John Shearer/Getty; Kevin Mazur/Getty
Ricky Martinhas all the feels aboutBad Bunny's historic night at theGrammy Awardson Sunday — and he's letting the world know in an open letter to the Puerto Rican singer.
"Benito, brother, seeing you win three Grammy Awards, one of them for album of the year with a production entirely in Spanish, touched me deeply. Not only as an artist, but as a Puerto Rican who has walked stages around the world carrying his language, his accent, and his story," Martin began in Spanish in his letter, which was published Tuesday in the Puerto Rican newspaperEl Nuevo Díaand which he shared viascreenshot on his Instagram stories.
Kevin Mazur/Getty
Bad Bunny, whose full name is Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, won Best Global Musical Performance for "EoO," and Best Música Urbana Album and Album of the Year forDebí Tirar Más Fotos. The latter award marked the first time in Grammy history that an all-Spanish-language album won in that category.
"I know what it means to succeed without letting go of where you come from. I know how heavy it is, what it costs, and what is sacrificed when you decide not to change because others ask you to. That's why what you have achieved is not just a historic musical accomplishment, it's a cultural and human victory," Martin added in his letter. "You won without changing the color of your voice. You won without erasing your roots. You won by staying true to Puerto Rico."
Get your daily dose of entertainment news, celebrity updates, and what to watch with ourEW Dispatch newsletter.
Martin — who was born in San Juan — first broke out as a member of the boy band Menudo before embarking on a successful solo career. His single "Livin' la Vida Loca" topped both the Billboard Hot 100 and the U.K. Singles Chart, and with over 70 million records sold worldwide, he is one of the best-selling Latin music artists of all time.
Martin confessed in his letter that watching Bad Bunny hoist his trophies on stage put "a lump in my throat" because he recognized that "something important is happening — not just for you, but for all of us."
"What touched me most about seeing you there on the Grammy stage was the silence of the entire audience when you spoke," he wrote. "When you defended the immigrant community, when you pointed out a system that persecutes and separates, you spoke from a place I know very well, that place where fear and hope coexist, where millions live between languages, borders, and deferred dreams," he added, referring to Bad Bunny's emotional speech on stage in which he denounced Immigration and Customs Enforcement and powerfully declared, in part, "we're not savage, we're not animals, we're not aliens — we are humans, and we are Americans."
Martin concluded, "This achievement is for a generation to whom you taught that their identity is non-negotiable and that success is not at odds with authenticity. From the heart, from one Boricua to another, with respect and love, I thank you for reminding us that when one of ours succeeds, we all succeed."
Read the original article onEntertainment Weekly
