by Oscar Vera
Bad Bunny was the special guest this week on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, and through his performance, he sent a strong message against discrimination to the trans community.
During his performance of “Ignorantes,” which is part of his new album YHLQMDLG, the Puerto Rican singer wore a black skirt and a white shirt with a message related to the recent murder of a trans woman in Puerto Rico. The message read, “Mataron a Alexa, no a un hombre con falda” (They killed Alexa, not a man in a skirt).
The message on Bad Bunny’s shirt criticizes the police report and how information was handled by the media, which described Alexa as “a man wearing a skirt,” in a clear form of ignorance and lack of respect by not using the pronouns that she preferred as a trans woman.
Alexa Luciano Ruiz’s body was found on Monday, February 24th, in the town of Toa Baja, a day after she was accused of “wearing a costume” when using the bathroom of a popular fast-food restaurant. At the same time, a video, believed was posted by the people who attacked Alexa, went viral on social media, where the woman is seen to be harassed and threatened. Later, you can hear the shots that ended her life. The murder is being investigated as a hate crime.
The way the murder was treated by the local press and the police outraged people in Puerto Rico. The hashtags #SeLlamabaAlexa and “Her name was Alexa” went viral shortly after the authorities announced her death. Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren also shared a message on Twitter, calling everyone to “protect trans women of color.”
Discrimination against trans people is a reality not only in Puerto Rico but all over the world. A report from the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights estimates the life expectancy of trans people to be around 35 years.
With this performance, Bad Bunny joined the list of celebrities who have expressed their outrage due to this kind of crime and also sheds light on the importance of respecting trans people’s lives.
