Albert Laguna, a specialist in cultural studies, says that his students will discuss topics such as race, migration, colonialism and other political issues from the artist’s music of the port-eight
Albert Laguna, professor at Yale University, one of the most prestigious educational institutions in the United States, says that understanding the success of Bad Bunny concerns not only the music industry.
Benito MartÃnez Ocasio, a baptismal name of the 31 -year -old port artist, proved to be a marketing genius, able to transform music into Spanish and Latin culture in general, who cross the boundaries of the Hispanic countries and wins the global public.
In 2024, for example, it was the most listened Latin singer in the world in the popular SPOTIFY streaming platform. Your new album, I took some bad photosHe remained for weeks among the first 10 world after his release in January.
But its impact is not limited to the music market, says Laguna, a specialist in cultural studies.
Over the years, Bad Bunny has adopted an increasingly political position. In his songs – and also in public apparitions – he deals with topics such as genre, inequality, migration and colonial situation of the island where he was born, American territory since 1898.
In addition, he was able to reinvent the reggaeton, merging his characteristic rhythm with genres such as parsley, bachelor, bomb and full.
Laguna says that through his texts and melodies, Bad Bunny builds a map that allows us to understand the story of Puerto Rico and his diaspora.
According to Dr. in Cuban literature, all this strengthens the importance of the undisputed influence of the Port-Etile artist on contemporary popular music.
For this reason, in September, Laguna will offer a course on the “Bad Rabbit” at Yale University.
What does it mean to include Bad Bunny in the curriculum of one of the most important universities in the world? How does the teacher intend to face the figure of the artist in the classroom? And what was the reaction of students to the knowledge of the new discipline?
“Part of interest for this course is the fact that I am offering this discipline to Yale University. Sometimes it is thought that Bad Bunny is one thing and Yale is another. My task is to reaffirm that Bad Bunny has its place in Yale,” he says.
“Every popular culture has its place in Yale. Through an artist like Bad Bunny, we can understand the present and past of Puerto Rico, the United States and also as it has become a global phenomenon.”
The idea of creating a bad bunny course came when Laguna listened to the new album of the Porto-Agano, I have to take bad photos, While walking on the streets of New Orleans, a city with a strong Caribbean heritage.
“My students are very interested in Bad Bunny, but little knowledge of the relationship between the island and the United States,” he said.
“I will use your songs to deal with important topics both for the port-exploited diaspora and for those who live in the territory.
For example, music Nuevayolwhich opens the album, refers to A verano en nueva yorkMusic published in 1975 by the El Gran Combo of Puerto Rico orchestra sauce.
“When I heard an extract of this melody on the album of Bad Bunny, I was shocked. I thought: there is something different in this production,” he says.
Already Tourist who deals with the tourism industry and how we people travel to Puerto Rico and behave like the island.
“Through the Salsa genre, which was born in New York, we can speak of the migratory flow of Cubans and port-prisoners in the United States and Afro-Caribenha influence in the country.”
The cultural impact of the artist, says the teacher, is to bring the world to Puerto Rico.
“Bad Bunny is making a residence of 30 shows in Puerto Rico this summer. These events, alone, are already a political act.”
“Many artists build an audience in their country of origin and then bring their culture into the world,” he says.
“He is focusing his shows on the island, transforming them into an opportunity to discuss local problems”.
This is another political point of the album. In his texts, Bad Bunny insists that Puerto Rico should be for the Ricani port. And it does so in the middle of a difficult economic situation, when the island is administered by a tax supervision committee of the United States.
“Try to give visibility to the colonial relationship between the two countries and as the Boricuas affects [como também são conhecidos os porto-riquenhos] Today. Many Americans do not yet know that Puerto Rico is a colony of his country. “
For him, this helps students to understand the reality of the diaspora, not only Porto Rican, but in general Latin, especially at a time when the United States government has adopted more restrictive measures as regards migration.
“For many immigrants and Latins in general, their country of origin, the land of the parents, is always a reference when they live outside. In debt bad photos, Bad Bunny explores and celebrates this constant connection,” he says.
“You can’t talk about the history of New York without puero Rico, or Puerto Rico without New York. You cannot talk about Salsa without talking about New York and the relationship with the Latin diaspora who made your home the city.”
For Laguna, the impact of the Caribbean on the musical industry is not sufficiently recognized.
“There are not enough references. This is one of the reasons why I will offer this discipline. In a certain sense, with its new album, Bad Bunny offers a music course. It is not just a reggaeton with parsley, bomb or full – it is a combination of genres”, says the teacher, also mentioning JÃbara, the rural areas of Puerto Rico.
“The album opens ways to understand a wider and particularly Caribbean story.”
Laguna says that there is historically, an idea that is very popular is cheap.
“In the nineteenth century, the Cuban Danzón was treated as a scandal. Perhaps, in 50 years, we laughed with those who have derived and say that that bad bunny was that too,” he says.
“But I must say that it is important to maintain a critical perspective. My work as a teacher is to understand the entire complexity of a cultural product: how music represents the genre, race, ethnicity and other themes.”
The discipline will be offered in a difficult time for US universities, when their diversity policies were questioned by the government of Donald Trump, who even cut the funds for this reason.
Recently, there has been an attempt by the Administration to prevent Harvard from accepting foreign students. For Laguna, the course can make room to continue discussing race, ethnicity and diversity in the country’s educational institutions.
“What happened in Harvard is an anti-intellectual posture by the government. This administration wants to keep people who consider the different immigrants, the port-hemorrose on the sidelines, as if they were not important,” says Laguna.
“What I do with this course is to put Puerto Rico to the center of the academic discussion. This allows us to understand the United States as an imperial power – something that our students rarely consider.”
Source: Terra
Rose James is a Gossipify movie and series reviewer known for her in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the latest releases. With a background in film studies, she provides engaging and informative reviews, and keeps readers up to date with industry trends and emerging talents.
