Good evening everyone, my name is Jordyn Vargas and I’m proud to be presenting a speech dedicated to one of the most amazing and admirable people in the world, Bentio Antonio Martinez Ocasio, better known as Bad Bunny. For those who don’t know Bad Bunny, Bad Bunny is a Puerto Rican rapper, singer, record producer, fashion designer, and philanthropist. He has won 11 Grammys and has 9 studio albums. Bad Bunny was born on March 10, 1994 in Bayamón, Puerto Rico. He grew up in Vega Baja, Puerto Rico with his family and friends. His parents, Lysaurie Ocasio and Tito Martínez, have always been supportive to Bad Bunny and his younger brothers Bernie and Bysael. As a young boy, Bad Bunny was influenced by his neighborhood to become a singer and has always had the passion and skill to become one.
When Bad Bunny was in elementary school, he participated in the choir, which showed his parents the amazing skill that he had. As the years went by, Bad Bunny kept practicing and showing his family his talent. He was also a very thoughtful and kind person who would always care for his community. Bad Bunny was always representing his culture in any way he could, and cared deeply about his religion. He was also a very loyal and proud boy. At age 13, Bad Bunny began writing songs inspired by many Latin artists like Daddy Yankee and Hector Lavoe. By 2017, he dropped his first single called, “Mayores,” which featured Becky G. After that, he became more popular and dropped his debut hit album, “X 100PRE.” This album set the tone and path for him and grasped the attention of other singers.
When Bad Bunny released his hit song, “Yo Perreo Sola,” it put him on top of his career and quickly became a hit song. Bad Bunny was not just singing to become famous, but to spread a message to the world. In the year that “Yo Perreo Sola” came out, a transgender woman named, Alexa Negrón Luciano, was murdered in Puerto Rico. Bad Bunny was disappointed that people were killing one another just because they were transgender. Throughout the music video, Bad Bunny has many hidden messages like “Ni Una Menos” which translates to “Not One Woman Less.” It references the feminist movement against gender-based violence. Bad Bunny advocates for everyone regardless of their gender. Once he made this problem known, people paid more attention to him because they realized his songs have important messages that should not be taken lightly.
By 2022, Bad Bunny already had 6 studio albums and was coming out with his album called, “Un Verano Sin Ti,” which made 435 million dollars! Bad Bunny donated even more money to Puerto Rico and made special contributions to certain things like special needs and school supplies. His most known contribution was to the damage that came from Hurricane Maria. These contributions were very important to the economy of Puerto Rico. The hurricane damaged so much of Puerto Rico, that the total economic damage was around $91.6 billion dollars. Bad Bunny helped out as many families as he could because he knew that it was and was going to be hard for so many to recover from this horrible tragedy.
Last year, Bad Bunny came out with his newest album called, “DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS.” This album is dedicated to Puerto Rico. There are many meanings behind the songs featured on the album. Once this album was released, Bad Bunny announced that he would host a residency that took place during the summer in Puerto Rico. The tour was called, “NO ME QUIERO IR DE AQUÍ” which translates to, “I don’t want to leave from here.” He hosted the residency in Puerto Rico to give back to his country with the money it will make in sales and tourism. This shows the love that Bad Bunny has for his country, and that he will do anything to help his people. Bad Bunny also announced later into his residency that he would make it a world tour traveling to other countries, except the U.S. He wanted to support other countries that would benefit from more money to support their citizens. With the current political status of the United States, Bad Bunny did not want to perform in the United States due to the current immigration status. Hence, why he made it so that U.S. citizens would travel to other countries and the countries would make money from sales and tourism.
Bad Bunny’s legacy will forever live on deeply in Puerto Rico thanks to his contributions. I think and hope that Bad Bunny will start a big organization or foundation that allows Puerto Rico to continue receiving major contributions to help the island. His achievements and contributions will always be a remembrance Puerto Ricans will keep in their hearts. He will always influence and impact the world and future with his strong messages and ideas. He is always making donations and contributions to people in need and makes sure that they get the resources they need. I hope that this speech about him helped you to learn about him and all the amazing things he does in life. Bad Bunny does a lot for the Latinx community and supports them in as many ways as possible, and to me, that is the definition of an activist. Bad Bunny has shown gratitude and love to the world, and his legacy will live forever.
Thank you for listening and I hope that now you look at Bad Bunny as more than just an artist, but a strong activist for all the communities.
Jordyn Vargas – Fenwick High School – DMSF Class of 2030
Photo Credit – Comecoquito – Wikimedia Commons