Puerto Rico’s Light Blue Flag and several coastal landscapes reflect the star’s most comprehensive political perspectives on the island
Should not surprise anyone who Bad Bunny has chosen his own 31 -year anniversary to launch the long -awaited music video “La Mudanza”. The track is an effervescent parsley that, as well as “BAILE INOLVIDABLE”— Other great success of “I have to take bad pictures”“If you inspire the age of fat parsley.” But it’s not just a musical tribute; The song is deeply personal. It begins with a spoken passage, where Benito narrates the story of how his parents met by chance in the 1990s and eventually had their son who would become a global superstrela.
The video plunges into memory, opening with vintage photos of the people mentioned in the song: your father, Benite; your grandfather, Benite (You can already notice a pattern); And finally, your mother, Lysaurieaffectionately called “Lisy“. Soon after, the narrative becomes a stylized recreation of the day when the newborn Benito left the hospital-with his younger brother, Bernie Martínezinterpreting the father. While young parents move away, the baby Benite Already start to rhyme along with the music.
From there, the video adopts a more political and activist language, a conductive thread that crosses all DTMF From the first single, “El Club”. There are echoes of “El Apagón” (2022), from the album UN Verano Sin Tiwhich came with an 18 -minute documentary, in which the journalist Bianca Graulau He addressed persistent problems in Puerto Rico – such as the privatization of the beaches and the unbridled gentrification.
In “La Mudanza”, Bad Bunny and your longtime employee, the creative director Janthony Oliverasfill the clip of explicit references to the resistance and pro-independence movements status colonial of the island. Until 2023, the artist avoided taking a definitive political position, but last year, he broke silence and supported openly Juan Dalmaupro-independence candidate for the government of Puerto Rico in the 2024 elections. However, this was not the first time he has insinuated his alignment with the movement.
Next, we contextualized some of the images of the clip and its meaning within Bad Bunny’s political vision about Puerto Rico.
The light blue flag
In 1948, the Senate Puerto Rican approved the infamous LEY DE LA MORDAZA (or “Gag Law”), which made a crime the possession or exhibition of the Porto Rican flag, the production of pro-independence texts and even the association with sympathizers of the movement. Repealed just nine years later, the law left a trail of repression, violence and deaths.
Bad Bunny refers to this period in music when it sings:
Here mataaron people for dirty la pandera,
For this one that ahora yo la llevo where quiera.(“Here they killed people for lifting the flag,
That’s why I take her with me wherever he goes. “)
In the clip, he holds the high flag while running through a field, pursued by figures representing the forces of the law.
The flag in question is not the official version approved by the government in 1995, but the light blue variation, historically associated with the pro-independence movement. The clearest tone refers to the revolutionary flag of the city of Lares, used during the Hallow in 1868 against Spanish rule. Since then, September 23, the date of the revolt, has become a symbolic landmark for the defenders of Porto-Rican Independence.
Protests in Vieques
At one point in the clip, black and white images of protesters confront US troops. Some of these photos, captured by the renowned photographer Ricardo Alcaraz and others portray protests against the military occupation of Vieques Island, which lasted from the late 1970s until the early 2000s. For decades, the US Navy used alleys as a training field, launching hundreds of bombs in the immediate vicinity of the island and exposing its residents to toxic substances. Critics point out that alleys has a 30% higher cancer rate than the rest of Puerto Rico – although the US government has never taken responsibility for the environmental impact and health of the population.
Protecting the back
Bad Bunny It made the preservation of the beaches of Puerto Rico one of its flags when talking about the future of the island. His latest video ends with a sequence of images of different coastal, including the iconic Punta Higüero headlight in Rincón, on the west coast – a destination beloved by tourists and residents.
The choice of these scenes may seem only aesthetic at first glance, but it carries a deeper meaning. One of the most heated debates currently involves the project “Esiness”, Supported by Mandarin East Hotel Group and other foreign investors. The proposal aims to transform Boquerón Bay in Cabo Rojo into a “cosmopolitan coastal community”, privatizing over 2,000 acres of land. The plan includes luxury hotels, exclusive residences, golf courses and private schools – an enclave for a few at the expense of public access to the coast.
In recent months, protests against the project have intensified. Public forums bring together environmentalists, residents, activists and investors representatives to decide the destination of the construction. To Bad Bunny and many Porto Ricans, Esiness It is a foreshadowing of a future where real estate speculation takes over the beaches – something already underway in the city of Fajardo, east of the island.
By displaying the natural beauty of the Porto-Rican back, Benite It seems to send a clear message: “That’s what they want to take us.” A position that echoes its previous criticisms in “El Apagón” and your latest track, “Lo that le pasó to Hawaii”.
Host
Although it did not appear in the final cut of the video, the director Janthony Oliveras revealed a behind -the -scenes image showing a mural of Eugenio María de Hostos In the set of the closing music scene. In the track, Benite Singing:
Si mañana Muero yo I hope never Olviden Mi Rostro,
Y Pongan Un MEO EL DIDI that betrayed hosts.(“If I die tomorrow, I hope you never forget my face,
And play one of my songs the day they brought hosts back. ”)
Eugenio María de Hostos He was a lawyer, educator, philosopher and one of the central figures of the Porto-Rican Pro-independence movement. He died in 1903 in the Dominican Republic, disagreeing with the fact that Puerto Rico only exchanged a colonizer (Spain) for another (USA). Her final wish was categorical: she didn’t want to be buried on the island until she was indeed free.
With this context in mind, the words of Bad Bunny They gain even more weight. Its position could not be more explicit: as Calderón Tego Before him, Benite It became the most popular musical voice to support Puerto Rico’s independence.
* Article published in Rolling Stone originally on March 12, 2025. See here.
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Source: Rollingstone
Earl Johnson is a music writer at Gossipify, known for his in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the industry. A graduate of USC with a degree in Music, he brings years of experience and passion to his writing. He covers the latest releases and trends, always on the lookout for the next big thing in music.
