This Is What Art, Language and Culture Can Do
Bad Bunny, a crowded dance floor, a small café, and a reminder of what unity can sound like and no border can contain.
Dear friend,
I know you just got a letter from me yesterday, but experiencing the Benito Bowl in Mexico felt like it deserved a special Monday mention.
Cafes in Coyoacán brought out TV’s – not for the football, but for Bad Bunny. The streets were full of people singing his songs all weekend, including a mariachi band in the town square.
The night before, I’d been in a crowded apartment full of people from all over North and South America, everyone dancing and singing to his songs. It was pure joy.
For the concert, I went to my local cafe, grabbed some papas paprikas, and waited. Once the first half was over, the owner started pulling people in from the streets, offering them seats for the show.
While Bad Bunny set up, they played advertisements to convince Mexicans to come to Disneyland, promising it was safe. I heard an older woman and her husband talk about ICE and how nothing is safe there for them there.
When the concert started, people sang along, some danced, and everyone nodded along, not just to the rhythm, but to the symbolism.
We clapped when he mentioned Mexico along with the other countries. 🇲🇽
At the end of the show, a man in the stands held up an “ICE OUT” sign and they showed a security guard forcing him to put it down. I wondered if the U.S. broadcast even showed him.
When it was over, everyone sat in silence, in awe of what we just saw.
Then the cook started blasting BAILE INoLVIDABLE from the kitchen, cued up to “no, no te puedo olvidar” like she’d only paused Bad Bunny to watch Bad Bunny. 🐰
That’s the power of art, language, and culture.
That’s the power of unity.
Bad Bunny’s performance wasn’t just a thing of artistic and symbolic beauty, it was a declaration:
That America is a diverse and beautiful place full of art, culture, and languages.
That together, we are America.
That love and unity is stronger than hate and division.
May we all carry that feeling with us as we continue to fight against those who would try to convince us otherwise.
With love,
Lauren
P.S. If you haven’t yet, check out my latest letter on growing up on the border, traveling to Mexico as a visitor, and learning to walk the line between appreciation and appropriation.
P.P.S. Trying to figure out how to balance art and activism, life and protest? Me too. I wrote this letter for us.
