Ricky Martin cannot hide his pride over Bad Bunny's achievement at the Grammys this past Sunday (Feb. 1), when the Puerto Rican urban music superstar took home three awards, including album of the year for Debí Tirar Más Fotos in a historic moment. On Tuesday (Feb. 3), the pop icon published a heartfelt open letter in the Puerto Rican newspaper El Nuevo Día titled "When One of Ours Succeeds, We All Succeed," where he praises his colleague and fellow countryman.
"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 wrote in Spanish in his letter, sharing a screenshot on his Instagram stories.
"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," he added. "You won without changing the color of your voice. You won without erasing your roots. You won by staying true to Puerto Rico."
Bad Bunny made history on Sunday as the first artist to win the Grammy for album of the year with a set entirely in Spanish. Debí Tirar Más Fotos, which spent four weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and has spent 50 weeks at the top of the Top Latin Albums chart, also won best música urbana album. He also won best global music performance for the song "EoO."
Martin -- who made his crossover in the late '90s with the Billboard No. 1 Hot 100 hit "Livin' La Vida Loca" -- continued his letter celebrating Benito for not succumbing to the industry's demands to "soften the Spanish or hide the identity" in order to become global. He confessed that he got "a lump in his throat" watching him lift his awards during the ceremony.
"What touched me most about seeing you there on the Grammy stage was the silence of the entire audience when you spoke. 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, referencing Bad Bunny's powerful speech while accepting the Grammy for best música urbana album, in which he criticized ICE and called for avoiding hate and acting "with love."
"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," Martin concluded. "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."
Bad Bunny is set to make history again this weekend, when he becomes the first artist who primarily sings in Spanish to headline the Super Bowl Halftime Show on Sunday (Feb. 8).
