Real Reflections: Bad Bunny’s “NUEVAYoL” Video Shows How The Culture of Puerto Rico is Bigger Than America Ever Could Be
Words By Jordan Esparza-Kelley
1977 Occupation of the Statue of Liberty
On July 4th, most Americans celebrate what they claim to be a day of “independence.” But what does this really mean when they continue to colonize and rule over the island of Puerto Rico, which has never had a true independence day? Puerto Rican megastar Bad Bunny called out this hypocrisy last July 4 by releasing the music video for his beloved song "NUEVAYoL," which speaks on casual life in New York City and his success as the biggest artist in the world.
Puerto Rico is an island in the Caribbean that has lived under the occupation and ownership of the United States since 1898. In order to draft more men into World War I in 1917, the native Puerto Ricans were given birthright in the form of a second-class citizenship. An island whose people are subjected to a contemporary colonial rule that values profit more than their presence, filling the island with expensive resorts that cater to wealthy mainland Americans and pricing many locals out in the process, forcing them to migrate to places such as Chicago, Florida, and New York City, to name a few.
The island of Puerto Rico was once completely unknown to the American government, so much so that when America defeated Spain in the Caribbean, they didn’t even know they had “won” it until reading about it in their Treaty. This led to America sending a military general to the Island to declare ownership, and implement himself as the governor in 1898.
As you can imagine, much has changed since 1898, except the colonial rule. From continuous electricity blackouts to failed hurricane responses by the United States, the island deals with severe colonial mismanagement and is consequently subjected to daily struggle that leads more and more to its depopulation.
I am not Puerto Rican, but I’ve lived my entire life alongside them. Growing up in Waukegan, IL, a metropolitan city north of Chicago, there usually wasn’t any divide between the Mexican and Puerto Rican communities. My mother’s best friend, who I would consider my aunt, is Puerto Rican and took care of me like I was her own, alongside her own. We share our meals, dance together, and learn about each other through the simple act of being neighbors.
Thus, most of the imagery in the “NUEVAYoL” video was familiar to me; from the dances to the fashion to the plethora of diversity amongst the Puerto Rican people. The video also includes a skit that contains a voice imitating the President of the United States apologizing to immigrants and saying that America would be nothing without them, leading to the men sitting around the radio to shake their heads and turn it off.
The biggest statement piece in the video is the flag of Puerto Rico draped across the forehead of the Statue of Liberty, the landmark that aims to symbolize freedom, opportunity, hope for newly arriving immigrants of all backgrounds as they enter their strange new land. This scene references October 25th, 1977, when Puerto Rican Nationalist groups, including former members of the Young Lords Organization, occupied the Statue of Liberty to demand the release of five Puerto Rican political prisoners being held in U.S. custody. The five were Lolita Lebron, Rafael Cancel Miranda, Irvin Flores Rodriguez, Andres Figueroa Cordero, and Oscar Collazo.
The combination of putting the flag on Lady Liberty and releasing this video on the 4th of July crafts the true narrative that America– a dying imperial country– will never be bigger than the people and culture of Puerto Rico. And in time, as all empires before, America will fall and the Puerto Rican people will still be here, singing, dancing, and loving life as they always have.
