Ramtin Arablui

Thank you for listening.

Hey, it's Ramtin.

In this month's Throughline Plus episode, our producers take us behind the scenes of our episode about the fall of Chile's democracy in the 1970s and the music that soundtracked the era.

To listen to these insider bonus episodes every month, sign up for Throughline Plus at plus.npr.org slash throughline.

Hey, it's Rund.

In this month's ThruLine Plus episode, our producers take us behind the scenes of making our episode on the first transatlantic cable.

To listen to these insider bonus episodes every month, sign up for ThruLine Plus at plus.npr.org slash ThruLine.

He's a Spanish-speaking artist from a colony, and he's performing at the Super Bowl.

at a time when the Spanish language is being criminalized.

I don't think so, but it's political.

You know, the NFL also wants to reach a broader international audience, and Benito's the biggest artist in the world.

The biggest artist in the world performed mostly in Spanish at Super Bowl 60 in Santa Clara, which, yes, cost some fanfare.

But the Puerto Rican singer and rapper, who's dominated global charts for the past eight years, isn't a stranger to politics.

He refused to perform his most recent album in the continental U.S., saying he's worried that ICE will come after his fans.

An idea he doubled down on after he won the Grammy for the Album of the Year and Best Musica Urbana Album.

When he took the stage at the Super Bowl, he made a statement and a compromise.

He didn't speak out directly against ICE, but he did use the global stage to do what his music has always done, make the world look at Puerto Rico, a U.S.

Commonwealth whose people are U.S.

citizens, but who live in what some critics call the world's oldest colony.

He's always said that he is producing music primarily for Puerto Rico, but he knows that the world's listening.