the issue of censorship, this can give you a little background on that.

Bad Bunny’s catalogue is huge, but I can’t resist sharing Yonaguni. It’s a lost love song, but the name brought me up short. Yonaguni is actually the westernmost island in Okinawa prefecture, and though the video wasn’t shot there (it looks like LA, but with lots of Asian references, including ramen, Tae kwon do practice and an anime finish), the song closes with Bad Bunny singing in Japanese, which seems kind of pointed cause he never sings in English (the initial MAGA sticking point, I believe). Why would Bad Bunny pick a Japanese island to have his lost love on? Well, Yonagumi actually had an empress, Sanai-Isoba:

Sanai-Isoba is a female of superhuman stature and strength; she performed astonishing feats and taught the islanders agriculture and improved ways of life. She also established her four brothers as village heads of Donanbaru, Dateg, Dannu, and Tebaru. She is said to have gone abroad to oishigaki and Iriomote, thereby initiating a cultural pattern, whereby the less advanced ust learn from their superiors, viz. the Okinawans from the Chinese, the Miyakoans from the Okinowans and so forth, isolated, marginal Yonaguni was the lowest rung on the ladder.

Interesting to me is that the English Wikipedia page has a section about Japanese ideas about the women of Yonaguni, with plausible references, but I can’t find any deeper confirmation. The name does mean ‘island of women’ and there was an exoticization of these places in Meiji, but the section isn’t mirrored the Japanese wikipedia page and seems a bit more lurid. Still, the idea that “Women on the island have white skin, and are attentive and thoughtful,” seems to be reflected in the video, so I’m wondering if that factors in.

As hinted at in Yo Perreo Sola, there is a strong feminist/anti misogynist turn in BB’s music. This one, Solo de Mí, features Venezuelan actress Laura Chimaras (almost all of BB’s videos have people who are well known in Latin America, which both indicates his popularity and cultural juice). This one is about a woman who is a victim of domestic violence, but overcomes it.

Another big theme in his work is a fierce pride in his Puerto Rican roots. In fact, his 30 day residency in PR, which brought an estimated $713 million, is another red flag for die MAGA Rotkunstt as he refused to play in the continental US, expressing concern that ICE would target his fans. The next video, for the song El Apagón – Aqui vive gente [The blackout: People live here], is so dense that I asked Gemini to give a break down.

The official video for El Apagón is not a typical music video but a powerful 23-minute short film and mini-documentary titled Aquí Vive Gente” (People Live Here). It was directed by Kacho López Mari and released in September 2022.

Part 1: The Song (Approx. [00:00] to [06:56])

The first section of the video is dedicated to the song itself, and it acts as a visual protest and a celebration of Puerto Rican culture and resilience.

• Visuals: The video captures raw, energetic scenes of people dancing, celebrating, and protesting across various parts of Puerto Rico. It focuses heavily on themes mentioned in the lyrics:
  • The Blackout: Shots of people celebrating and dancing enthusiastically, often in dimly lit areas or using handheld lights, emphasizing the idea of finding joy and party (regaetón) even amid the frequent power outages.
  • Protest: Quick cuts show people holding signs against LUMA Energy and corruption, reinforcing the lyric: “Let’s turn off LUMA, let them leave us alone.” [01:37]
  • Culture: High-energy footage showcases street parties, people grilling, and community life in various neighborhoods, highlighting the cultural richness that the lyrics promise to protect.

Part 2: The Documentary Segment (Approx. [06:56] to End)

The music fades and the video transitions into a serious, investigative short film, primarily led by Puerto Rican journalist Bianca Graulau (whose voice is heard in the song’s outro). This segment provides context for the political and economic struggles referenced in the song.

1. Gentrification and Displacement

This section focuses heavily on how tax incentives (like Act 22/60) have led to the displacement of native Puerto Ricans in favor of wealthy foreign investors.

• Eviction Stories: The documentary features interviews with long-time residents, like Maricusa, who received 30-day eviction notices after buildings were bought by foreign companies who planned to flip the properties for much higher prices. [06:07] and [07:45]
• Real Estate Flip: It reveals that residential buildings, purchased cheap, are immediately put back on the market for millions of dollars, or converted into short-term rentals (like the story of the Ferrería building apartments). [10:41]
• Community Loss: Residents of Puerta de Tierra speak emotionally about losing their ancestral homes and community to wealthy interests, noting that they are being treated like “colonizers” in their own country. [08:00]

2. The Energy and Infrastructure Crisis

The documentary details the failures of the energy system, managed by the private company LUMA Energy.

• LUMA’s Impact: It shows the devastating consequences of blackouts on everyday life, including students doing homework in the dark and people being unable to use essential medical equipment at home. [01:17]
• Rising Costs: It highlights the consecutive rate increases for electricity while the quality of service declines, showing the irony of high executive salaries juxtaposed with poor infrastructure. [01:26]

3. The Fight for Public Spaces and Beaches

The video explores the privatization and blocking of public spaces, particularly the coastlines.

• Dorado Beach Access: The segment follows a worker, Rosa Rivera, as she attempts to access the public beach adjacent to the luxury Dorado Beach community, showing how private developments have restricted or made access nearly impossible by blocking pathways and forcing people to walk over dangerous rocks. [16:35]
• The School: It shows the transformation of a former public school (the Martiniere in Puerta de Tierra) that was closed by the government and sold to a beneficiary of the tax incentives to be converted into luxury apartments. [12:30]
• Resistance: It ends with powerful footage of activists tearing down an illegal construction fence at Sol y Playa beach, demonstrating the grassroots resistance against privatization and land grabs. [20:34]

The video intentionally concludes with the spoken word part of the song and a final shot of the Puerto Rican flag, driven home by the sound of the coquí (native frog) and a police siren, confirming that the struggle for the island is far from over.

I have just picked out a few videos with no regard to the timeline and I’m sure that a better view would be obtained by seeing his development over his career. I’ve also not spoken to his allyship with the LGBTQ+ community, which must be another big issue with MAGA types.

For some predictions from me, I imagine that BB won’t do a big gender fluid thing, what he’ll probably do is focus on Puerto Rican pride. This will still leave him with a lot of material to tweak Trump and the MAGA crowd, such as throwing paper towels during Hurrican Marie or “comedian” Tony Hinchcliffe calling PR a “floating island of garbage”

Hope that gives everyone some background. If I missed anything or folks have things to add, please do!