Grammy winner and Super Bowl performer Bad Bunny, Benito Martínez Ocasio, is set to star in a movie about Puerto Rico. “Porto Rico” is a love letter to his home and is directed by rapper René “Residente” Pérez Joglar.
This project has been in the works since 2023 and follows José Maldonado Román, a revolutionary from the late 19th century to the early 20th century. Román was known for his fighting against Spanish colonizers on the island and started uprisings. The revolutionary was known as Águila Blanca, or White Eagle.
Román was born in Juana Díaz in 1874 when Puerto Rico was a colony of Spain. Puerto Ricans were not wealthy, and there was much social inequality in the area. Throughout his life, he had altercations with the police and was arrested for criminal but revolutionary acts, such as robbery and assaults. In 1897, he joined a Puerto Rican revolutionary and raised the Puerto Rican flag for the first time on the island and marched into a town called Yauco.
Román was sent into exile and moved to New York City, where he continued to fight for his home. When he moved back to Puerto Rico, he harassed Spanish police and wealthy plantation owners. He was known as a bandit to some and a hero to many others.
While unrest continued, Puerto Rico became part of the U.S. in 1898, and Puerto Ricans became U.S. citizens in 1917. The White Eagle, while sentenced to 10 years in prison, was able to get out and live his life in peace as an ordinary citizen.
The title of the film is also a historical reference, dating back to the spelling used in the Spanish colonial period and early U.S. administration. The title tells fans what the movie will be about and the time period it will be set in.
The making of this movie represents an important milestone. Productions about Caribbean culture and history have been overlooked and untouched, despite producing powerful filmmakers and creative artists. This movie, with the inclusion of Bad Bunny, will likely promote others to do the same and embrace creating art about the history.
“This film is a reaffirmation of who we are - told with the intensity and honesty that our history deserves,” Residente told Deadline.
In addition to Bad Bunny, the cast includes Viggo Mortensen, Edward Norton and Javier Bardem. This film will be executive-produced by Alejandro G. Iñárritu. Mortensen is an American actor known best for his role in the “Lord of the Rings” movie series as Aragorn. Norton is an actor, producer and writer. He narrated “Fight Club” and played Miles Bron in the Knives Out series’ “Glass Onion.” Spanish native Bardem has been seen in “Skyfall” as Raoul Silva and “No Country for Old Men” as Anton Chigurh.
“Thank you to Benito, for taking the plunge and signing on for his first starring role with me because, as I told him, ‘I’m not looking for an actor, I’m looking for someone who hurts for Puerto Rico as much as I do and that would be as proud as I am when they sing our true hymn,’” Residente said on his Instagram.
Bad Bunny has been known for more than his music. He is also recognized for his philanthropy, volunteer work and celebrating Puerto Rican culture. The artist tries to bring his home to the forefront of everything he does in an effort to bring attention to it. The culture and beauty of Puerto Rico are in the media now more than ever, as well as in music.
Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl Halftime show has shown great promise for the success of this future movie. His performance drew 128.2 million viewers and was about Puerto Rico. The media attention to the territory will likely be helpful in promoting and getting people to watch the movie.
With his platform, the artist has made great strides to show cultural importance and representation in the media.
“Before I say thanks to God, I’m going to say ICE out,” Bad Bunny said in his acceptance speech at the Grammy Awards. “We’re not savage, we’re not animals, we’re not aliens and we are Americans.”
With his refusal to tour in the U.S. due to Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids, the artist is drawing attention to discussions that are often otherwise ignored. A lot of Americans love Bad Bunny, so the lack of availability to watch the artist in the U.S. shows the need for change and bigger issues. This is something he can continue to do through “Porto Rico” and the success that might come with it.
Norton also commented on the movie’s plot.
“This film sits in a tradition of films we deeply love, from The Godfather to Gangs of New York, that both thrill us with visceral drama and iconic characters and eras while also forcing us to face up to the shadow story under the American narrative of idealism,” Norton said.
The movie remains in pre-production, and no release date has been announced yet.
“Porto Rico” has taken several good steps to bring in the right people to make the movie in the way history needs. Bringing attention to history that has been in the dark for so long will improve our knowledge of what has happened so that we can make our best efforts to fix what might come.
