Beyond the MSNBC Column: Bad Bunny's Political Moment

I am writing to our 986 subscribers on a Wednesday night. It’s been a busy week, since I started my new job (it’s going well) and I am in that fuzzy phase where I know I need help with The Latino Newsletter but do not have enough 2025 funding so far to make it happen. We will make it happen (things are moving in the right direction), and if you want to know more about our plans, drop me a line at [email protected].

There was only one rule I told myself that The Latino Newsletter would need to follow: Unless we disconnect during the holidays, we would deliver daily posts from Monday to Friday.

I don’t want to break this rule just yet, because editing and writing for The Latino Newsletter has been fun to do.

So I thought I would share part of what I wasn’t able to include in my latest opinion piece for MSNBC, which was published earlier this evening and was on the top right corner of the homepage on the night President Joe Biden gave his farewell address.

I had wanted to write about Bad Bunny’s “DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS” album, which has become one of Puerto Rico’s most transformational cultural moments. So when my MSNBC editors assigned an opinion piece to file for early Wednesday morning, I knew the angle: It was clear that this album was also a political message to Puerto Rico and the world.

So, I filed this:

As with any final version, there were a lot of ideas and examples that I wanted to include, but I just couldn’t, due to word limits but also to keeping the opinion tight with some reporting to support my thoughts.

Here are three points I still wanted to make but couldn’t, so consider these three additional observations:

1. The Politics of Joy: I thought it was important to mention the Puerto Rican politicians (both women) who understand the power of what we’re witnessing: “During his visit to New York, Benito performed and danced at the legendary Toñita’s in Brooklyn, accompanied by two other politicians of Puerto Rican descent, Reps. Nydia Velázquez and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. The mood was one of joy, purpose, and hope.”

2. The American Tourist Arson: I tried everything I could in the first draft to mention the alleged Cabo Rojo American tourist arsonist, but I couldn’t add it without adding more words and explanations

3. Cha Cha’s Legacy: I really wanted to bring in the legacy of José “Cha Cha” Jiménez, the founder of the Young Lords who died last Friday, into the piece because there are very few leaders who put community first, and what Bad Bunny did is just the latest example.

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What We’re Watching (and Reading)

Senator Padilla at Bondi Confirmation Hearings: During Pat Bondi’s Senate confirmation hearing for Attorney General, Sen. Alex Padilla (D-CA) asked about birthright citizenship. This is a clip of that exchange.

Losing Livelihoods in the L.A. Fires: In the Los Angeles Times, “Housekeepers, gardeners, pool cleaners and other workers have been left grappling with a loss of income and grief for longtime employers they considered family.”

About the Author

Julio Ricardo Varela is the founder and publisher of The Latino Newsletter.

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