The term magnum opus is a Latin root used to describe a writer or an artists’ greatest achievement. And through his latest album DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS (I Should Have Taken More Photos), Bad Bunny was able to achieve his magnum opus through winning Album of the Year (AOTY) at the Grammy’s and by headlining the Super Bowl halftime show. All the while being on a world tour and spreading a message of solidarity.
World Tour
After Bad Bunny’s very successful residency, he kicked off his Debí Tirar Más Fotos World Tour and has sold out shows in the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Mexico, Colombia, Peru, and Chile. Bad Bunny’s tour has grossed 100M+ so far through 19 shows and he has brought out several special guests including J Balvin, breaking any beef they had since their collab album OASIS.
Grammys
Benito was nominated six times for a Grammy which included Song, Record, and Album of the year. Out of those six, he won three: Best Musical Performance for EoO and his album DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS won Best Música Urbana Album and Album of the Year.
During his acceptance speech for Best Música Urbana Album, Benito made a very strong speech. Firstly, he called out ICE by saying “Before I say thanks to God, I’m going to say ICE out. We’re not savages, we’re not animals, we’re not aliens. We are humans, and we are Americans.” Then, he made an even bigger statement later on in his speech that he would use again in a week: “Also I want to say to the people: I know it’s tough not to hate these days, and I was thinking sometimes we get [polluted]. The hate gets more powerful with more hate. The only thing more powerful than hate is love.” It can be very easy to assert violence whether it is ICE OR against ICE. However, we as US citizens need to include the UNITED in United States and love each other no matter what background or belief so we can become a better society.
Super Bowl Halftime Show
After the Grammy’s, Benito traveled to Santa Clara for the Super Bowl. And as a person with Latino roots, I really enjoyed his halftime show. I’d put it top 5 all time (there are people putting this above Prince and Michael Jackson which I find crazy). Benito really encapsulated the Puerto Rican culture through props, set design, and song choices with reggaetón, salsa, and house music.
The Message
The message was just as beautiful to see during the show. Every artist that Benito brought out had a purpose. Right before Lady Gaga, Benito sang the first lyrics to Monaco: “Dime dime, ¿esto es lo que tú quería’?” which translates to: “Tell me, tell me this is what y’all wanted” then panned to Lady Gaga, calling out the people who wanted an English-speaking headliner. Additionally, when Lady Gaga sang during a real wedding, they put a salsa remix over it. Though it did not sound good, it shows unity and different cultures combining (we will be adding on to this later).
Benito also brought out Puerto Rican icon Ricky Martin to sing LO QUE LE PASÓ A HAWAii, (What Happened to Hawaii) which showed the whole nation the gentrification that happened to Hawaii and the gentrification that is currently attacking Puerto Rico. Like I said in my first Bad Bunny article, there needs to be a preservation of cultures as it gives the world an identity.
Love Is More Powerful Than Hate
To cap off Benito’s halftime show, he called out ALL of America and had many flags present that were carried by people from their country. Then, he said “Seguimos aqui” (We are still here), spiked a football that said, “Together we are America”, and then sang his hit song DTMF. To cap it all off, behind him had a message on the jumbotron that read “The only thing more powerful than hate is love.” Instead of using his platform to dump on the Trump administration, he used it to make us all one as a nation. He used his platform for love for all the Americas because we all make up America. Therefore, we need to be Men with Others and unite America, like Bad Bunny directed. What we don’t need is suppression, or disconnection as that only creates more hate on both sides.
Stereotypical Nationalism vs. Multicultural Nationalism
Nationalism can be both a positive and negative word depending on what sense of Nationalism one has. I feel like what Benito showed on Sunday was Multicultural Nationalism. In other words, a sense of nationalism that is more inclusive of the many diverse cultures of the U.S. while still identifying them as a people of shared values of freedom. However, I feel like people who are pro-ICE/MAGA show a more Stereotypical Nationalism. In other words, a sense of nationalism that is less inclusive of the many diverse cultures within America, especially cultures of minorities. The U.S. is not just about the language. It is about the freedom and diversity it provides to everyone, the “American Dream.” With his halftime show, I feel like Benito exemplified this multicultural idea through the American Dream by showing the many languages and diverse cultures that make up the U.S. with different flags and songs. Benito showed that this country is for everyone and he took pride in that. Regarding Stereotypical Nationalism, it includes a lot of exclusion. With Stereotypical Nationalism, there is a lot of keeping people or things out. They don’t want anything or anyone to have what they have because they believe that it is so great that it should only belong to a certain group. Some people want immigrants out because they claim immigrants are taking housing, jobs, etc., disguising this belief as “patriotism.” I think that we should all be multicultural nationalists, not stereotypical nationalists, and take pride in our country and show others why it’s so great to be inclusive of many cultures and by showing the possibility of the American Dream. We are the UNITED States.
Conclusion
Ultimately, I don’t think Bad Bunny will reach a height to this scale again. Will he reach a Un Verano Sin Ti (A Summer Without You) height again? Absolutely. But with DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS being such a culturally significant album like Kendrick’s to Pimp a Butterfly or an American Idiot by Green Day AND its success regarding awards, records, and the Super Bowl, this was Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio’s greatest achievement, or magnum opus.
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