Bad Bunny Is Breaking The Internet With His Docu-Music Video For “El Apagón”

As one of the biggest stars in the world, Bad Bunny continues to use his massive platform for good. He premiered the music video for “El Apagón” today (Sept. 16), which includes a documentary on the struggles the Puerto Rican people currently face on the island.

Que Bad Bunny haya utilizado el videoclip de el Apagón para hacer un reportaje de todo lo que esta pasando en Puerto Rico para darle bombo a este tipo de injusticias me parece una obra maestra.

— RafaFroste (@RafaFroste) September 16, 2022

The music videos from Bad Bunny’s Un Verano Sin Ti are still rolling out. Recently, he dropped the Elvis Crespo-inspired visual for “Neverita” and the videos for his monster hits “Me Porto Bonito” and “Tití Me Preguntó.” Now, the political house music-infused “El Apagón” is next in line.

“El Apagón” is a Puerto Rican anthem. With the song both celebrating the culture of his people and critiquing modern colonialism, he’s using the music video to put more eyes on what’s going on on the island. In the actual music video, Bad Bunny leads a party in the streets of Puerto Rico. In the shots of Benito, the Puerto Rican flag is a sky blue color, which is a pro-Independence variation of the flag.

El Apagon's extended verions is the reality of Puerto Ricans who are being displaced from their homes. You don’t have to be from Puerto Rico to get excited over this video, you just have to be human. Latinos share history. This is happening in Mexico City and other countries too.

— Pero Like (@BFPeroLike) September 16, 2022

Following the music video, there’s a nearly-20-minute documentary titled “Aquí Vive Gente” by Puerto Rican journalist Bianca Graulau. The documentary covers the displacement of Puerto Ricans on the island, focusing on how neighborhoods have become gentrified under Act 20 and 22.

Overall, the response by Puerto Rican folks online is that non-Puerto Rican people should watch the documentary to learn about the injustices happening on the island. On Twitter, one fan wrote, “If you’re a fan of Bad Bunny but don’t care about what’s going on in Puerto Rico, you are a f**king fraud and part of the problem even if you’re another latinx person.” Refinery29 fashion writer Frances Solá-Santiago added, “Bad Bunny continues to cede his platform to issues in Puerto Rico. […] A mis amigues no-puertorriqueñes, este video es lectura asignada.”

Bad Bunny released the music video for El Apagón today and it’s so funny that there was 70,000+ watching the music video but now that a documentary about what’s going on in Puerto Rico is playing after that number has dropped to 56,000 and keeps dropping

— Tatiana Medina (@tatimed10) September 16, 2022

@sanbenito continues to cede his platform to issues in Puerto Rico. He’s the biggest artist in the world with little to gain but much to lose when it comes to his homeland, OUR homeland. A mis amigues no-puertorriqueñes, este video es lectura asignada. https://t.co/7apEDraX9B

— Frances Solá-Santiago (@frances_sola) September 16, 2022

This past week, Bad Bunny’s Un Verano Sin Ti album returned to No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart. The LP became the first in history to spend its first 18 weeks on the chart within the top two spots.

Watch the music video for “El Apagón” and the subsequent documentary below.