longer.blue

Cultural notes on Bad Bunny’s halftime show as a Puerto Rican: Sugar cane and Machetes: The island's colonial history began with the slave trade and sugarcane plantations, among the most brutal plantation a slave could be sent to. They were given machetes to cut cane with. Those same machetes were used as prominent weapons during the Hatian revolution, and became a symbol of resistance and revolution throughout the Caribbean, including Puerto Rico. That's why you often see machete symbolism in Puertorican iconography. Dominos: A beloved Puertorican passtime. A traditional game that originated in Puerto Rico. Tios sitting around playing dominos is a cultural memory. Food trucks and stands: All over the island (and in New York!) Boxing: Puerto Rico is known for its world renown boxing champions, many of them are national heroes. One of the highest number of boxing champions per capita. Kid sleeping on chairs: Every Latino has seen that kid, every latino has been that kid. Classic sight. New York imagery: There have been several great migrations from Puerto Rico to the United states, with New York being the USA's largest Puertorican diaspora hub. Much of the city's culture has been shaped by Puertorican diaspora. Salsa music originated in New York from Puertorican and Cuban diaspora mingling and creating something new. Fun Fact: Cuba is our sister nation. Puerto Rico modeled their flag after Cuba's in solidarity when they joined forces against the Spanish during the Cuban-Puertorican Independence Movement where both countries are described as two wings of the same bird". It's impossible to talk about Cuban or Puertorican history without mentioning the other. La Pava: Those iconic straw hats you see everywhere, wor all over rural Puerto Rico. Huge cultural icon. Traditionally woven from "cane trash" which is the parts of the cane you cut off before processing. Dancing on powerlines: Outages are common in Puerto Rico as a direct result of the US privatizing our power grids. Black outs have become a symbol of American oppression. Especially after Hurricane Maria. That's why the powerlines blew out during the concert and the music abruptly stopped. Bad Bunny calling the names of every country in the Americas: Because of the targeted abductions (yes, ABDUCTIONS because that's what it is) on latino communities cannot safely speak out. Puerto Rico as a US territory with full American citizenship is in a unique position to speak out without fear of deportation. Bad Bunny is using his privilege as both a Latino and a born American citizen to speak out for the entirety of Latin America. Note that the United States was not the first, nor last country he called out. By doing that he placed the US on level with every other country in the Americas. A subtle way to denounce USA supremacy. The ball said Together We are America. America (continent).