Ramtin Arablui

And then in the times in between, I have trouble placing stories that have to do with other elements of Puerto Rican culture or politics.

So one begins to resent kind of the dominance that Puerto Rico only matters if it's through Bad Bunny's voice.

And sometimes it feels like we're all working for him.

We're embroidering his guayaberas.

We are doing the research, sourcing archival footage for the short films that go before his concerts.

We are writing the explainers.

We are, you know, setting up a fortune-telling booth.

Outside his concert, we are, all these things are things that people I know are doing for Bad Bunny.

And sometimes it inspires like deep pride and a sense that together we're quilting something very large and very beautiful.

But at the end of the day, it's all attributed to him, you know, and

I think however much he tries to hold up the mirror and say, you know, it's you, I know that you've made me, that's not how it gets treated in the mainstream media.

And I think some of us are left imagining and desiring other possibilities.

And this raises big questions.

Because Bad Bunny's pro-Puerto Rico message raises awareness, but it also makes him money.

And the money and the politics can often be at odds.

These days, it seems like Bad Bunny can do no wrong.

I didn't see that much skepticism, people expressing that much skepticism about the Amazon partnership.

Karina questions Bad Bunny's decision to stream his last show on Amazon and his work to create an Amazon digital storefront committed to selling Puerto Rican products, including food, music, and books, all sporting an Hecho en Puerto Rico badge.

I doubt that the partnership with Amazon will...

be a kind of unblemished tale of upliftment and sovereignty for Puerto Rico and Puerto Ricans.