Reggaetón songs introducing millions to Puerto Rican history? A UW-Madison professor collaborating with an internationally recognized popular music star? Yes, and yes! Jorell Meléndez Badillo, a CLS affiliate faculty member in the History Department, recently created seventeen brief Spanish-language synopses of important moments in the island’s history from 1508 to the present that now accompany each track on Bad Bunny’s new album “Debí tirar más fotos.” In case you have woken up from a years-long coma or have been otherwise out of the loop, Bad Bunny (born Benito Antonio Martínez-Ocasio) is perhaps Puerto Rico’s best-known singer, songwriter, rapper, and music producer. His album Un Verano Sin Ti holds the streaming record on Spotify, appealing even to audiences who don’t understand Spanish. His song and documentary El Apagón chronicles the effects of power outages on the island following natural disasters and the debt crisis. While Bad Bunny was putting finishing touches on the new album, which incorporates elements of traditional Puerto Rican genres such as plena, his team reached out to Prof. Meléndez Badillo to propose the collaboration. Released on January 5th, the videos and their historical sketches have already received more than four million views on YouTube. Such a public lesson is especially important for Puerto Ricans, whose history is rarely taught in schools, even on the island itself. Meléndez-Badillo’s second book, Puerto Rico: A National History, has now been translated into Spanish, and its popularity in Puerto Rico is likely the reason his work came to the artist’s attention. More information about the album and the collaboration are available in a story by Andrea Flores in the Los Angeles Times.