Translations have been provided for all Spanish segments.
It’s hard to ignore Spotify’s #1 artist of the year, Bad Bunny. With over 100 awards and 200 nominations, it’s an understatement to say he is a worldwide sensation. One thing Bad Bunny has and always will do is represent. As an artist whose primary genre is reggaeton, born in Puerto Rico, he consistently gives homage and brings a little piece of Puerto Rico everywhere he goes, making it known where he comes from and who he represents. In every album, he dedicates to his homeland Puerto Rico, with hits such as “P FKN R” and even “Mi Puerto Rico”. But today, we’ll talk about his latest song, “El Apagón”.
M***ita sea, otro apagón.
“D*mn it, another blackout.” – Bad Bunny
Literally translating to, “The Blackout” Bad Bunny sheds light on serious issues that have tormented Puerto Rico since the birth of its country. Breaking it down into three parts, Bad Bunny discusses:
- Displacement of Puerto Ricans by U.S. Americans
- The electricity crisis in Puerto Rico
- The fight to keep beaches public
Diving straight in, the music video depicts Puerto Ricans of all shapes, colors, and sizes represented by the camera. Celebrating all that Puerto Ricans are and can be, we get to see the real sides of the country that you might not see in tourist guides. Bad Bunny lists off some great achievements Puerto Ricans have conquered, from centuries ago to more recently such as J.J Barea. The chorus arrives, literally translating to “Puerto Rico is f***ing great”.
Quickly transitioning with a beat drop we begin to see the damage that has been done on a massive scale as the music video slithers the camera around a complete blackout tunnel. Bad Bunny moves on to say how much he loves his people (maybe a bit too vulgar) and shows the core of Puerto Rico: unity. In unity, the swarm of Puerto Ricans dance, sing, and party even in the literal darkest times.
The power Puerto Rico has is not to be undermined, as the masses have flooded streets with protests and powerful speech. Even putting clips of the 2020 riots, always putting Puerto Rico’s struggles at the forefront.
| “Esta es mi playa Este es mi sol Esta es mi tierra Esta soy yo” |
| “This is my beach, this is my sun This is my land, this is me This is my beach, this is my sun This is my land, this is me” |
The camera soars over the coast of Puerto Rico, showcasing the beautiful beaches and even more beautiful waves. In an angelic tone, we’re being shown the essence of Puerto Rico in depth as the angel voice is supposed to represent the island of Puerto Rico. She sings about her beauty and mourns how she doesn’t want to leave, and how she wants them to leave. Abruptly, words shine onto the screen as the background fades to black.
“Aquí Vive Gente” / “PEOPLE LIVE HERE”
Transforming into a documentary, Bad Bunny recruits independent journalist Bianca Graulau to set the stage and tell the story. The infamous eviction letter is discussed as Graulau sits with Puerto Rican locals. They have a conversation over dinner, talking about how despite living in their apartment for over 20 years, they must leave within 30 days.
Forcing Puerto Ricans out of Puerto Rico, the outrageous Act 22 (The Individuals Investors Act) has tax incentives that have created a haven for the wealthy and hell for the poor. Zero percent capital gains, essentially paying nothing in taxes. “But how?” you may ask. That’s easy, the wealthy buy out Puerto Ricans and give current residents a 30-day eviction letter, or tell them to pay up. By transforming neighborhoods and projects into luxury living, rent skyrockets from a mere $600/mo to a whopping $2,500/mo. Mind you, the average Puerto Rican makes less than $1,700/mo on average. The people can’t keep up with the prices and are being forced to relocate from their homes. “Gringo go home!” chants crowds of hundreds of Puerto Rico storming the beach in protest of Act 22 is caught on camera.
You can’t come in here with a colonizers mindset thinking people don’t live here
Puerto Rican citizen
Living off of the struggles of the poor and colored, out of the 28 stolen properties from Act 22, one was a public school closed and transformed into a huge money investment for the wealthy. Reminder that Puerto Rico doesn’t have endless public schools, they are quite limited and even in critical demand. Graulau confronts the fact that politicians make enormous amounts of money from corporations moving in and stealing land, even one saying he made over $200,000 from the act, and the governor has even made more, nearly $300,000.
Along with being forced out, Puerto Ricans are also facing serious blackouts that last for days. A hospital in Puerto Rico reportedly lost power for over 11 hours, endangering the livelihood of hundreds of patients. LUMA Energy is the power distribution company responsible for all the blackouts and danger, leaving thousands without power weeks after Hurricane Fiona struck.
Nearly one million homes and businesses were still without power in Puerto Rico on Friday morning after Hurricane Fiona hit on Sunday back in September. The music video shows power plants exploding from the electrical currents and footage of blackout hospitals and houses, putting into perspective how dire this situation is. LUMA Energy is a Canadian-American company that controls Puerto Rico, and since 2019 there have been endless power bill complaints.
The country belongs to us. We are the ones who have the control.
Bad Bunny
As Graulau explains in the video, Puerto Rico’s billion-dollar effort to privatize the electrical grid through a controversial contract with Luma Energy has done practically nothing to solve the issue. Puerto Rico’s governor, Pedro Pierluisi, whose administration hired Luma, publicly criticized the energy company for the first time a few months ago after a report by Puerto Rico’s Energy Bureau showed that outages have actually increased in duration this year.
It’s not just housing, public schools, and power outages, even Puerto Rico’s beaches are at risk. According to the law, all of Puerto Rico’s beaches are public, and despite this, the wealthy move in and prevent easy access to the beaches. “No Trespassing” signs on the beautiful sand. West Beach has practically been transformed into a private beach for the wealthy, and Graulau explains that you must hike over 1 mile just to have easy access to the beach, defeating the purpose of an easy-access public beach.
Prisa Group has donated more than half a million dollars to both political parties in Puerto Rico to bribe and convince them to continue exploiting the beaches, even though the beaches are public and by law the people must have access to ALL beaches. Violating the lives of the native Puerto Rican sea turtle is even a problem for the ecology. Invading the turtle’s habitat, properties are being constructed mere feet away from the beach. Camera footage shows the brutal reality of a huge wall that borders the coast with luxury housing behind it.
A swimming pool in front of a beach. Why would you need that?
Puerto Rican citizen
With the power of unity, it was the Puerto Ricans who knocked down the illegal construction in front of the beach, rather than the government. Clips of news reporters are shown on screen with brutal footage of elite politicians speaking poorly of their native land. One clip shows a reporter asking a politician, “What if they eliminate Act 22 and remove the rich?” The politician responds:
“That area of Puerto Rico will just be a huge ghetto”
Since America colonized Puerto Rico in the 19th century, we have been under tyranny for decades. Being exploited as a commonwealth, it’s not shocking to understand how frustrated we feel. Culture vultures who want to steal our history, heritage, and land is certainly not something new. We deserve our home to live in, and it’s inconceivable to imagine a Puerto Rico with no Puerto Ricans. Bad Bunny’s music video is more than a proud celebration of our island’s vibrant culture; but rather a powerful presentation of the life and challenges citizens face.
As a proud Puerto Rican, it’s tear-jerking seeing the issues my island faces. I’m eternally grateful to Bad Bunny and all those who utilize their platform to spread awareness about the challenges we face. This abusive treatment will not go unnoticed, and through unity, I can confidently trust that justice will prevail.