I didn’t need a translation to understand everything Bad Bunny meant | Opinion

I didn’t need any translation to understand Bad Bunny emerging from the sugar cane fields.

I didn’t need any translation to understand the men playing dominoes or the women getting their nails done.

I didn’t need any translation to understand the concrete bricks, the rebuilding of a community, or the dancers on electric poles, all speaking to the lack of infrastructure that so often accompanies colonization, neglect, and racism.

I didn’t need any translation to understand the wedding, that love can still exist in spite of hate.

I didn’t need any translation to understand the beat of the drums, the swaying of hips, the rhythm moving through the men and women on the field, an open invitation to a party where it felt like everyone was welcome.

I didn’t need any translation to understand the moment Bad Bunny handed a young boy his Grammy, knowing that if Bad Bunny could do it, they could too. I simply understood.

I watched and smiled, remembering how I felt watching Beyoncé perform Formation with Black women dressed as Black Panthers, or the joy of watching Kendrick Lamar remind the world, “The revolution is about to be televised. You picked the right time but the wrong guy,” as his dancers created the image of a divided United States flag.

I smiled because the Latin community saw themselves in Bad Bunny’s performance, and this world is better when people can see themselves in it.

Bad Bunny’s performance reminded me of what the Americas can be.

All of the Americas.

If we choose it to be so.

Hannah Drake is a poet, artist, activist, and the co-founder of the Unknown Project in Louisville.