Benito Martinez, very well known as Bad Bunny, has definitely managed to capture national and international attention this year. His music has had a huge boom and it is very unlikely that someone does not know who this famous ragpicker is. What also contributed to his fame and boom is his attitude and behavior when it comes to his mass following and even with how he treats his non-followers. He has proven to be a humble and kind-hearted person through his deeds and words is what really matters in this life. Setting some of his more controversial lyrics aside, Bad Bunny is really trying to impact people positively, which is why there’s so much to love about him.
1. Estamos Bien
This song quickly became an anthem after its debut. It’s lyrics have a happy mellow vibe to it, and they are super positive. This is particularly poignant because the song is sometimes interpreted as a reaction to Hurricane María. “Estamos Bien” tells us to stay positive before all the bad things in life. It is the good face for bad times, giving importance and relevance to mental health.On the other hand, the visuals of the music video shows Bad Bunny painting his nails, this breaks stereotypes of the normative gender; we love how he always manages to do so.
2. The Jimmy Fallon Show
On September 2018, Bad Bunny was featured in the Jimmy Fallon show and before presenting his latest single Estamos Bien, he expressed a few words about how Hurricane Maria had treated Puerto Rico and how after a year we still had a lot of damage to attend: “One year after Hurricane Maria, there are still people without electric power in their homes. More than 3,000 people died and Trump is still in denial, but you know what: ‘Tamos Bien”. Then he went on to sing his song with images, from post-hurricane Puerto Rico, in the background. This was his first appearance on national television and he used it wisely to bring attention to the problems our island was facing.
3. Solo de Mí
In Puerto Rico, we are going through a terrifying state of emergency. They are abusing and they are killing women. Gender violence has had an alarming rise. In less than two months you can count on around 25 murders of women. Fear as anger has increased in the female community because we want to live and we want to be free but the government, on the other hand, does not see any problem. Bad Bunny a few days ago released her song Solo de Mí that tries to make a call against gender violence and also to achieve empowerment towards women being free and being themselves without having to explain to anyone. On Instagram, he put a caption demanding and questioning “When will we do something about it? When will we give it attention? “
4. Good Bunny foundation and gift giving
On December 23, Benito and the Good Bunny Foundation delivered around 30,000 toys for Puerto Rican children at the Roberto Clemente Coliseum. Among the toys were musical instruments for both the little ones and the older ones. Bad Bunny managed to bring that joy to Puerto Rican families and affirmed that he found his purpose, he said: “mi propósito es darle felicidad al mundo” (in English, “my purpose is to give happiness to the world”) When asked about the Good Bunny Foundation he answered: (translation) “is a foundation that we are starting it now. It’s something that came out of me, from the desire to want to contribute something to the youth, to the children. I have never said that my music is for children or for youth, but I am young and I was a child. And I know how it works, the children are always going to look for the songs. I wanted to give something to the youth of Puerto Rico to the children that I know that many follow me. Follow me or not, this is not for my fans, this is not a ‘meet and greet’, may come people who do not support my music. This is for the people to enjoy, children who may not receive a gift can find one here. “
5. Visit the hospital
The same day of the distribution of toys Bad Bunny makes a visit to the Pediatric Hospital and brought joy to the rooms by taking pictures with patients. They were thrilled to see him.
6. Donation to multiples foundations and grants
Last year Bad Bunny offered his hand after the hurricanes that hit Puerto Rico. He gave the victims a supply and even tried to bring them some joy. Apart from this Bad Bunny has made donations to foundations several times for example to the SER Foundation when he made an appearance on the telethon wanting to unnoticed to make his donation.
He may have started as a groceries bagger but now, he’s a millionaire, as he says in his song Desde el corazón, but there is no doubt that his change of economic position did not affect his humble heart and his desire to give back to Puerto Rico all the support and love that we give
7. Caro Music Video
On January 23 Bad Bunny released the music video of one of his songs from his new album X100pre, Caro. As if the song had not been enough, he surprised us with a video full of hidden messages, highlighting the most important of all, love yourself. The lyrics of the song tell us how we are all important and we are worth gold no matter what. He even mentions how “Las reglas yo las rompo y las reparo” ( Traduction: “I take the rules, I break them and I repair them”), this also shows how Benito breaks with the role that the patriarchy has assigned to him, freeing himself and extending the invitation to us. The video features a variety of models that break the streak of what “models should be” it features, women plus size, pregnant, down syndrome, transgender, and much more, and all of them take on the catwalk. Near the end of the song he questions why it can not be like that, he just wants to be happy, and he doesn’t seek to hurt anyone.
Bad Bunny:
Thank you for promoting the name of Puerto Rico to the entire world. Thank you for worrying about those who most deserve our attention and for pointing out what deserves to be pointed out. We know you ain’t a santito but you’re big, Benito. Your people appreciate you very much, keep on behaving well so that next year Santa and los reyes will continue to bring you gifts.