This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/07/insider/bad-bunny-cover.html

The article has changed 2 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
Studying Bad Bunny, and Finding All of Puerto Rico Studying Bad Bunny, and Finding All of Puerto Rico
(3 days later)
Times Insider explains who we are and what we do, and delivers behind-the-scenes insights into how our journalism comes together.Times Insider explains who we are and what we do, and delivers behind-the-scenes insights into how our journalism comes together.
Six months into the coronavirus pandemic, the writer Carina del Valle Schorske was finally on her way to San Juan, P.R., to interview one of the biggest pop stars of our time: Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio.Six months into the coronavirus pandemic, the writer Carina del Valle Schorske was finally on her way to San Juan, P.R., to interview one of the biggest pop stars of our time: Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio.
The world knows him as Bad Bunny, a name the 26-year-old Puerto Rican reggaeton artist gave himself as a joke. But it helped him go from bagging groceries at the supermarket to performing at Madison Square Garden in less than five years.The world knows him as Bad Bunny, a name the 26-year-old Puerto Rican reggaeton artist gave himself as a joke. But it helped him go from bagging groceries at the supermarket to performing at Madison Square Garden in less than five years.
The story of Bad Bunny’s success coincides with a tumultuous, pivotal moment in Puerto Rican and United States history. Since 2016, the artist has released four chart-topping albums and performed on every major stage, including Coachella and the Super Bowl. In the process, he has captured the force of a generation of Puerto Ricans who are using art to put a spotlight on the social, economic and political debacles unraveling on their homeland.The story of Bad Bunny’s success coincides with a tumultuous, pivotal moment in Puerto Rican and United States history. Since 2016, the artist has released four chart-topping albums and performed on every major stage, including Coachella and the Super Bowl. In the process, he has captured the force of a generation of Puerto Ricans who are using art to put a spotlight on the social, economic and political debacles unraveling on their homeland.
Bad Bunny merges music and activism, speaking out against injustices such as the killings of women and transgender Puerto Ricans and the government’s response to Hurricane Maria. He was a major figure in the summer 2019 protests that ended with the resignation of Governor Ricardo Rosselló, a first in Puerto Rican history. Bad Bunny merges music and activism, speaking out against injustices such as the killings of women and transgender Puerto Ricans and the government’s response to Hurricane Maria. He was a major figure in the summer 2019 protests that ended with the resignation of Gov. Ricardo Rosselló, a first in Puerto Rican history.
“It’s really a story of Bad Bunny’s Puerto Rico, or Puerto Rico’s Bad Bunny,” said Ms. del Valle Schorske, who profiled Bad Bunny for The New York Times Magazine’s annual Culture Issue, which went online this week. “When I say Puerto Rico, I mean the archipelago but also the diaspora and all the solidarities the diaspora forms, that have been brought into relation by his music.”“It’s really a story of Bad Bunny’s Puerto Rico, or Puerto Rico’s Bad Bunny,” said Ms. del Valle Schorske, who profiled Bad Bunny for The New York Times Magazine’s annual Culture Issue, which went online this week. “When I say Puerto Rico, I mean the archipelago but also the diaspora and all the solidarities the diaspora forms, that have been brought into relation by his music.”
This is why Ms. del Valle Schorske, who is of Puerto Rican descent, wanted her article — the issue’s cover story — to be a “love letter to these recent years” of political and cultural activation. “I really feel that Benito reflects the kind of crisis generation, not just in Puerto Rico, but everywhere at this point,” she said.This is why Ms. del Valle Schorske, who is of Puerto Rican descent, wanted her article — the issue’s cover story — to be a “love letter to these recent years” of political and cultural activation. “I really feel that Benito reflects the kind of crisis generation, not just in Puerto Rico, but everywhere at this point,” she said.
It has been a difficult year to meet with the reggaeton star in person. Ms. del Valle Schorske was first assigned the profile in March and planned to travel to Puerto Rico. That month, the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus a pandemic, and her travel plans spiraled.It has been a difficult year to meet with the reggaeton star in person. Ms. del Valle Schorske was first assigned the profile in March and planned to travel to Puerto Rico. That month, the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus a pandemic, and her travel plans spiraled.
At first, she thought she would visit Bad Bunny’s hometown, Vega Baja, where some of her relatives also live, and spend time with the artist to conduct the interviews. In mid-August, they were scheduled to meet in Rincón, a town on the northwest coast of the island, where Bad Bunny had been renting an Airbnb. As the writer made the last arrangements to meet Bad Bunny there, the artist decided to leave for San Juan.At first, she thought she would visit Bad Bunny’s hometown, Vega Baja, where some of her relatives also live, and spend time with the artist to conduct the interviews. In mid-August, they were scheduled to meet in Rincón, a town on the northwest coast of the island, where Bad Bunny had been renting an Airbnb. As the writer made the last arrangements to meet Bad Bunny there, the artist decided to leave for San Juan.
Ms. del Valle Schorske caught up with Bad Bunny, at last, in a restaurant in the Santurce neighborhood of San Juan and, later, at the artist’s manager’s house. They chatted for six hours, Ms. del Valle Schorske said, and hung out with Bad Bunny’s high school friends. She also interviewed his collaborator DJ Orma, the reggaeton producer Tainy, the urbano artist Residente, and a wide set of poets, writers, cultural critics and musicians, including the artist Cecilia Peña-Govea, and Isabelia Herrera, who wrote The Times’s El Espace column.Ms. del Valle Schorske caught up with Bad Bunny, at last, in a restaurant in the Santurce neighborhood of San Juan and, later, at the artist’s manager’s house. They chatted for six hours, Ms. del Valle Schorske said, and hung out with Bad Bunny’s high school friends. She also interviewed his collaborator DJ Orma, the reggaeton producer Tainy, the urbano artist Residente, and a wide set of poets, writers, cultural critics and musicians, including the artist Cecilia Peña-Govea, and Isabelia Herrera, who wrote The Times’s El Espace column.
“I really went to school for this piece,” Ms. del Valle Schorske said. “I wanted to honor the layered nature of Benito’s practice, which is so archival in many ways.”“I really went to school for this piece,” Ms. del Valle Schorske said. “I wanted to honor the layered nature of Benito’s practice, which is so archival in many ways.”
Puerto Rican talent is behind the Culture Issue’s cover, too, with photography by Mara Corsino and design by Claudia Rubín, a designer at The Times. It is Ms. del Valle Schorske’s and Ms. Corsino’s first work for the magazine. Puerto Rican talent is behind the Culture Issue’s cover, too, with photography by Mara Corsino and design by Claudia Rubín, a designer at The Times. It is Ms. del Valle Schorske’s and Ms. Corsino’s first work for the magazine.
“The fact that this is made by a Puerto Rican writer, a Puerto Rican photographer, and me, as a Puerto Rican woman inside The Times, it felt really at home,” Ms. Rubín said.“The fact that this is made by a Puerto Rican writer, a Puerto Rican photographer, and me, as a Puerto Rican woman inside The Times, it felt really at home,” Ms. Rubín said.
Ms. Corsino, who has contributed to T Magazine, The Times’s style publication, knew she wanted to model the photos after her documentary project Chicharrón, a series of portraits of female-identifying Latinas that focuses on exploring “the expression of Latinidad.” She chose to photograph Bad Bunny in a raw setting with only a seamless backdrop inside a studio at a private residence in San Juan. The result is a “vulnerable” cover, as Ms. Rubín described, that shows a close-up of Bad Bunny’s blank stare.Ms. Corsino, who has contributed to T Magazine, The Times’s style publication, knew she wanted to model the photos after her documentary project Chicharrón, a series of portraits of female-identifying Latinas that focuses on exploring “the expression of Latinidad.” She chose to photograph Bad Bunny in a raw setting with only a seamless backdrop inside a studio at a private residence in San Juan. The result is a “vulnerable” cover, as Ms. Rubín described, that shows a close-up of Bad Bunny’s blank stare.
“This cover shows that Bad Bunny is the culture right now,” Ms. Rubín said.“This cover shows that Bad Bunny is the culture right now,” Ms. Rubín said.