Why was the rest of the world so quick to join Bad Bunny's chant?

Following Bad Bunny’s record-breaking halftime show at Super Bowl 2026, it’s mofongo instead of mashed potatoes, arepas instead of sandwiches, and everyone is drawn to Latin American culture. “Proud Latino” posts from Eurasia, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East flood social media. Yes, apparently, they’re all Latinos now, according to the latest “Worldwide Latino Belt” that conveniently stretches across three continents, collaboratively decided online. With the recent Latino trend on social media, everyone seems to proudly join Latin Americans’ brave journey to reinsert their culture. What drives people into these movements that are thousands of kilometers away? Do those people serve justice to the Latin American community by accepting a title without acknowledging the bag of trauma and struggle it comes with?

This geographically distant interest in Latin American culture and politics is not new. It starts with a longing for a community different from the one you are currently in. I remember my teenage years, when I believed the whole world was against me and that I knew everything. Classic teenagers who believed their ideas were the best, they could never be wrong, and everyone else around was just... stupid.

Me and the friends I made online were reading about Marx and Che Guevara. The algorithm fed us even more, and we were blinded by the happiness of belonging to something so distant and cool that we never understood the people at its core.

Then, we all started buying shirts with Guevara's silhouette from a local Turkish bazaar (how it got there in the first place and the commodification of Latino culture is a whole other article). When our peers didn't recognize him, we felt a subtle satisfaction, another proof that they were stupid and we knew better. My experience as a socially distant kid might be too specific. But this concept of being drawn to ideas spatially and temporally distant from you is a common phenomenon. Remember how the 21st century welcomed us with Guevara’s face on every possible textile item. It evolved into “Proud to be a member of the Latino belt” posts now. It’s the lifecycle of radical chic. How did Latin American political reformers become “the cool guys”?

You gravitate toward ideas that are furthest away, so far from you that you can’t be held accountable for them. So you start reading about Guevara and realize these ideas aren’t that far away after all. They apply to your life. They would actually fix your problems with your 8-to-6 job and your condescending boss. Suddenly, 62% of Americans under 30 view socialism favorably.

But is it cool like “I want to be part of it” or cool like “I want to dress up as one for Halloween”? Because one requires showing up when it’s uncomfortable, and the other lets you take it off when the party’s over. Latin America offers all these exotic concepts we love to see, concepts that would take us away from the mundane realities of daily life. Something so colorful and interesting that we cannot stop watching.

The fame of Bad Bunny follows a similar pattern. His bravery in performing full-Spanish songs to represent people who have been pushed to the background for years resonates deeply. Gen Z wants to see representation of their culture, but more importantly, they want representation of change. Bad Bunny and the Latino community he represents give that to the young generation.

So we’re getting better music and food in the world now, what’s the problem? Bad Bunny answers us himself: “Ahora todos quieren ser latinos, pero les falta sazón,” after all. Being a Latino doesn’t only mean cool music and shouting a catchy chant over and over again. Without experiencing the same struggles, internalizing the same fight for your people, you simply lack the flavor.

Well, I’m a proud Turkish “latino,” agreeing fully with Bad Bunny’s bravery and his demand for agency for his people, until it forces me to peek under my own political carpet, where I’ve pushed every discussion regarding natural resources controlled by foreign powers, or the rights of Kurds. Why is it easier to celebrate distant resistance than to confront what’s in front of me?

Years pass. That Guevara shirt becomes pajamas. And we’re not taking any action for what these symbols actually represent.

It’s time to take an example from Bad Bunny and many Latinos who have bravely defended their people. Time to turn off our phones and look around. Think about how to relate to and improve our own countries meaningfully.

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Songs of the World

• Your Eyes — Lav Eli (Armenia)
• Ticket in My Hand — Khameleon (México/Canada)
• bile! — Ayau (Kazakhstan)
• Miganinani — Aziz Maraka (Jordania/Palestine)
• Terug In De Tijd. — Yves Berendse (Netherlands)
• Paloma — Andrés Calamaro (Argentina)

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Send your songs to theminervacolumn@gmail.com