Bad Bunny walked out in a #64 jersey with โOCASIOโ on the back.
Not Bad Bunny.
Not Benito.
His real name.
His family name.
Then he grabbed the mic and said:
โMy name is Benito Antonio Martรญnez Ocasio. And if today Iโm here at the Super Bowl, itโs because I never, never stopped believing in myself.โ
In Spanish.
No translation.
Even the jumbotron was in Spanish.
And I watched the whole thing with a translator on.
Because the message was that important to me.
They said he was โun-American.โ
They said nobody would understand him.
They said having him perform was โridiculous.โ
And he SHOWED OUT!
He brought out Lady Gaga and Ricky Martin.
He staged a wedding on the field.
He recreated a bodega.
He gave us a whole scene of family and love.
He humanized an entire culture on the worldโs biggest stage.
All in his native language.
And he didnโt flinch.
His lyrics were clear messages:
โThey want to take the river from me, and the beach too. They want my neighborhood and for my grandma to leave.โ
โI should have taken more photos when I had you. Hopefully my loved ones will never move.โ
And that last line:
โOjalรก que los mรญos nunca se muden.โ
Hopefully my loved ones will never move.
Thatโs about families being separated.
Forced to leave.
Displacement.
Yeah, he didnโt chase the mainstream.
He made the mainstream come to him.
He put his family name on his back and told 120 million people exactly who he is.
And Iโm here for ALL of it!๐๐ฝ