Bad Bunny has been on the run of a lifetime. He collected the Album of the Year Grammy for Debí Tirar Mas Fotos, notching three in total that night. After such a momentous night, he’s hitting the stage for the Super Bowl Halftime Show in his biggest performance. The Puerto Rican rapper/singer is arguably the biggest Latino artist of all time and has broken barriers accordingly. Consequently, it leads someone like Ricky Martin to praise him for how he represents Latin music.
In an open letter titled “When One of Ours Succeeds, We All Succeed” in El Nuevo Día, he reacted to the historic night for Bad Bunny. “Benito, brother, seeing you win three Grammy Awards, one of them for album of the year with a production entirely in Spanish, touched me deeply. Not only as an artist, but as a Puerto Rican who has walked stages around the world carrying his language, his accent, and his story,” he wrote.
Then, Ricky Martin expressed how beautiful it was that Bad Bunny has remained unflinchingly himself. There was never a moment when Benito opted to clean up his image and his sound. If he was going to make it, he would do it on his terms. If it meant sacrificing some things along the way, he would live with it.
Ricky Martin Opens Up About What It Meant to See Bad Bunny Win Album of the Year Grammy
“I know what it means to succeed without letting go of where you come from. I know how heavy it is, what it costs, and what is sacrificed when you decide not to change because others ask you to. That’s why what you have achieved is not just a historic musical accomplishment, it’s a cultural and human victory,” Ricky Martin said of his countryman. “You won without changing the color of your voice. You won without erasing your roots; you won by staying true to Puerto Rico.”
Lastly, Ricky Martin emphasized the amount of pride in Bad Bunny’s acceptance speech that night. He spoke up for the Latinos and Latinas across the world amidst the horrifying actions of ICE. For Martin, it was vital that he didn’t shy away from the elephant in the room. In pointing out the unjust system, it validated others’ dreams. Consequently, he empowered those who live “where fear and hope coexist. “Where millions live between languages, borders, and deferred dreams.”
“This achievement is for a generation to whom you taught that their identity is non-negotiable and that success is not at odds with authenticity,” Ricky Martin concluded. “From the heart, from one Boricua to another, with respect and love, I thank you for reminding us that when one of ours succeeds, we all succeed.”
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