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Bad Bunny is taking over the US. Does he want Puerto Rico to leave it?
Bad Bunny’s activism is central to his music. | Kevin Winter/Getty Images
Rapper Bad Bunny will perform Sunday at the Super Bowl halftime show, becoming the first solo male Latin American artist to headline. He’s arriving at the peak of his popularity: The performance comes just a week after receiving the Grammy’s highest honor for his genre-defining album, Debí Tirar Más Fotos, which deals with themes of colonization, gentrification, and difficult relationships, all while honoring the diverse roots of Puerto Rican and Latin music across the diaspora.
The 31-year-old superstar, born Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, is also developing a reputation for his outspoken politics. He’s refused to tour in the United States since President Donald Trump took office again, for fear of exposing Latino fans to ICE raids.
“Before I say thanks to God, I’m gonna say, ‘ICE out!’” Bad Bunny said while accepting his Grammy for Best Música Urbana Album. “We’re not savage, we’re not animals, we’re not aliens. We are humans, and we are Americans.”
Key takeaways
Bad Bunny’s music has a hard political edge and frequently deals with Puerto Rican politics. He became an icon among activists calling for independence from the United States after supporting Juan Dalmau, secretary-general of the Puerto Rican Independence Party (PIP), in the 2024 governor’s race. Dalmau came in second place, which was considered a new high for the independence movement. Bad Bunny is part of a disaffected “crisis generation” of younger Puerto Ricans whose experience with natural disasters, economic crises, government scandals, and clashes with Washington over austerity measures and disaster aid inform many of his songs. He has not explicitly endorsed independence, but his cohort’s experience is seen as a key reason for its revival. There are major barriers to Puerto Rico declaring independence, which supporters favor doing peacefully through a negotiated process. More Puerto Ricans so far prefer statehood, which would give residents representation in Congress and more control over their affairs. And some prefer remaining as a commonwealth to keep Puerto Rican culture more distinct from the mainland, and maintain certain economic benefits like exemption from federal income tax.The president is not a fan. “I’m anti-them,” he said of Bad Bunny and fellow Super Bowl performers Green Day, who have also been critical of his administration. Earlier, Trump claimed not to know who the Puerto Rican artist even is, calling his halftime selection “absolutely ridiculous.”
He should probably start paying more attention.
While Trump has been obsessed in his second term with expanding the US into new territories like Greenland, or even Canada, his neglect of Puerto Rico is ironically one factor in reviving a long-dormant independence movement there. And Bad Bunny is considered one of the most high-profile cultural figures who will help determine just how far it can go.
How Bad Bunny became the biggest endorsement in Puerto Rico
While casual listeners may have first learned about the artist’s activism when he called out ICE onstage last week, Bad Bunny’s outspokenness is nothing new. And he’s been especially engaged with the archipelago’s unique politics.
As Bad Bunny reminded Grammy viewers (and apparently some confused NFL players) in a jokey bit with host Trevor Noah on Sunday, Puerto Rico is “part of America” — a phrase he said with air quotes. The United States gained control of Puerto Rico in 1898 at the end of the Spanish-American War, granting its residents citizenship in 1917. The archipelago adopted its own constitution in 1952, officially becoming a self-governing US territory with an elected governor.
Since then, Puerto Rico’s two historic major parties have divided themselves in part based on the question of its status. The New Progressive Party (PNP) is historically pro-statehood, which would give Puerto Ricans voting representation in Congress and in presidential elections as well as more control over their affairs. The Popular Democratic Party (PPD) typically favors remaining as a commonwealth, which supporters argue will allow Puerto Rico to better maintain its unique culture along with US citizenship and certain economic benefits, like an exemption from most federal income tax.
In 2024, the governor’s contest featured Jenniffer González-Colón, a former Resident Commissioner who caucused with House Republicans, on the PNP ticket. Jesús Manuel Ortiz ran for the PPD. But the election featured a surprising third-party dark horse, Juan Dalmau,........
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