Bad Bunny walked out in a #64 jersey with āOCASIOā on the back.
Not Bad Bunny.
Not Benito.
His real name.
His family name.
Then he grabbed the mic and said:
āMy name is Benito Antonio MartĆnez Ocasio. And if today Iām here at the Super Bowl, itās because I never, never stopped believing in myself.ā
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 āun-American.ā
They said nobody would understand him.
They said having him perform was āridiculous.ā
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 worldās biggest stage.
All in his native language.
And he didnāt flinch.
His lyrics were clear messages:
āThey want to take the river from me, and the beach too. They want my neighborhood and for my grandma to leave.ā
āI should have taken more photos when I had you. Hopefully my loved ones will never move.ā
And that last line:
āOjalĆ” que los mĆos nunca se muden.ā
Hopefully my loved ones will never move.
Thatās about families being separated.
Forced to leave.
Displacement.
Yeah, he didnāt 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 Iām here for ALL of it!šš½
so happy for my papasito benito but i really need well-intentioned liberals to understand that his story is not about immigration and the american dream. itās about success DESPITE american colonization. itās about making it big, and still being able to call puerto rico home.
Healthcare is suicide prevention. Housing is suicide prevention. Food security is suicide prevention. Accessibility is suicide prevention. Having livable wages is suicide prevention. Equality is suicide prevention.
Two months ago a Democratic lawmaker, her husband and their dog was murdered in their home and there was no moment of prayer in Congress, no lowering of flags, a Republican senator openly mocked their death and other Republicans just ignored it.....
I also think itās interesting to now see all of these people on my tl that have never spoken out about anything - be so disgusted - where have you been during the documented genocide of Palestinian children on our screens????
actually no one is forcing you to put out a sympathy statement for someone who actively did everything possible to oppress you and direct violence towards you. some of yall look like clowns rn