The article I chose was, “Bad Bunny, Reggaeton, and Resistance”, by Gene Demby, Adrian Florido, Christina Cala, and Dalia Mortada. In this podcast, Bad Bunny’s rise to fame and his call for action through his music was discussed. The main topic of this podcast was to bring awareness to how a worldwide artist shows his devotion and appreciation towards his country, additionally, how he challenges the social norms and stays true to himself.
Gene Demby began by providing some background information on Puerto Rico, he explained how Hurricane Maria devastated the island, how poor their electrical grid is, and how thousands of Puerto Ricans are fleeing the island while foreigners are “moving in” and purchasing land. He and Vanessa Diaz then explain how a local artist used music to bring awareness to the grand issues. Bad Bunny’s recent album, Un Verano Sin Ti, has some songs that pay tribute to Puerto Rico, specifically the songs “El Apagón” and “Me Fui de Vacaciones”. Benito’s song “El Apagon” focuses on the constant blackouts that occur on the island due to the low electric system, Diaz explains how the song incorporated a political aspect representing a key issue in the island, near the end, Gabriela (his former girlfriend) sang about the foreigners leaving because they created housing conflicts with the actual citizens. The podcast continues by referencing multiple songs to certain issues and how Bad Bunny pays tribute to his home country. The podcast then shifts, analyzing how Benito doesn’t accommodate, he prefers to live with people not liking him rather than changing to please the public.
Vanessa Diaz’s claims gave me a new understanding of his album, I was already a fan of the artist and constantly listened to his music. However, I never once thought of the meaning behind his recent album or his previous songs, learning what his pieces were truly about made me respect him even more. The main issues presented opened my eyes to the challenges faced by Puerto Rico and the hardships its people endure. I used to see the island solely as a vacation destination, without making an effort to understand the residents’ experiences. I believe that the authors excelled at conveying their point and gave great credit to the artist himself.
I agree with you because i also used to see island solely as a vacation destination.
When you mentioned how local artists used music to bring awareness to grander issues, I couldn’t help but think that Bob Marley used to do the same thing with Jamaica back in the day; enough to the point where there was an assassination attempt in his home in 1976.