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By Yarimar Bonilla
Dr. Bonilla, a professor of American studies at Princeton, writes about race, history and pop culture. She wrote from San Juan, Puerto Rico.
On July 11, Bad Bunny kicked off his three-month residency at the Coliseo de Puerto Rico. The first nine shows were reserved for locals, but starting this weekend they are open to anyone, and hundreds of thousands of people from around the world will begin pouring into our archipelago. It’s the kind of extended run usually reserved for Las Vegas — not a bankrupt U.S. colony reeling from hurricanes, blackouts and political dysfunction. But that’s precisely the point.
What’s unfolding in San Juan this summer is more than a run of shows. It’s a reminder that you don’t have to assimilate, or leave home to find success, and that staying in Puerto Rico does not have to mean sacrifice. We can do more here than just endure — we can thrive. And we can do it without destroying our natural resources or courting tax exiles, but by investing in our most renewable resource: our cultural genius.
