Overview

“Aquí mataron gente por sacar la bandera / Por eso es que ahora yo la llevo donde quiera. (Here they killed people for taking out the flag / that's why I bring it anywhere I want now.)”—LA MuDANZA Global superstar Bad Bunny, born Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, like many other Puerto Ricans, has lived a life marked by public crises—blackouts, hurricanes, political corruption and oppression, among others—that have exposed the ongoing impacts of colonialism in Puerto Rico. Offering a portrait of the past and future of Puerto Rican resistance through one of its loudest and proudest voices, P FKN R draws on interviews with musicians, politicians, and journalists as well as ethnographic research to set Bad Bunny and Puerto Rican resistance in an historical, political, and cultural context. Authors Vanessa Díaz and Petra Rivera-Rideau – creators of the “Bad Bunny Syllabus” – demonstrate Bad Bunny’s place in a long tradition of infusing joy and protest into music and honor the many, evolving forms of daily resistance to oppression and colonialism that are part of Puerto Rican life.

Full Product Details

Author:   Vanessa Díaz ,  Petra R. Rivera-Rideau
Publisher:   Duke University Press
Imprint:   Duke University Press
Weight:   0.445kg
ISBN:  

9781478033332

ISBN 10:   1478033339
Pages:   320
Publication Date:   27 January 2026
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Not yet available  
This item is yet to be released. You can pre-order this item and we will dispatch it to you upon its release.

Table of Contents

Introduction. “¿QuiÉn TÚ Eres?”: Understanding Bad Bunny and Resistance in Puerto Rico 1 1. Las Cosas EstÁn Empeorando: Puerto Rico in the Era of “Soy Peor” 14 2.¿“Estamos Bien”? Hurricane MarÍa and Unnatural Disaster in Puerto Rico 37 3. “El Pueblo No Aguanta MÁs Injusticia”: Bad Bunny and el Verano Boricua 59 4. “¿Por QuÉ No Puedo Ser AsÍ?”: Bad Bunny and Gender Politics 80 5. “El Mundo es MÍo”: Bad Bunny Beyond el Borinquen 107 6. “Puerto Rico EstÁ Bien CabrÓn”: The Party Is the Protest 129 7. Singing in Non-English: Bad Bunny Lost in Translation 156 8. “Nunca Antes Hubo Uno Como Yo”: Bad Bunny, Coachella, and Latino Belonging in the United States 179 9. “Prende una Velita”: Continued Hope, Continued Resistance 200 Conclusion. “Seguimos AquÍ” 220 Acknowledgments 231 Notes 235 Bibliography 287 Index

Reviews

“Impressively researched and engaging, P FKN R is a book that offers a critical reflection of Puerto Rico’s history and culture through one of its main exponents, Bad Bunny. The book uses the figure of Bad Bunny to explore Puerto Rico’s colonial history and present. Diáz and Rivera-Rideau critically examine his takes on race and gender in a way that is not only about the singer’s life and career, but about the recent history of Puerto Rico.”—Jorell Meléndez-Badillo, author of, Puerto Rico: A National History

Author Information

Vanessa Díaz is Associate Professor of Chicana/o and Latina/o Studies at Loyola Marymount University and the author of Manufacturing Celebrity: Latino Paparazzi and Women Reporters in Hollywood. Petra R. Rivera-Rideau is Associate Professor of American Studies at Wellesley College and the author of Remixing Reggaetón: The Cultural Politics of Race in Puerto Rico and Fitness Fiesta!: Selling Latinx Culture through Zumba.

Tab Content 6

Author Website:  

Countries Available

All regions