Angel Santiago Cruz came to Hawaiʻi in 1979 from Puerto Rico to find out what statehood was like amid ongoing debates about the Caribbean island's territorial status.
Come to find out, statehood was not what he expected.
“What is going to happen to us when we become a state? What are we going to lose?” he said. “What I noticed when I got to Hawaiʻi was the first thing to do in order to colonize is to take your identity away – your language, your history.”
Puerto Rican artist Bad Bunny's latest song, “LO QUE LE PASÓ A HAWAii,” meaning "what happened to Hawaiʻi," pleads for Puerto Rico not to end up like the Hawaiian Islands. Its release has drawn reactions from Native Hawaiians and Puerto Ricans locally.
Some say the song strikes stark similarities between the islands, such as issues of displacement, overmilitarism and overtourism. Others say it's a reminder of the two islands' colonial pasts.
Puerto Rico became a U.S. territory in 1898 after the Spanish-American War — five years after the U.S.-backed overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom. Hawaiʻi eventually became a state in 1959.
“That song is not only important to the people in Puerto Rico but to the people of Hawaiʻi,” Santiago Cruz said. “The fact that he's using the Hawaiian experience to make that comparison should be another awakening to the Puerto Ricans and to the Native Hawaiians.”
A broader conversation through song
“LO QUE LE PASÓ A HAWAii” is part of Bad Bunny’s latest album, “DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOTo,” which has been charting on the Billboard Hot 100, competing with artists like Lady Gaga and Taylor Swift.
Native Hawaiian artist Daniel Kauwila Mahi said he interpreted the song as Bad Bunny protecting his homeland by taking a political stance against statehood and critiquing American politics.
“We are witnessing what Bad Bunny is talking about in his song,” he said. “For one of the most streamed, if not, the most streamed artist in the world, to talk about and politize this issue as a way to establish a connection to their own home and build this solidarity amongst each other in ways that a lot of us have been trying to do for many years.”
Mahi underscored that Native Hawaiian musicians have long created music about the struggles facing Hawaiʻi dating back to the 19th century.
For example, Hawaiʻi's last reigning monarch, Queen Liliʻuokalani, composed the song, "Ke Aloha O Ka Haku,” or “The Queen’s Prayer," while she was under house arrest at ‘Iolani Palace.
“From that point on, music has been a catalyst and a voice for our people to talk about the struggle that goes on in all aspects of Hawaiʻi life,” he said, adding there are songs highlighting sovereignty, food insecurity, displacement, overmilitarism and more.
During the Hawaiian Renaissance in the 1970s, a collective effort by Native Hawaiian musicians brought traditional Hawaiian music back into the mainstream. These musicians included but were not limited to Israel Kamakawiwoʻole, Gabby Pahinui, Kapono Beamer, Henry Kapono Kaʻaihue and more.
Musicians like Sudden Rush also have been highlighting issues in the state with modern music.
“There are so many artists that are offering similar, if not, more radical critiques of America,” Mahi said. “They show up, and they are ready if anyone makes a call who's an organizer or political activist that wants to set up a rally.”
Mahi said Puerto Ricans and Native Hawaiians have similarities through music based on their storytelling and sound.
“This broader conversation is how Kānaka Maoli and Latino culture have been in conversation through music since paniolo (cowboys) came to Hawaiʻi, and our sounds have influenced each other longer than people think,” he said.
True to the roots
The first wave of Puerto Rican immigrants came to Hawaiʻi in 1900, a year after a hurricane devastated the Caribbean island, leaving 3,000 people dead and thousands without shelter. Many also came to work in the sugarcane fields.
Latinos make up 11% of Hawaiʻi's population, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Puerto Ricans make up a large part of that group, with appearances and genetics remaining diverse.
When Native Hawaiian filmmaker Cris Romento heard Bad Bunny’s song, she said it was a coincidence that his album came out around the same time she released her short documentary film, “Dear Aloha.” Her film highlights Native Hawaiians in the diaspora.
“This is the year for us to have that recognition to shift our narrative,” she said.
Bad Bunny’s song referenced Puerto Ricans moving due to economic challenges on the island, including the aftermath of hurricanes like Maria in 2017, the high cost of living, and unemployment.
Many Native Hawaiians have also left for jobs, affordable living or other opportunities. While on the national singing competition show "American Idol," Pacific Islander musician Iam Tongi of Kahuku said he was “priced out of paradise."
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, more Native Hawaiians now live in the continental U.S. than in the islands.
Kelli Goto is a third-generation Puerto Rican living on Oʻahu. She’s never been to her motherland, but it’s on her bucket list. However, Goto underscored that she never lost her roots.
“The teachings and history from my ancestors, my grandparents and parents, really made me have that connection,” she said. “Although I’ve never been there, we always practiced music and the values, the love for our culture in our home.”
She said Bad Bunny's song hits home.
“It pains me knowing that our queen was robbed, our Hawaiian people were robbed of their home,” she said. “As explained in Bad Bunny's new song, Puerto Rico is now at the mercy and could potentially suffer the way our Hawaiian people here in Hawaiʻi have suffered.”
When Goto closed her eyes while listening to the song, she envisioned what Puerto Rico is like.
“I hear the roosters crowing,” she said. “I feel like I’m in somebody’s backyard. What I feel what he (Bad Bunny) is doing is moving, especially for our new generations, to get that story out and make a connection between the two islands.”
Bad Bunny’s album incorporates multiple genres, including jibaro music, the traditional folklore of Puerto Rico.
The chorus that stood out to Santiago Cruz was, “No, don’t let go of the flag nor forget the lelolai.”
Santiago Cruz compared lelolai to the Hawaiian word ea, which has multiple meanings, including air, sovereignty, or to rise.”
“When the Hawaiians say ea, that's an expression for your Hawaiianness,” he said. "That's an expression of the connection to the island. Ea is pride. Lelolai is the same. If you lose your lelolai, you're not Puerto Rican anymore. That’s what he meant.”
