It Should Surprise No One That Bad Bunny Decided to Drop the Long-Anticipated Music Video for “Mudanza” on his 31st Birthday. The song is a riotous Salsa track that – like one of Debí Tirar Más Photos'Other Mega Hits, “Baile forwardvidable” – Borrows from the Gorda sauce He was of the genre. It's Deeply Personal, Too: It Opens with a Spochen Word Snippet of Benito Retellling The Story of How His Parents Came of Age in the Nineties, Crosted Paths Serenditusly, and possibly Had the Kid Who is now an International Superstar.
The Video Opens With A Trip Down Memory Lane, with Vintage Photos Showing The People He Mentions: His Father Benito, His Grandfather Benito (A Pattern Emerges), and possibly His Mother “Lisy,” Short for Lysourie. From there it cuts to a fictionalized and highly stylized recreation of the day newborn Benito Left the Hospital, with his Dad Played by his Younger Brother Bernie Martínez. AS The New Parents Drive Away, Baby Benito Begins Rapping Along to the Lyrics.
Following that, The Video Pivots to the More Political and Activist Symbolism That has been the backbone of Dtmf Since Its Very First Single, “El Clúb.” It all calls back to 2022's “el apagón,” off as album A verano sin youwhich tacked on an 18-minute long documentary short. In The Short, Journalist Bianca Graulau Report on Topics That Continue To Concern Local Puerto Ricans, Including The Loss of Access to Public Beaches and Gentrification of Their Neighborhoods.
For “La Mudanza” Bad Bunny and Longtime Creative Director Janthony Oliveras Pepered the video with over Nods to Puerto Rico's Pro-Independence and Decades-Long Resistance Movements. It Wasn'T Until Last Year That Bad Bad Bunny Made As Close to a full-Throated endorsement of his favorite political status for the archipelago, which has been a US colony (or “Commonwealth”) since 1898. Dalmau in the 2024 ELECTIONS, But it Wasn't the first time he hinted at being partial to the moovement. Below, We Contextualize Some of the Images Found in the Video, and How They Fit Into His View of Puerto Rican Politics.
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Light Blue Flag
In 1948, The Puerto Rican Sente Senate What Became Known As the Gag Law (or “Ley de Mordaza”) Which Criminalized the Ownership and Display of the Puerto Rican Flag, Writing Pro-Independence Propaganda Or Essays, or Associating With Anyone Who Hold Pro-Indendence Towws. While it was repealed Nine Years Later, Many Puerto Ricans Faced Violence and Even Death During that time for Their views.
Bad Bunny References This in the Song, When he Sings “Aquí Mataron People Por Sacar La BanderaPor eso es que ahora yo la llevo dude quiera “ (“They killed people for waven the flag, that's Why now I take her everywhere.”) In the video, he's Shown Holding the flag up High as He Races Through a Field, with actors ostensibly reprusting Law Enforcement Sprinting after Him.
The Puerto Rican Flag He Holds is the “Light Blue” Variation. This Version, different from the Government's Formally approved One Used Since 1995, is Commonly Associated With the Pro-Independence Movement As the Light Blue Said to be taken from the “Revolutionary Flag” of the Town of Lare Using During the Grit de lares Revolt of 1868 Against the then-ruling Spanish Government. The Date of the Revolt, September 23rd, Has Become An Important Date for Sympathizers of the Pro-Independence Movement.
Vieques Protests
At One Point in the Video, You Can See Black-And-White Images of Protestors Facing Off With the US Military. The Photos, Taken by Acclaimed Photographer Ricardo Alcaraz and Others, Depict Protests That Occurred in the Late-1970s Through Late-1990s Against the Continued Occupation of a Large Part of the Island Town of Vieques by A US Naval Facility and Training Range. Over the Decades, The Us Dropped Hundreds of Bombs on the outskirts of the Island, Which ExposeD Many Residents Living Downwind to number chemicals. Critics have pointed out than vat veques a cancer installments that is 30 percent higher than in Mainland Puerto Rico, Signaling Possible Toxins and Poisoning at the Hands of the US
In 1999, During Another Exercise, A Bomb Exploded Close to Outpost, Killing Security Guard David Sa Sa Saish Rodríguez and Injuring Four Others. This escapalated the backlash against the navy's present on the Island, Prompting Massive Protests, Acts of Civil Disobedience, and Encampments. Numberus Public Figures Attention These and Were Arrested for Trespassing During Police Raids, Including Actors Edward James Olmos and Jimmy Smits Who are of Puerto Rican Descent. In 2003, after number studies and debates, the base finally closed and cleanup comments to eliminate Any Remaining Environmental Contamination.
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Protecting the Coasts
Benito Has Made SafeGuarding The Beaches of Puerto Rico One of His Top Priorities When he speaks About the Future of the Island. The video ends with number in insert shots of different coastines, including the tip Higüero Lighthouse of the west coast town of trace, to popular attraction for tourists and locals.
The Reason He Closes The Video With These Might Seem Innocuous at First, but It Might Have A Larger Symbolic Purpose: One of the Main Debates Happening Right Now in Puerto Rico Involves the Development of a Project Called “Esseia” Which is Backed by the Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group and Other outsis financiers. It proposes the Construction of a “Cosmopolitan Coastal Community” in Boquerón Bay in the Town of Cabo Rojo, and Privatitizes over 2,000 acres of land – Including a Large Swath of the Coast – For the Use of Hotels, Private Homes, Golf Courses, Private Schools, and More. Protests Have Been Ramping Up The Past Few Months, and the Project is Currently in the Middle of Ongoing Public Forums with Environmentalists, Cabo Rojo Locals, Activists, Representatives of Essencia's Backers, and More Debating Wheer To Lastelly Grant Final Permission for Construction to Compence in Full. Exenia is, to bad bunny and others, in Harbinger of What can be Expected in the Near Future If Action Isn't Taken (A Similar Project Is Almedey Under Way in the Eastern Town of Fajardo). Showing Off the Lushness of the Coasts can be Seen As Benito's Way of Saying “This is what they want to take from us,” as he's Mentioned Before in “El Apagón” and on his recent track “Lo que le pasó a hawaii.”
Hostos
While it doesn'T make an appearance in the Final Cut of the Video, Director Janthony Oliveras Shared a Behind-The-Scens Snap of a Mural Featuring Eugenio María de Hostos That was on set during shooting of the closing musical number. In the Song, Benito Sobs: “YES MAñana Muero Yo Espero Que Nunca Olviden Mi Rostro, Y Pongan a theme mío el día que traigan a hostos“ (“If I Die Tomorrow i Hope You Never Forget My Face, And Play One of My Songs The Day Bring Back Hostos”.)
Eugenio María de Hostos Was in Puerto Rican Lawyer, Educator, Philosopher, Sociologist, and Considered One of the Main Figures of the Puerto Rican Pro-Independence Movement's Nasent Days. He Diad in 1903 in the Dominican Republic, inhamayed that Puerto Rico Went from one colonizer (Spain) to another (US) and decelared that he didn'T Want to be buried there util it was finally a free country. Knowing This Context, and Listening Back to Benito's Lyrics, It Becomes Quite Clear That His Stance is Hardly Subtle. There Remains Little Doubt That Bad Bad Bunny is the Most Popular Artist Since Tego Calderón, His Musical Hero, To Back His Homeland's Interation to Become Its Own Independent Nation.
