A Universal Language
Thoughts on Bad Bunny and music and love
In 2009, I was in New York for a theater trip, and had the great pleasure of seeing an all-Spanish version of “West Side Story.” The story of rival white and Puerto Rican gangs is familiar from the stage show and the 1960s film. I didn’t need to speak Spanish to understand the story, appreciate the music and dancing, and follow the performance.
Now, I’m not a football fan, so I didn’t watch the Super Bowl. Nor did I tune in to see any of the celebrated commercials or the halftime concert with Bad Bunny.
Controversy seemed to burble up soon after the halftime performance. Almost everything online and the news channels these days seems to dredge up something untoward, making me often wonder what the hell I’m doing spending any time there. We all have much to worry about; why add to it? But that’s another story.
One person said about Bad Bunny’s performance, “No one could understand the words.” That person was the President of the United States. According to USAFacts, 65 million people in the US speak Spanish, with 45 million using it as their primary language.
A friend sent me a clip of the Bad Bunny show, and I found it fun and joyful.
Ironic how people attend operas and listen to beautiful music in Italian or other languages, and it doesn’t seem to be an issue.
To me, it sounds like an issue of racism, or at the very least, not understanding another culture. The USA is a melting pot and always has been. When my immigrant relatives came from the provinces that would eventually make up Germany, they spoke German until the First World War, when we fought Germany. My mother could remember hearing some German from her paternal grandparents, who were two generations away from the Fatherland. Both of her paternal grandparents died in the late 1940s and were proud of their German heritage.
Thankfully, Bad Bunny had legions of supporters and fans who validated his performance. He is from Puerto Rico, a proud part of our country, and affirming his love for fellow Puerto Ricans was joyful and great. We need more of that, not less.
Please restack if you like, and I would love to know what you think. Please comment.
Great reply to the truth on so many layers of such a great and symbolic performance.
I didn’t watch the game but did watch the half time show. While I might have liked some subtitles to know the words being said and sung, I truly enjoyed it. It was outstanding. Pity the poor folk who were critical and even more so if they were opposed but didn’t watch it.
By the way, all my great grandparents were of German descent and so were some of my grandparents. My mom said German was spoke at her home and didn’t speak much English until she started school.