Bad Bunny is Making History for Latinos Through His Music

Pictured: Bad Bunny

We’ve all seen the TikTok challenges, heard the hits, and are well aware of the cultural phenomenon that is Bad Bunny. Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, or as we know him, Bad Bunny, is changing the entire landscape of history for Latinos through his music. With the release of his latest album, “Un Verano Sin Ti” debuting at the top of the Billboard 200 chart as No.1, El Conejo Malo shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon and we are here for it.


Ocasio was bagging groceries at his local Econo supermarket and taking classes at the University of Puerto Rico Arecibo as an audiovisual communications student when his beats posted on SoundCloud were noticed by DJ Luian in 2016. Multiple record deals, collaborations, and a few years later, the artist known as Bad Bunny has now shifted the entire industry to celebrate his contributions to reggaeton and Latino culture too.

Bad BunnyEl Conejo Malo Latino GIF by Bad BunnyGiphy

Bad Bunny makes history not only because of his chart-topping status but also because of his direct influence in contributing to the idea of being proud of your Latino heritage. For many living biculturally is hard, and many young Latinxs in the US (despite being very proud of their culture) encounter this challenge in their everyday lives.

Born Americans due to the Jones Act, many Puerto Rican celebrities have only achieved success in the mainland United States by delivering easily palatable media in English for American audiences. Think J.Lo, Ricky Martin, Luis Fonsi? All were only known in American households once they produced content in English, usually in collaboration with Americans themselves.

Bad Bunny, on the other hand, has managed to capture the hearts of both Spanish and non-Spanish speakers across the world producing his music only in his native tongue, something the rapper has never shied away from. Though he also experiments with the sound of his music with every release, the trap/reggaeton artist is also committed to bringing reggaeton (a genre that evolved from other Latin American countries but ultimately was made in Puerto Rico) to everyone around the world.

Photo courtesy of The Daily Show

Ocasio has been able to do this while showing up authentically as himself, every time; in 2019, he released the “Afilando Los Cuchillos” feat. Puerto Rican legend of Calle 13 fame rapper Residente and singer iLe.

The song, in English meaning “Sharpening the Knives,” was released almost overnight amidst the protests against Puerto Rican governor Ricardo Rosselló and his government due to a leaked group chat where the body count of dead Puerto Ricans was mocked after Hurricane Maria devastated the island two years prior. Ocasio flew from Spain where he was on a European tour to join the protests demanding the governor resign along with a group of high-profile Puerto Rican celebrities and activists.

Since then, he has been an active voice in encouraging Puerto Ricans of all ages (but especially young ones) to participate in their elections to make the governing of the island more just.

Residente, iLe & Bad Bunny - Afilando los Cuchillos (Cover Audio)www.youtube.com

All of this to say is to say that Bad Bunny has accomplished what no other Latino artist has been able to do: bring Spanish-language music, specifically urban music, to the forefront of the world cultural stage without needing to compromise himself to do so.

With the rise of Bad Bunny, artists who perform all of their music almost exclusively in Spanish (such as Colombian reggaetoneros Karol G and J Balvin, to name a few) have gone on to be major stage performers at American music festivals like Coachella. Majorly established artists like Drake, Nicki Minaj, Dua Lipa, and more have collaborated with artists in the genre, a true rarity that has arguably not occurred within other genres by comparison.

In a world where Latinos have always needed to fight for representation, Bad Bunny is claiming la cultura for us and making a name for our community in spaces where we weren’t even allowed through the door before. ¡Pa’lante!

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Nathalie Molina Niño has never been one to shy away from breaking barriers, and now, she’s focusing her attention on a new mission: demystifying corporate boardrooms for women, especially Latinas. Molina Niño is the President of Known, an asset management and financial services firm, a veteran tech entrepreneur and builder capitalist, and a board member at the iconic lingerie Brand, Hanky Panky, and others.

Like many corporate boards, Hanky Panky hadn’t publicly disclosed its board composition until recently. After the brand survived the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, Molina Niño decided it was time for more women, specifically more Latinas, to know what it means to be on corporate boards.

Coincidentally, the decision to finally be more vocal about this topic aligned with the start of Hispanic Heritage Month, which served as the perfect kick-off to the work.

"Something that rarely gets talked about and I think almost gets kept opaque by design is boards,” she explains in a recent Instagram announcement. “[This Latinx Heritage Month], that’s what I’ll be talking about.” Her goal? To equip more Latinas with the knowledge they need to navigate onto for-profit boards, where they can thrive and build multi-generational wealth.

For-profit corporate boards often feel like an exclusive club. And in many ways, they are, especially for Latinas, who hold the smallest percentage of board seats in Fortune 500 companies compared to other racial groups. According to the latest report from Latino Board Monitor, while Latinos hold 4.1% of these board seats (compared to 82.5% held by white people), only 1% go to Latinas. Molina Niño, a first-generation American of Ecuadorian and Colombian descent, is part of this boardroom minority.

When asked about her experience as a Latina board member during a recent Zoom interview, she said, “It’s been lonely. There’s not a lot of Latinas on boards.” She went on to explain that even serving on boards of Latina-founded businesses gets lonely because, “A lot of the times, people who serve on their boards represent their investors and, as a result, [...] you still don’t see a lot of Latinas on those boards.”

This lack of representation drives Molina Niño’s determination to increase Latina presence in corporate boardrooms. By sharing her insights, she hopes to give Latinas a roadmap to claim their seats at the table. “If you don’t know where to go, it’s impossible to figure out how to get there,” she says.

The Road to the Boardroom

Getting onto a for-profit corporate board isn’t an overnight achievement, but it’s not an unattainable dream either. People often think you need to be a CEO or have a certain type of background, but that’s one of the biggest myths about boards in Molina Niño’s experience. What they’re really looking for is expertise — whether that’s in finance, marketing, sustainability, or even technology. If you have that expertise, you’re already an asset. It’s simply a matter of which road you should take.

Understanding what boards are and how they operate is key to unlocking opportunities. For-profit boards serve as the governing body for companies, overseeing direction and financial stability, and guiding CEOs and executives in decision-making. But Molina Niño emphasizes that not all for-profit boards are created equal.

“There are two kinds [of for-profit boards] [...]. There’s the publicly traded business board and then, on the privately held side, there are, I would argue, two types of boards [...] the traditional business board and the venture-backed business board,” explains Molina Niño. Traditional businesses are often family-owned or long-established and may only form boards to meet requirements, like securing financing or transitioning through an ESOP. Venture-backed boards, on the other hand, are typically filled by investors who hold major stakes in the company.

According to Molina Niño, understanding the difference between them is how you can create a successful strategy. With publicly traded business boards, the whole world is privy to them, so, “The way that you get in there is a little bit more transparent. Sometimes those publicly traded companies will hire a recruiter to help them find new board members,” explains Molina Niño. For private companies, on the other hand, there’s no legal requirement to make announcements. As a result, most people don’t know anything about them or their inner workings.

“Usually what happens in traditional businesses that don’t have venture-capital investments is that the Founders, Executives, or the board members, if one existed already, they usually go to their friends,” and people they deem experienced to fill board seats. In other words, it’s the founder’s decision, and that’s an entirely different approach than hiring recruiters. When it comes to venture-backed business boards, the seats on the board are filled by whichever investor writes the biggest check.

This is why an understanding of the different types of boards and acknowledgment of their own strengths is what will help Latinas define a sound strategy. Whether that’s working with a recruiter, networking and connecting with founders to build trust, or making the biggest investment.

The Path for Latinas

For Molina Niño, the key to getting more Latinas into corporate boardrooms is education. Knowing what a board looks like and how it functions is how you can position yourself to get on it. In openly talking about this, without the mystique it’s usually shrouded in, Molina Niño is providing women, especially Latinas, with invaluable insights. “If we had Latinas understanding what are the three types of for-profit boards I think that, on their own, they would be able to figure out what their best chance is and adjust their careers to make themselves more competitive,” states Molina Niño.

When asked about the impact of increased Latina representation in boardrooms, Molina Niño flips the narrative. “Boards don’t help Latinas by offering them seats; Latinas help businesses thrive by being on their boards,” she says. “The whole point of sitting on a board is that you have experience and expertise, and as Latinas, you also have some cultural experience that everyone wants. [...] At the end of the day, we [Latinas] have to realize that we have a ton to offer and we have to be selective about where we put that expertise,” she explains.

As demand for access to the Latina consumer rises, Molina Niño predicts that more Latinas will find themselves recruited into boardrooms. But she’s not content to sit back and wait for that moment. By openly sharing her journey and insights, she’s making sure other Latinas know their worth and have the tools to claim their place at the table. “I realized that quietly being on boards that helped me personally is not helping other Latinas. [...] I was lucky enough to have friends who could advise me and share their experiences, so that’s why I’m doing this,” she stated.

With Hispanic Heritage Month as the backdrop, Nathalie Molina Niño’s mission is clear: “My goal is just to give Latinas enough information so they can make a plan for how to eventually get on a board that they’re paid to be on and that will eventually help them build generational wealth.”

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