The Puertorican superstar Bad Bunny will officially have a class that focuses on his impact on Latino culture and media, starting in Spring 2023 at San Diego State University.
The class is to be offered by Associate Professor of Digital Media Studies, Dr. Nate Rodriguez. “Bad Bunny is important at San Diego State University because he is a global icon. He is this pop culture figure that has transcended music, movies, and wrestling,” he explained.
“He is a point of reference for tons of people to talk about culture, to talk about advocacy, to talk about politics,” he added.
The class is offered for Graduate students, who can register sometime in November. “It’s a graduate level course, which allows us to dive a little bit deeper and get a little bit more critical into those really, really heightened issues that we’re gonna be discussing. It allows students to get a little bit more critical into those issues that Bad Bunny covers in his music,” Rodriguez said.
Bad Bunny released his “El Apagón” music video this month, in which he discusses several issues facing Puerto Rico, including the displacement of Puerto Ricans by U.S. Americans and the electricity crisis the island is facing.
In the song “Andrea” he portrays a hopeful Puerto Rican woman living life by her own rules facing the harassment and violence that women face every day. Many argue that the song is a call to stop femicide and others also claim that the song is referring to the case of Andrea Ruiz, a young Puerto Rican woman who was murdered by her partner.
Although Rodriguez is still putting together the curriculum, he anticipates discussing issues of masculinity, colonialism, and displacement, especially in Puerto Rico.
