In an interview with i-D magazine on Sept. 10, Puerto Rican star Bad Bunny pointed toward the possible presence of United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement as the leading reason for not touring his latest album, “DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS,” in the United States. 

His album is a gorgeous reflection of Latinidad, encapsulating loss, pride, history and joy in the span of 17 songs. Although I applaud his choice to boycott the U.S., it pains me to see another space where Latinidad would flourish be taken away because of fear. 

It’s easy to fall into despair these days. For me, it happened Sept. 8, when a Supreme Court ruling in the case Vasquez Perdomo v. Noem legalized the racial profiling of Latinos. I was struck with fear. 

I thought back to the mass deportations of the 1930s, where roughly 2 million Mexicans and Mexican Americans were banished from their homes in the U.S., after becoming scapegoats to the country’s loss of jobs and economic failure. History has taught me that my color, my language and my identity would stop me from ever being a true citizen of this country. 

This was only amplified when I had to go to class in a building that — up until 2020 — was named after eugenicist Rufus von KleinSmid, who was USC’s president from 1921-1947. It was a stark reminder that my presence at USC was at one point unwelcome and that my existence in California should have been erased.

I sulked for most of the day. But after some reflection, I realized that that is exactly what the oppressor would want from me. I chose, then, to uplift myself; joy and pride are some of the greatest forms of resistance people of color can use. 

“One of the ways we are most easily controlled is when pleasure is taken off the table or made to feel like it’s not even a part of something that belongs to our lives. And so, the reclaiming of pleasure in the here and now is an important part of reclaiming that wholeness of our lives,” said Adrienne Maree Brown, an activist and author of “Pleasure Activism,” in an NPR interview July 30.

The next day, I walked out of my apartment in a freshly creased, crisp-white Pro Club. My pair of starched Ben Davis jeans slightly sagged as I biked across campus. In my ear, the sounds of Latinidad: Natanael Cano’s corridos tumbados, Bad Bunny’s reggaetón and Luis Miguel’s boleros. From my tongue, the sounds of my native, northern Mexican accent sang along.

I knew that the ghosts of white supremacists that roam this University were upset to see me then, so proud of my Chicanidad. 

One of the main goals of white supremacy is to get us to hate who we are, to aspire to whiteness and to think our culture is second to theirs. I resist those goals wholeheartedly by loving my culture and being happy in who I am. As we move forward through these uncertain times, I implore you, dear reader, to do the same. 

I implore you to learn your history, to remember the sacrifices our ancestors made in the face of exclusion. Remember that our extinction was hoped for and that we are the living testament of utter perseverance and struggle. 

I implore you to be unequivocally yourself. Universities across the country once studied our cultures as primitive and undesirable, yet we are still here, spitting in the face of racist idolatry. 

I implore you to find joy living in your culture. You are experiencing highs and lows that the generations who live inside you never could’ve dreamed of. 

From this pride and joy, we can create spaces for ourselves where we can be accepted and appreciated: spaces that help us drive our pain away through cultural dance and song, spaces that are so loud with cries of joy and pungent with the smells of cuisines from our homes. Like Bad Bunny has reminded us throughout his new album, we are telling the world, “seguimo’ aquí.”

With the announcement of Bad Bunny headlining Super Bowl LX, I hope he can use America’s biggest stage to uplift Latinidad to heights it desperately needs to get back to. I hope that not a lick of English is spoken, that our varying shades of brown are represented and that those faces on stage are filled with joy to bring our cultures to the world. 

I’ll be rejoicing in my living room, dancing along, filled with pride. He doesn’t even need to perform, in my eyes; just seeing a Latino exist with such unquestionable authenticity is enough to keep me pleased. 

Remember, our mere existence as people of color in this country is an act of resistance. We are walking proof of the shortcomings of a system that continues to try and control us. Be joyous. Be proud. Those are the first steps to create change. Cuídense, mi raza.