Bad Bunny is having the TIME of his life…
The 27-year-old Puerto Rican superstar has been named one of the Most Influential People of 2021 by TIME.
This week, the magazine revealed its annual TIME100, featuring “extraordinary leaders from around the world working to build a better future, from entertainers striving to make Hollywood more inclusive to activists fighting for sustainability and human rights. … They are disrupters, fixers, doers, iconoclasts, problem solvers — people who in a year of crisis have leaped into the fray,” said Edward Felsenthal, TIME CEO and editor in chief, in a press statement.
J Balvin was selected as the guest contributor to write about Bad Bunny. The two global reggaeton stars were introduced to each other in 2016 by DJ Luian at one of Balvin’s concerts in Puerto Rico. The rest, as they say, is history.
“When I saw him, I was like, ‘Oh, he’s another weirdo like me. I’m not the only one now.’ We immediately went to the studio and cut a song, ‘Si Tu Novio Te Deja Sola.’ It blew up,” Balvin wrote in his essay. “He’s a phenomenon when it comes to music, but it didn’t happen overnight; he was working at the supermarket back then, and had to struggle too. We’ve since worked together on an album, Oasis, and the Super Bowl halftime show.”
The Colombian artist describes Bad Bunny’s career evolving from a “little monster” to “Godzilla,” who has reached superstar status and has connected with fans through his “amazing lyrics,” creation of his brand, advocacy for self-expression, and freedom.
“He’s an artist, period. A true artist,” he wrote. “Now he’s at his peak, taking Latin culture to another level. The records he’s broken are amazing. He’s different. Special. People wait for someone to die to say, ‘Oh, he was a legend.’ But I’m telling Benito now: You are one of the greatest artists in Latin music history.”
But Bad Bunny isn’t the only Latinx person to make this year’s list.
Olimpia Coral Melo Cruz, a women’s-rights activist from the Mexican city of Puebla, is a survivor of revenge porn—sexual content that is shared without the consent of those featured within it. She turned her experience into action, and in April 2021, Mexico passed Olimpia’s Law, federally prohibiting the sharing of such content without the subject’s permission.
Swizz Beatz and fellow hip-hop icon Timbaland have been named for creating the hip-hop phenomenon and game-changing hip-hop battle series, Verzuz.
In a business world still dominated by men, a Brazilian woman, Luiza Trajano, has managed to make Magazine Luiza a massive success. She is the only Brazilian to appear on this year’s list.
Elisa Loncón Antileo is a Mapuche linguist and indigenous rights activist in Chile. In 2021, Loncón was elected as one of the representatives of the Mapuche people for the Chilean Constitutional Convention. Following in the inauguration of the body, Loncón was elected President of the Constitutional Convention.
A staunch believer in the science of climate change, GM CEO Mary Barra spearheaded General Motors’ (GM) commitment to sell only zero-emission vehicles by 2035.
In a sea of despair, a Cuban doctor is a ray of hope. Dairon Elisondo Rojas, who is seeking asylum in the US, provides lifesaving care to fellow migrants in the Matamoros makeshift camp.
The knowledge possessed by Mónica Ramírez‘s giant heart is just what makes her the breath of fresh air needed in a civil rights attorney. Her work through organizations like Justice for Migrant Women is only a fraction of proof of how hard she fights for the migrant worker.
