Bad Bunny Isn’t Diversity. He’s Domination.

His presence on stage doesn’t seek inclusion or approval: it reveals the shift in cultural power in the United States

Bad Bunny hosting SNL last night

Substack

What really bothers them isn’t that Bad Bunny sings in Spanish. Or even that he sings at all. What they truly can’t stand is that he does it from a place of power.

The rage from MAGA supporters, the “anti-woke” warriors, the ones shouting “speak English” from their digital bunkers—it really has nothing to do with music. It’s about power. Or more precisely, about losing it. While they cling to a version of the United States that no longer exists, the world—their world—is already moving to another language, another beat, another body. And that drives them mad.

It enrages them that it’s a Puerto Rican doing it, someone coming from that Caribbean colony. One they can desecrate however they want, whenever they want, but one that exists, reaffirms itself, and projects outward. And that drives them insane.

There was a time when a Latino had to “cross over.” You had to sing in English, soften your accent, translate yourself. Ironically, it was another Puerto Rican—Ricky Martin—who opened those doors the most. He followed the path paved by many before him, like José Feliciano or Raúl Juliá, just to name a few. But it was Ricky who broke the backbone that made a true “crossover” possible, something not even the Miami Sound Machine had achieved before. That iconic 1999 Grammy performance of Ricky Martin still lingers in the collective memory and left a lasting impact. https://youtu.be/KwJGfl68Rsg?si=znpkujVj7VQ3WA0z

From that moment came the “Latin boom” that opened doors for many—Shakira, JLo, J Balvin, and countless others—but now it’s different.

Now the path is reversed: it’s the mainstream crosses into reggaetón, into the Caribbean, into something that doesn’t need white approval. Bad Bunny didn’t set out to conquer America. America came to him. And he never asked for subtitles.

That’s not inclusion. That’s domination.

What we saw last night on Saturday Night Live wasn’t just a performance. It was a rupture, a glitch in the system. A guy who isn’t a trained actor, isn’t a comedian, doesn’t force a smile, doesn’t beg to be liked. And yet, he captivates. Because Bad Bunny doesn’t try to fit in. He occupies space. And somehow, that’s more than enough. https://youtu.be/A0Pt7qHpWNg?si=aVXiPpRUMPp-d7J2

That’s why SNL wants him. That’s why the NFL needs him. Because both institutions are aging poorly, losing audience, their spark, and pulse. And here comes this Puerto Rican who, without even trying, becomes their cultural oxygen mask. What looks like a golden ticket for him is, in truth, a lifeline for them.

And that stings. Because it completely flips the hierarchy: it’s no longer the artist who needs the system. It’s the system that needs the artist to survive.

This also annoys people in Puerto Rico who profit from maintaining the colony and keeping people controlled and robotic—but in Trump’s America and among the MAGA crowd, this creates a crisis.

They call him “dangerous,” but they book him. They criticize him, but they stream him. They complain they don’t understand him, yet they play him anyway. Because deep down, they know their language is no longer the one in charge. It’s Bad Bunny’s.

This isn’t the story of a Latino who finally “arrived.” It’s the story of an America that quietly slipped away.

Bad Bunny doesn’t stand for inclusion. He stands for what comes after. He doesn’t sneak in through the service door of American entertainment. He arrives on a throne, without changing his language, without slowing his rhythm, without giving up a thing. And that’s why they rage. Because the future no longer translates the present for them. Because, deep down, they know the song isn’t meant for them.

And here’s the most radical part: Bad Bunny probably doesn’t even care. He doesn’t want to please. He doesn’t want to integrate. He just wants to exist. And in a country where “others” have always had to ask for permission, his simple presence is already a declaration of independence.