First, let’s clear the air: yes, apocalyptor is a made-up word. However, for the purpose of this text, it’ll do the trick.
Now, for the few of you who – for whatever reason – have clicked your way to this post, take a second to reflect on your first reaction to seeing a Bad Bunny quote as the opening statement of an academic conference about apocalypse and regeneration: maybe you were surprised, maybe you cringed, maybe you found it funny, maybe you were intrigued, maybe you loved it, maybe none of the above – maybe you don’t even know who Bad Bunny is.
Whatever the case, the way we react to people, ideas, things, and situations tells us as much about the context as it does about ourselves – possibly more about the latter than the former. In a transdisciplinary space, this is key. Transdisciplinarity usually implies navigating through chaotic processes of:
- de-contextualization
- uncertainty
- negotiation
- discomfort
- reconfiguration
- creative outcome
The creative outcome can take many forms – from synthesis to completely unimagined proposals. Paying close attention to how we feel throughout a transdisciplinary process allows us to make it more manageable, helps us identify the parts we struggle with most, and avoids unnecessary tension in processes that are already complex and often difficult. Dealing with diversity is beautiful, but it’s also messy.
Let’s go back to Bad Bunny.
Bad Bunny, also known as Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio – or Conejo Malo – is a Puerto Rican musician commonly known for his cross-genre blend of trap and reggaeton. A global artistic phenomenon, his production (lyrics, music videos, concert tours, aesthetics, interviews, etc.) and overall presence have sparked significant interest across fields: from fans to cultural industries to academia to politics. If you Google Scholar Bad Bunny, the search will yield numerous academic articles analyzing his work from feminist and queer perspectives, decolonial politics, postmodernist theories, theology, or cross-cultural resistance. There is even a book titled The Bad Bunny Enigma: Culture, Resistance and Uncertainty, and university courses based on him.
Some see him as radically emancipatory – one of the key cultural references in the struggle for Puerto Rican identity and independence. Others view him as ultimately unable to break away from the mainstream cultural industry hegemony. Still others find potential in how he creatively navigates contradiction. Many simply enjoy his music without further thought.
So, what about Bad Bunny?
In relation to the two polarities addressed by this conference – apocalypse and regeneration – and the proposal of using transdisciplinarity as a way to transcend them, Bad Bunny has, interestingly, addressed both collapse-driven narratives and regenerative themes in his music. Just the naming of his albums (X 100pre, YHLQMDLG – Yo Hago Lo Que Me Da La Gana, El Último Tour del Mundo, Un Verano Sin Ti, Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va A Pasar Mañana, Debí Tirar Más Fotos) and tours (La Nueva Religión, World’s Hottest Tour, Most Wanted Tour, No Me Quiero Ir De Aquí) should give us a hint.
In his work, Bad Bunny discusses – sometimes explicitly, sometimes subtly – topics of great relevance for the challenges we face today: social injustice, inequality, colonialism, racism, identity, memory, political repression, climate disasters, among many others. He also often touches on love, sex, and partying – sometimes from a perspective of gender equality and agency, and other times reproducing elements of toxic masculinity.
More recently, he has been particularly vocal about issues of sovereignty and self-determination, especially through his 2025 album and tour Debí Tirar Más Fotos, and his 30-show residency in Puerto Rico titled No Me Quiero Ir De Aquí. His single Debí Tirar Más Fotos has even been appropriated by Palestinian and Lebanese communities, who use the song as a backdrop to share memories and images of what their homes looked like before the devastation caused by the Israeli government.
Through his music, Bad Bunny navigates themes of apocalypse and collective action, sometimes in one direction, sometimes in reverse. See Una velita, Estamos bien, Nadie sabe, among many other songs where end-of-times and regenerative imagery and aesthetics are woven throughout the lyrics, videos, and public appearances. Like all of us, Bad Bunny contains both apocalyptic and regenerative potential – and his music reflects that complexity.
Bad Bunny stands among the few mainstream, mass-cultural figures that have managed to express the relationship among well-being, class, coloniality, and sustainability, with audiences across all continents, and with a particular ability to connect with generations born after the year 2000. A particularly acute lyric in this sense was born from his collaboration with Chuwi, a Puerto Rican-rooted indie quartet that blends traditional rhythms with contemporary production:
“Cuando no estoy en la buena / Tú me lleva’ a hacer castillos de arena / Y los castillo’ se convierten en aldea’ / Un pueblito donde no existen problema’ / Y ahí soñamos con un futuro / Que estemo bien, no hace falta mucho…”
Text written by Ana Fernández-Aballí Altamirano