Protest Music in Puerto Rico

This song “Afilando los Cuchillos” (Sharpening the Knives) was created as a protest song in the 2019 protests calling for the resignation of Puerto Rican governor Ricardo Rosselló over corruption. Text messages had been leaked from Rosselló full of sexist and homophobic content as well as decisions to withhold aid from Puerto Ricans still facing the effects of the devastation from the 2017 hurricanes Irma and Maria a year later (Bossi). The release of these messages prompted protests across the island that eventually led to his resignation. In this song, released by Residente, iLe, and Bad Bunny, the artists talk about Rosselló’s corruption and neglect of the Puerto Rican people as well as the unity of Puerto Rican’s against him (Bossi). Musicians like Bad Bunny, a Latin trap and reggaeton star, were seen as critical in helping mobilize people, especially younger generations, to participate in the movement, and within one day of this song’s release, it had over 2.5 million views on YouTube, quickly making it a protest anthem (Robles).

Bad Bunny, who is native to Puerto Rico, has not avoided politics in his rise to fame, and his involvement in the 2019 protests solidified his role as an activist even further. Bad Bunny is also famous for defying gender norms in his fashion, using social media to push back against homophobia, and commenting on poverty, corruption, hurricane destruction, and gender-based violence in his music (Solá-Santiago). The artist had also criticized the Rosselló administration before in a three-page Instagram post criticizing the government for school closures after Hurricane Maria (Solá-Santiago). While he is controversial in Puerto Rico for his very public political views, his work on “Afilando los Cuchillos” had made it clear that his music is influencing others to take a stance as well.

Works Cited

Bossi, Andrea. “How Bad Bunny Influenced Puerto Rico’s 2019 Movement, ‘Ricky Renuncia.’” Forbes, December 26, 2019. https://www.forbes.com/sites/andreabossi/2019/12/26/how-bad-bunny-influenced-puerto-ricos-2019-movement-ricky-renuncia/#78296cfe4b5d.

Residente. “Residente, iLe & Bad Bunny – Afilando los Cuchillos (Cover Audio).” YouTube video, 5:19. July 17, 2019. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSh7HIH2pvg.

Robles, Frances. “‘Sharpening the Knives’: Musicians Join the Protests in Puerto Rico.” The New York Times, July 19, 2019. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/19/us/puerto-rico-residente-ile-afilando-los-cuchillos.html.

Solá-Santiago, Frances. “Bad Bunny’s Recent Attention to Puerto Rican Politics Is the Sign of an Artistic Evolution.” Remenzcla, December 27, 2018. https://remezcla.com/features/music/bad-bunny-politics-puerto-rico/.