Bad Bunny is on campus. Sort of.
The Puerto Rican mega star who dominated Super Bowl conversations is now doing the same in a classroom at Christopher Newport.
A new honors seminar called “Bad Bunny: Música, Cultura and Revolución” has immersed Captains in a world energized by Latin music and Puerto Rican culture.
“It’s really interesting,” said Gabi McGehee, ‘29 Political Science. “The whole class has really given me such a different perspective. It’s been very eye opening."
“It’s great to have the chance to take this kind of class,” she said. “Learning about this type of music and its history has been awesome.”
The class was the idea of Dr. Mike Levine, an assistant professor of musicology who has done extensive research on music in Cuba. He knew Bad Bunny was not only a hot topic, but that Latin music and culture have depth and meaning that could be instructive to his students.
Levine structured the class to explore the life of Bad Bunny, who stands at the intersection of activism, gender, non-conforming performances, and savvy business strategies. He also wanted to look closely at the influence Bad Bunny’s upbringing and roots have had on him and his success.
The class, Levine said, is the perfect entry point to Latin life and its impact on music. It uses Bad Bunny to create a lens in which to look at music genres such as reggaetón and Latin Trap, and what they signify in the Latin social and musical world. Both are music subgenres heavily influenced by hip hop. “Bad Bunny to me is a smoke screen for everything reggaetón," Levine said. “It’s a jumping off point to talk about other issues.”
After Bad Bunny performed at the Super Bowl, he became even more of a celebrity, with people talking for days about his music and performance.
Bad Bunny, whose offstage name is Benito Antonio Martinez Ocasio, is known as the “King of Latin Trap.” His nickname came after a childhood picture of him looking annoyed as he was dressed as a rabbit surfaced. His music represents much in Puerto Rican culture, and Levine has used that as the crux for the class. At this year’s Super Bowl, his performance was done fully in Spanish and was focused on his Puerto Rican heritage.
During a recent class, students discussed everything from masculinity, to stereotypes to racial connotations, all with roots in the music and Bad Bunny’s persona. The class examined issues that affect Latin music and people, peeling back complex layers as they went. They listened to lyrics, finding meaning and depth in their words.
“Bad Bunny really brings to the surface things other people ignore in all of his music,” a student commented during the class. “You can tell he’s very emotional about it.”
That is exactly the kind of give and take Levine was hoping for when he created the class, which is open to students of all majors. It serves as a musical example of the Strategic Compass priority to “Advance the Power and Promise of an Education Embedded in the Liberal Arts.”
“This is part of the liberal arts. I love mixing up ideas and classes and seeing what happens and where it takes us. In the case of Bad Bunny, there is so much to unpack,” Levine said. “I have never taught a class like this. The students have been incredible, and are so interested and engaged. It’s been great. I feel so fortunate to be able to wake up and teach it.”