You may wonder if San Benito harbors any special abilities given his recent streak of artistic accomplishments, from landing a cover and interview in Harper’s Bazaar a few weeks ago, to accepting an award for artist of the year at MTV’s Video Music Awards last night. 

Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio first made his appearance at the show and performed “Tití me preguntó,” a memorable hit single from his full-length Summer release Un Verano Sin Ti, to then accept the coveted Artist of the Year award, previously bestowed to household pop idols like Ariana Grande and Lady Gaga.

“No tengo palabras para describir el orgullo que siento. El orgullo que siento de estar aquí esta noche en Yankee Stadium aceptando este premio,” Bad Bunny said in Spanish to the audience, after he accepted the award from Carmelo Anthony.  

“I don’t have the words to describe what I’m feeling. The pride I’m feeling to be at Yankee Stadium accepting this award.”

For this year’s celebration, Bad Bunny faced a slate of lauded reputations in the music industry, including Lizzo, Drake, Harry Styles, Jack Harlow, and Lil Nas X.

Bad Bunny’s most recent accomplishment follows a very natural path of standard-breaking patterns within American mainstream media. Most recently, he was selected by Harper’s Bazaar to occupy the most desired piece of real estate in fashion, the cover. 

His presence in the reggaeton scene fundamentally changed how people from all walks of life can enjoy a beat, perhaps get down and connect through his message, which covers sexuality, heartbreak, domestic violence, and politics. 

And although his rapid rise to fame might separate him from his rural roots in his small town of Vega Baja, Puerto Rico, Benito has always kept Puerto Ricans at the core of his art. In an interview with Telemundo, Bad Bunny said he still feels as though he is still making music for his first audience. 

“I still believe I’m there making music, and it’s for Puerto Ricans. I forget that everyone listens to me,” he said. 

He reminded a global, monstrous audience last night at the tail-end of his speech: “Lo llevo diciendo y siempre he creido desde el principio que yo podía llegar a ser grande, que yo podía llegar a se una de las estrellas más grandes del mundo sin tener que cambiar mi cultura, my tongue, mi idioma, mi jerga.”

“I’ve been saying this and have always believed it from the start. I can be big, I could be one of the biggest stars in the world without changing my tongue, my language, my slang.” 

And proclaimed: “Yo soy Benito Antonio Martínez de Puerto Rico pal (sic.) mundo entero.”

“I am Benito Antonio Martínez from Puerto Rico to the world.” 

For his performance of “Tití me preguntó,” he entered the stage with a distorted wedding march track as he carried a bride-to-be before she hopped off his arms and joined the rest of the dance crew. 

The clip mutes a few expletives, but curiously enough, the studio didn’t censor cabrón, a common expletive used among Puerto Ricans, along with the other naughty words he regularly tosses around in his lyric writing. 

However, there was one moment that caught the attention of headlines across the country. As he sang the song’s bridge “yo quisiera enamorarme, pero no puedo,” he turned his head both ways to kiss both a female and male dancer, sending outlets and fans into a new frenzy as he pushes an artistic format free of constraints.

In his interview with Harper’s Bianca Betancourt, Bad Bunny said “I’m taking advantage of this moment in my life when I can do whatever I want and wear what I want, so I get to live more authentically.” 

Bad Bunny was last seen at the VMA’s in 2019 when he and J Balvin performed “Que pretendes.” That year, he took home the Song of the Summer award for “I like it,” a collaboration with New York’s Cardi B.