Half-Time en Español: Bad Bunny Baby

What would you think if I told you that reggaeton has become an artist's vehicle for demonstrating resistance and culture? You'd say I'm crazy, that it's unthinkable for a rather controversial and criticized musical genre to challenge power. However, I must inform you, dear reader, that in recent years, Bad Bunny has been the key figure in orchestrating Baile inolvidable, an unforgettable dance. A dance of protest, struggle, and pride within a system that oppresses, minimizes, and excludes.

The Dance and Song That Makes People Uneasy

Bad Bunny is a very important Puerto Rican artist for the music industry. A true goldmine because he has broken records in sales and streams. His image has ventured into fashion and into film. He is a global trend who will soon headline the Super Bowl halftime show in California (Morgan, 2025). News that makes many uncomfortable but means a lot to the Latin American community.

Through his songs, this Puerto Rican artist has constructed a powerful discourse of defiance against power through identity. His voice is the means to protest and deeply oppose the political problems  such as the privatization of energy (Sibuet, 2025).  Let us remember that Puerto Rico has been a victim of colonialism, inequality, and practically the absence of sovereignty.

His voice is the means to reclaim and oppose political issues such as the privatization of energy in Puerto Rico, an island that has been hit by colonialism, inequality, and with almost no sovereignty.

Observation Tower built by volunteers of UT at Arlington in the former Ramey Base grounds at Punta Borinquen. Photo by Ana Toledo on Unsplash

His lyrics are unsettling because they expose bodies, languages, and sounds that those in power have sought to silence. In an interview on the popular show Saturday Night Live, he said, “You didn’t understand what I just said, you have four months to learn” (RT, 2025). A joke to some, but for millions of Spanish speakers, specially latinos, it felt like a vindication. The host speaks English no one of the most-watched shows in the United States, where viewers expect others to understand them. This moment subtly turned that expectation around.

Benito, his original name, invites, and in a way demands, that those who wish to listen to him do so in his own language because he has no intention of adapting to another.

In this sense, sociologist Anibal Quijano (2014) coined the concept of the coloniality of power to describe the structure that continues to hierarchize languages, cultures, and bodies. Bad Bunny defies this logic by singing in Spanish—and not just any Spanish, but a deeply Caribbean one—in a world where English dominates the cultural sphere. From this linguistic periphery, he manages to occupy center stage: his songs are played on radio stations in the US, Australia, and elsewhere, reminding us that the voice of the Caribbean can also set the rhythm of the world.

Puerto Rico: An Island Dancing Between Dependency and Identity

Far beyond fame, Bad Bunny embodies a Puerto Rican narrative. These are the people who, amidst hurricanes, privatizations, and debt, RESIST. In a land that remains an unincorporated territory of the United States, his music becomes a symbol of sovereignty.

During his called artistic “residency” in San Juan, he gave 30 concerts during the off-season and hurricane season. The result? More than 400,000 people attended, which meant an economic boost of between $180 and $200 million for the island (Ainvest, 2025). His success not only moved crowds: it boosted the local economy and highlighted Puerto Rican pride.

The Body as Political Territory

On stage, Bad Bunny transforms each performance into a visual manifesto. His body speaks as much as his voice. The clothing he wears, sometimes feminine, sometimes ambiguous, challenges gender boundaries. His collaborations and appearances in support of the LGBTQ+ community (GT, 2025) reinforce this narrative of inclusion. For example, in the music video for "Yo Perreo Sola”, he dresses as a woman to denounce gender violence, confronting the hegemonic masculinity that has dominated reggaeton. This way, his body becomes a political territory.

In an era where a story on any social network can be a political act, Benito uses them to promote his music, but also to highlight social problems such as Puerto Rico's electricity crisis, femicide, racism, and homophobia. Every gesture he makes becomes a form of protest.

The Unforgettable Dance

Bad Bunny has already made history. His music has crossed borders, reaching almost everywhere with the help of digital power. A couple of weeks ago, a friend sent me a link, and in seconds I was watching the live concert from his residency in Puerto Rico. However, what surprised me most was that I was witnessing a message, because what he sang and what he said made me feel proud of my Latin American roots.

Many believe that his selection for the Super Bowl is solely due to his fame or his ability to generate money, and perhaps there's some truth to that. But the timing is symbolically perfect.

In a context where policies and narratives try to minimize the Latino voice, his presence on that stage represents something much bigger: vindication.

Bad Bunny and his unforgettable dance will not just be a spectacle: it will be a reminder that the peripheries are also the center and, despite attempts to silence us, we continue to dance, sing and exist with pride.

Bibliography

1. Ainvest. (2025). Bad Bunny’s Puerto Rico Residency Boosts Local Economy with Estimated $181 Million in Tourism Revenue. https://www.ainvest.com/news/bad-bunny-puerto-rico-residency-boosts-local-economy-estimated-181-million-tourism-revenue-2507

2. GT. (2025). 5 times Bad Bunny proved he’s the ultimate LGBTQ+ ally. https://www.gaytimes.com/culture/bad-bunny-lgbtq-ally-explainer/

3. Morgan, E. (2025, September 28). Bad Bunny Will Headline the 2026 Super Bowl Halftime Show. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/28/arts/music/bad-bunny-super-bowl-halftime.html

4. Quijano, A. (2014). Colonialidad del poder, eurocentrismo y América Latina. En Cuestiones y horizontes: De la dependencia histórico-estructural a la colonialidad/descolonialidad del poder. CLACSO.

5. RT. (2025, October 7). «Tienes cuatro meses»: Bad Bunny llama a los estadounidenses a aprender español. RT Actualidad. https://actualidad.rt.com/actualidad/567707-bad-bunny-insta-estadounidenses-aprender-espanol-super-bowl

6. Sibuet, R. (2025). Bad Bunny, el boricua que hizo del reggaetón un manifiesto político y hasta una cátedra universitaria. LA NACION. https://www.lanacion.com.ar/espectaculos/musica/bad-bunny-el-boricua-que-hizo-del-reggaeton-un-manifiesto-politico-y-hasta-una-catedra-universitaria-nid19072025/

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