The Take 2025 in Review: Why did Bad Bunny's anthem to Puerto Rico strike a global chord?
Dec 23, 2025
Jorell Meléndez-Badillo, an assistant professor of Latin American history and author, dives deep into Bad Bunny's anthem that resonates globally. He explains how the album reflects Puerto Rican history and cultural rhythms, linking colonialism and gentrification to contemporary struggles. Jorell discusses nostalgia used as resistance, the impact of tourism on local communities, and Bad Bunny's role in motivating youth political engagement. He also emphasizes the importance of recognizing the limits of celebrity activism while celebrating the joyful energy of the music.
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
Album As Historical Project
- Bad Bunny framed his album as a cultural and historical project that amplifies Puerto Rican history and musical legacies.
- Jorell Meléndez-Badillo says the record honors Salsa, Bomba, Plena, and other rhythms while teaching general histories many Puerto Ricans don't know.
Visualizers Used In Classrooms
- Jorell wrote historical narratives that accompany Bad Bunny's YouTube visualizers and designed them to be pedagogical.
- Some Puerto Rican teachers are already using those visualizers in classrooms, he says.
Centering Popular Resistance
- Bad Bunny insisted on general histories because many basic facts about U.S. rule and Puerto Rican agency are unknown.
- Jorell used his anti-colonial scholarship to highlight popular movements and working-class resistance often left out of curricula.