{"id":26752,"date":"2026-02-27T10:03:09","date_gmt":"2026-02-27T18:03:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/?p=26752"},"modified":"2026-03-02T10:05:52","modified_gmt":"2026-03-02T18:05:52","slug":"bad-bunny-says-reggaeton-is-puerto-rican-but-it-was-born-in-panama","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/bad-bunny-says-reggaeton-is-puerto-rican-but-it-was-born-in-panama\/","title":{"rendered":"Bad Bunny says reggaeton is Puerto Rican, but it was born in\u00a0Panama"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n    \n                                          \n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--article-hero \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--article-hero\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n<div class=\"inner-wrapper\">\n          \n<div class=\"f--field f--image\">\n\n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \n              \n      <img\n                            data-src=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/02\/bad-bunny-frizzell-top-768x432.jpg\"\n          data-srcset=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/02\/bad-bunny-frizzell-top-1920x1080.jpg 1920w,https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/02\/bad-bunny-frizzell-top-1280x720.jpg 1280w,https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/02\/bad-bunny-frizzell-top-768x432.jpg 768w\"          data-sizes=\"(min-width:1200px) 75vw, (min-width:768px) 83vw, 100vw\"          class=\"lazyload\"\n        \n                  alt=\"Bad Bunny wears a straw hat on the beach at dusk\"\n        \n        \n                                      \/>\n\n    \n    \n  \n  \n\n<\/div>\n  \n      <div class=\"image-caption\">\n          \n<div class=\"f--field f--description\">\n\n    \n  Puerto Rican reggaeton artist Bad Bunny performed the Super Bowl halftime show on Feb. 8 in Santa Clara, Calif. (Image source: Apple Music.)\n\n\n<\/div>\n    <\/div>\n  \n  <div class=\"text-wrapper\">\n          <nav aria-label=\"Breadcrumb\" class=\"breadcrumbs\">\n        <ul>\n                      <li><a href=\"\/news\/stories\/\">News<\/a><\/li>\n                      <li><a href=\"\/news\/stories\/\/?category=arts-and-culture\">Arts and Culture<\/a><\/li>\n                  <\/ul>\n      <\/nav>\n    \n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--page-title\">\n\n    \n  <h1>Bad Bunny says reggaeton is Puerto Rican, but it was born in\u00a0Panama<\/h1>\n\n\n<\/div>\n    \n          <div class=\"subtitle\">\n            \n<div class=\"f--field f--description\">\n\n    \n  Emerging from a swirl of sonic influences, reggaeton began as Panamanian protest music long before Puerto Rican artists turned the genre into a global phenomenon.\n\n\n<\/div>\n      <\/div>\n    \n           <strong class=\"author-field\"><span >By<\/span><a href=\"mailto:communication@dornsife.usc.edu\">Brendan Frizzell<\/a><\/strong>\n    \n          <span class=\"post-date-field\">February 27, 2026<\/span>\n      <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--social-share \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--social-share\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n  <div class=\"content-wrapper\">\n    <span class=\"a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 addtoany_list\" style=\"line-height: 32px;\">\n      <span class=\"title\">\n        Share\n      <\/span>\n                        <a class=\"a2a_button_copy_link\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"\/#copy_link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"Link\">\n            <span class=\"a2a_svg a2a_s__default a2a_s_copy_link\">\n              <svg height=\"19\" viewBox=\"0 0 19 19\" width=\"19\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"m7.43475275 9.52380952-2.17490843 2.26076008c-1.08745421 1.058837-1.68841575 2.518315-1.68841575 4.0350275 0 1.5167124.60096154 2.9475732 1.68841575 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xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"m8.14285714 9.42857143c-.17142857 0-.34285714 0-.51428571.08571428l7.28571427 6.34285719c.3428572.2571428.6857143.2571428.9428572 0l7.2857142-6.34285719c-.0857142-.08571428-.2571428-.08571428-.4285714-.08571428zm-1.28571428 1.11428567v.1714286 8.5714286c0 .6857143.6 1.2857143 1.28571428 1.2857143h14.57142856c.6857143 0 1.2857143-.6 1.2857143-1.2857143v-8.5714286c0-.0857143 0-.0857143 0-.1714286l-7.2 6.3428572c-.7714286.6857143-1.8857143.6857143-2.6571429 0z\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\" transform=\"translate(-6 -9)\"\/><\/svg>\n            <\/span>\n            <span class=\"a2a_label visually-hidden\">Email<\/span>\n          <\/a>\n                  <\/span>\n  <\/div>\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n \n\n\n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--rich-text \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--rich-text\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n      \n<div class=\"f--field f--wysiwyg\">\n\n    \n  <p>Bad Bunny likes to remind the world where he and his music come from.<\/p>\n<p>In \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/genius.com\/Genius-english-translations-bad-bunny-eoo-english-translation-lyrics\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">EoO<\/a>,\u201d a song from his 2025 album \u201cDeB\u00cd TiRAR M\u00e1S FOToS,\u201d he raps, \u201c\u2018T\u00e1s escuchando m\u00fasica de Puerto Rico\u201d (\u201cYou\u2019re listening to music from Puerto Rico\u201d). Similarly, in the album\u2019s second track, \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/genius.com\/Bad-bunny-voy-a-llevarte-pa-pr-lyrics\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">VOY A LLeVARTE PA PR<\/a>,\u201d he announces that both he and reggaeton were born in Puerto Rico: \u201cAqu\u00ed nac\u00ed yo y el reggaet\u00f3n, pa\u2019 que sepa\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/genius.com\/Bad-bunny-super-bowl-lx-halftime-show-sample\/interpolations\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Puerto Rican artists like Bad Bunny<\/a> certainly helped popularize the genre. But they didn\u2019t create it.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/soci\/profile\/brendan-frizzell\/\">In my own research of Latin America<\/a>, I\u2019ve explored how reggaeton comes from the small Central American nation of Panama, where the sound emerged from a swirl of sonic influences that included Spanish conquistadors, Caribbean immigrants and American colonizers.<\/p>\n<h2>English and Spanish collide<\/h2>\n<p>Understanding reggaeton requires understanding the intermingling of cultures and languages that Panama experienced over a relatively short period of time.<\/p>\n<p>After Panama gained its independence from Spain in 1821, it became part of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Gran-Colombia\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Gran Colombia<\/a>, which, at its peak, included modern-day Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador and Panama.<\/p>\n<p>Throughout the 19th century, Panama experienced population growth and mass industrialization, and <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1080\/03007760802218046\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">waves of Afro Caribbean immigrants<\/a> arrived in northern Panama in search of economic opportunities. Since they came from former British colonies, many of them spoke English. Meanwhile, the many Afro Panamanians already living in the country, whose descendants had been trafficked as slaves, spoke Spanish.<\/p>\n<p>These linguistic distinctions resulted in two primary groups of Black people in Panama: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.jstor.org\/stable\/j.ctvx1hsp3\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Spanish-speaking Afro Panamanians and English-speaking West Indians<\/a>. They worked alongside one another on construction projects, <a href=\"https:\/\/minorityrights.org\/communities\/afro-panamanians\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">such as the trans-Isthmus railroad<\/a>, in the mid-19th century. But with their different languages, colonial histories and cultures, they <a href=\"https:\/\/alternativas.osu.edu\/en\/issues\/spring-2014\/essays1\/watson.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">didn\u2019t always get along<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>In 1903, Panama separated from Gran Colombia, becoming the independent nation we know today. The U.S. had supported Panama\u2019s independence for strategic reasons: It wanted to build and control the Panama Canal <a href=\"https:\/\/billofrightsinstitute.org\/essays\/the-panama-canal\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">to secure influence over maritime trade and military movement<\/a> in the Western Hemisphere. While Gran Colombia had rebuffed earlier U.S. overtures, leaders of the newly independent Panama were more receptive to American interests.<\/p>\n<h2>Jim Crow is imported to the Canal Zone<\/h2>\n<p>Police brutality, exploitation and intra-racial and interracial tensions also served as scaffolding for reggaeton.<\/p>\n<p>During the canal\u2019s construction, the U.S. operated and controlled the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/Panama-Canal\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Panama Canal Zone<\/a>, a 553 square-mile (1,432 square-kilometer) parcel of land encompassing the canal. Up to 60,000 people lived there while the canal was being built, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/cities\/2016\/apr\/06\/story-cities-16-panama-canal-zone-history-us-run-divided-city\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">with residents segregated by race into \u201cgold roll\u201d and \u201csilver roll\u201d workers<\/a>. Gold roll workers were usually white. Silver roll workers were Black, and they were tasked with the most dangerous jobs.<\/p>\n<p>The Canal Zone\u2019s white residents were far more likely to have access to health services and have proper sanitation; Afro Panamanian and immigrant workers <a href=\"http:\/\/ufdc.ufl.edu\/AA00021182\/00001\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">from Barbados, the Antilles, Jamaica and other Caribbean countries<\/a> were much more likely <a href=\"https:\/\/journalofethics.ama-assn.org\/article\/how-racism-and-tropical-medicine-built-panama-canal\/2024-02\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">to be exposed to \u2014 and die from <\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/journalofethics.ama-assn.org\/article\/how-racism-and-tropical-medicine-built-panama-canal\/2024-02\">\u2014<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/journalofethics.ama-assn.org\/article\/how-racism-and-tropical-medicine-built-panama-canal\/2024-02\"> malaria<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>West Indians and Afro Panamanians also <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1017\/mah.2024.8\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">experienced police brutality<\/a>. Black women, in particular, were harassed by white police officers, who often accused them of sex work.<\/p>\n<p>While both West Indians and Afro Panamanians were subjected to segregation and police brutality, the Americans running the Canal Zone tended to treat the English-speaking West Indians better. Meanwhile, children born and raised in the Canal Zone were <a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/four-things-you-should-know-about-the-panama-canals-turbulent-past-61729\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">only taught English in schools<\/a>, which Afro Panamanians resented.<\/p>\n<p>These tensions led to the rise of \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1017\/mah.2024.8\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">paname\u00f1ismo<\/a>,\u201d a movement that sought to preserve and promote Spanish language and culture in Panama. This movement culminated in the passing of restrictive immigration laws targeted at West Indians and stripping second-generation West Indians of their citizenship.<\/p>\n<p>Despite these anti-West Indian policies, many Jamaican, Barbadian and Antillean immigrants who had already built a life in Panama remained in the country even after the canal was completed in 1914.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_26759\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-26759\" style=\"width: 2000px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-26759 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/02\/panama-canal-gatun-locks-construction.jpg\" alt=\"Black-and-white photo of laborers working on scaffolding at Panama Canal gate \" width=\"2000\" height=\"1150\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/02\/panama-canal-gatun-locks-construction.jpg 2000w, https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/02\/panama-canal-gatun-locks-construction-500x288.jpg 500w, https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/02\/panama-canal-gatun-locks-construction-1024x589.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/02\/panama-canal-gatun-locks-construction-768x442.jpg 768w, https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/02\/panama-canal-gatun-locks-construction-1536x883.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-26759\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Laborers work from scaffolding during the construction of the gates of Gatun Locks at the Panama Canal, c. 1914. (Photo: Detroit Publishing Company\/Library of Congress.)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2>Reggae with a Spanish twist<\/h2>\n<p>In the 1960s and 1970s, Jamaicans introduced <a href=\"https:\/\/musicmap.info\/\">three subgenres of reggae<\/a> \u2014 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.clashmusic.com\/features\/mento-reggaes-forgotten-past\/\">mento<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/reggaegenealogy.org\/2024\/01\/11\/jamaican-ska-music-and-its-influence-on-the-world\/\">ska<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/thereggaemuseum.com\/2025\/07\/02\/how-dancehall-music-was-invented-the-birth-of-jamaicas-rebel-sound\/\">dancehall<\/a> \u2014 to Panama.<\/p>\n<p>The lyrics were in English and <a href=\"https:\/\/jamaicancreole.commons.gc.cuny.edu\/the-history-of-jamaican-creole-2\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Jamaican Patois<\/a>, an English-based creole language. But it didn\u2019t take long for an offshoot of reggae, \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/floridapress.org\/9781683406259\/reggae-en-espanyol\/#:%7E:text=Tracing%20the%20origins%20and%20cultural,and%20connect%20communities%20across%20borders.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">reggae en espa\u00f1ol<\/a>,\u201d to emerge. By the end of the 1970s, <a href=\"https:\/\/alternativas.osu.edu\/en\/issues\/spring-2014\/essays1\/watson.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">reggae en espa\u00f1ol had become popular in Panama<\/a> and had spread throughout Latin America. Similarly, the nascent genre of hip-hop <a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/hip-hop-at-50-7-essential-listens-to-celebrate-raps-widespread-influence-211298\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">was gaining steam in the U.S.<\/a> and eventually made its way to Panama, where an American presence had remained since the completion of the canal. It wasn\u2019t until 1979 <a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/four-things-you-should-know-about-the-panama-canals-turbulent-past-61729\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">that the Canal Zone was abolished<\/a>, and Panama did not have ownership over the canal until 2000.<\/p>\n<p>It was out of this diverse mix of musical and linguistic influences that reggaeton was born, a genre that features the looping drum pattern \u2014 called \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.berklee.edu\/berklee-now\/news\/what-is-dembow-tracing-the-roots-of-a-global-phenomenon\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">dembow riddim<\/a>\u201d \u2014 of Jamaican dancehall, the tropical vibe of reggae and a mixture of rapping and singing. Like reggae and hip-hop, reggaeton lyrics often emphasize Black solidarity and speak out against racial oppression and police violence.<\/p>\n<p>The Panamanian artist Renato is credited with releasing the first reggaeton song, titled, \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=LwYTMNke6Ns\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">El D.E.N.I.<\/a>,\u201d in 1985.<\/p>\n<p>The D.E.N.I. \u2014 an acronym for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.laestrella.com.pa\/opinion\/columnistas\/dij-deni-GQLE106\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">the Departamento Nacional de Investigaciones<\/a>, or National Department of Investigations \u2014 was a tool of repression for Panama\u2019s military dictatorship under Omar Torrijos in the 1970s and later under Manuel Noriega in the 1980s. The secret police force became entangled in drug trafficking and political corruption.<\/p>\n<figure>\n<div class=\"video-embed\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/LwYTMNke6Ns?wmode=transparent&amp;start=0\" title=\"Renato El D.E.N.I. 1985\" width=\"440\" height=\"260\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p><span class=\"caption\">In \u2018El D.E.N.I.,\u2019 Renato denounces police brutality and racism.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>In the song, Renato assumes the role of a racist police officer, the kind he encountered after relocating from the Canal Zone to Rio Abajo, <a href=\"http:\/\/istmo.denison.edu\/n21\/articulos\/10-szok_peter_interview_form.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">an impoverished neighborhood<\/a> in Panama City:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Con mi cara albina, te puedo golpear \u2026<\/p>\n<p>(With my albino face, I can hit you \u2026)<\/p>\n<p>Te voy a ense\u00f1ar<\/p>\n<p>(I am going to teach you)<\/p>\n<p>Que a la justicia no se puede burlar<\/p>\n<p>(That you cannot make fun of the justice system)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>After its release, the track became a <a href=\"https:\/\/alternativas.osu.edu\/en\/issues\/spring-2014\/essays1\/watson.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">protest anthem against Panama\u2019s military government<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>While Renato\u2019s popularity was growing in Panama, early Panamanian reggaeton artists and producers like El General were <a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/episode\/0Ioz0XNKvbhKFLK0HAHyoW?si=86466415b6ec44a6\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">collaborating with Jamaican and American artists in New York City<\/a>, where the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.jamrockmuseum.com\/music\/back-in-the-dance-the-reggae-and-dancehall-club-scene-that-shaped-new-york-city-in-the-80s-and-90s\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">underground dancehall<\/a> and \u201chip-hop en espa\u00f1ol\u201d scene thrived.<\/p>\n<p>Even though El General primarily produced music, one of his tracks, \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=Xwq_7vR6W0w\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">No Mas Guerra<\/a>,\u201d channeled the fighting spirit of original reggaeton, calling for Latin American communities to come together to end violence and wars.<\/p>\n<h2>A sanitized version of reggaeton goes mainstream<\/h2>\n<p>Despite not being responsible for its creation, Puerto Rico is where the genre went mainstream \u2014 largely thanks to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biography.com\/musicians\/daddy-yankee\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">the popular Puerto Rican artist Daddy Yankee<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Daddy Yankee\u2019s music spread, in part, thanks to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scribd.com\/document\/509205970\/Perspectives-on-Reggaeton\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">American brands like Kellogg\u2019s and Reebok<\/a>, whose ads featuring his songs were broadcast to American audiences. Few of his tracks contained the social justice themes that characterized early reggaeton.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, Tego Calderon, a Black Puerto Rican reggaeton artist, struggled to find a buyer for his 2003 debut album, \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/album\/6Q1kiSijkaHwoCwZUHW6IY?si=03XfkM_-RNGzY4s85uNJcA\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">El Abayarde<\/a>,\u201d after <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1080\/03007760802218046\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">being told he was too ugly for a musical career<\/a> \u2014 a remark rooted in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aaihs.org\/racialization-works-differently-here-in-puerto-rico-do-not-bring-your-u-s-centric-ideas-about-race-here\/#:%7E:text=Racism%20in%20Puerto%20Rico%20is%20embedded%20in,understand%20the%20advantages%20of%20denying%20one's%20Blackness\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">the anti-Blackness that\u2019s pervasive in Puerto Rico<\/a>.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_26754\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-26754\" style=\"width: 500px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-26754 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/02\/tego-calderon-500x359.jpg\" alt=\"Man wearing sunglasses leans forward against prizon bars with cigarette in left hand\" width=\"500\" height=\"359\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/02\/tego-calderon-500x359.jpg 500w, https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/02\/tego-calderon-1024x736.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/02\/tego-calderon-768x552.jpg 768w, https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/02\/tego-calderon-1536x1104.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/02\/tego-calderon.jpg 1600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-26754\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Tgo Claderon (Image source: Anto Vanqee\/Wikimedia Commons)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Calderon\u2019s experience in the industry and as a Black Puerto Rican dictated how he viewed the genre and created his music. Like Calderon, <a href=\"https:\/\/remezcla.com\/features\/music\/tu-pum-pum-2\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Renato and other Black reggaeton artists have spoken out against racism in reggaeton<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2>Bringing reggaeton back to its roots<\/h2>\n<p>Though he may have the genre\u2019s history slightly wrong, Bad Bunny\u2019s own tracks return to reggaeton\u2019s social justice roots.<\/p>\n<p>Performed during the Super Bowl halftime show by Ricky Martin, Bad Bunny\u2019s \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/genius.com\/Bad-bunny-lo-que-le-paso-a-hawaii-lyrics\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">LO QUE LE PAS\u00d3 A HAWAii<\/a>\u201d describes the history of U.S. colonialism in Hawaii and Puerto Rico, pointing out how <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2022\/01\/31\/us\/puerto-rico-gentrification.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">local communities have been forced out by gentrifiers<\/a>:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Quieren quitarme el r\u00edo y tambi\u00e9n la playa<\/p>\n<p>(They want to take the river and the beach away from me)<\/p>\n<p>Quieren al barrio m\u00edo y que tus hijos se vayan<\/p>\n<p>(They want my neighborhood and for your kids to leave)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>And while the early-2000s reggaeton popularized by Daddy Yankee, Tego Calderon and Don Omar contained elements of <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1080\/03007760802218046\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">misogyny and homophobia<\/a>, Bad Bunny\u2019s tracks \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/genius.com\/Bad-bunny-yo-perreo-sola-lyrics\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Yo Perreo Sola<\/a>\u201d and \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/genius.com\/Bad-bunny-yo-visto-asi-lyrics\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">YO VISTO AS\u00cd<\/a>\u201d build on feminist reggaeton anthems like <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/ykj61GLeVz4?si=xUluyvPl9_DjmKHB\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Ivy Queen\u2019s \u201cYo Quiero Bailar<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Reggaeton was born out of a call for freedom, equality and justice. So I find it fitting that Bad Bunny is creating music that speaks to all types of people from all over the world.<!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;\" src=\"https:\/\/counter.theconversation.com\/content\/276347\/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic\" alt=\"The Conversation\" width=\"1\" height=\"1\" \/><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: https:\/\/theconversation.com\/republishing-guidelines --><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/profiles\/brendan-frizzell-2595264\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Brendan Frizzell<\/a>, PhD Student in <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/soci\/\">Sociology<\/a>, <em><a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/institutions\/usc-dornsife-college-of-letters-arts-and-sciences-2669\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p>This article is republished from <a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Conversation<\/a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/bad-bunny-says-reggaeton-is-puerto-rican-but-it-was-born-in-panama-276347\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">original article<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n  \n        \n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--article-related-stories \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--article-related-stories\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n  <div class=\"inner-wrapper\">\n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--section-title\">\n\n    \n  <h2>\n          Related Articles\n      <\/h2>\n\n\n<\/div>\n    \n                  <article>\n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--cta-title\">\n\n    \n  <h3>\n          <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/cosmic-measurements-of-gravity-support-dark-matter\/\" \n                        class=\"\" \n      >Scientists test a fundamental rule of gravity on cosmic scales \u2014 and it holds up<\/a>\n      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<\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Emerging from a swirl of sonic influences, reggaeton began as Panamanian protest music long before Puerto Rican artists turned the genre into a global phenomenon.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":26764,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[23,17],"tags":[57,87,235,95,90,83],"class_list":["post-26752","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arts-and-culture","category-student","tag-entertainment","tag-expert-viewpoint","tag-music","tag-social-sciences","tag-sociology","tag-the-conversation"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.1.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Bad Bunny says reggaeton is Puerto Rican, but it was born in\u00a0Panama<\/title>\n<meta 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