Bad Bunny’s latest album speaks of his proud Puerto Rican heritage. For pastor Johnny Rivera, it was a reminder that his allegiance is to Christ, and he will always be proud to live under God’s banner
Bad Bunny’s latest album, Debí Tirar Más Fotos, recently climbed to number one in the US Billboard 200 album chart and resonated deeply with listeners worldwide, transcending cultural and linguistic barriers.
Before this album’s release, I had never really listened to the Puerto Rican rapper. I knew of him, of course - his music is everywhere - but I also knew that much of his content could be seen as ‘worldly’ and, as a pastor, I was wary. But something about Debí Tirar Más Fotos was different.
Just as carrying the Puerto Rican flag was once an act of rebellion, carrying the God’s “bloodstained banner” is also an act of countercultural defiance
To be clear, the album contains songs that I would never endorse as a Christian. But it also did something I would never have imagined. It made me think about my faith, my identity and my culture - what it means to be part of something bigger than oneself.
In the song ‘La Mudanza’ Bad Bunny declares: “Aqui mataron gente por sacar la bandera. Por eso es que ahora yo la llevo donde quiera” (Here, people were killed for bringing out the flag. That’s why now I carry it everywhere”).
Wondering what he was referring to, I came to learn that owning or displaying a Puerto Rican flag was once illegal in the US. The mere act of waving it was seen as an act of rebellion.
Puerto Ricans are often teased over our affinity for our flag. But perhaps this is why. It’s not just about celebrating a homeland; it’s an act of gratitude and defiance. Gratitude that we are now free to display it openly today, and defiance in ensuring that this right is never taken away again.
Carrying God’s presence
As a current graduate pursuing a Master of Arts in spirituality, as well as a pastor of 20 years, I am still learning how arts and culture can inform - for good or bad - how we understand God and the scriptures.
One of my favourite hymns is ‘We are soldiers’. The lyrics are: “We are soldiers in the army, and we’ve got to fight / We have to hold up the blood-stained banner / We have to hold it up until we die”. The song conveys the message that, by holding up the banner of Christ, we fight not as the world does, but by holding onto Jesus.
Just as carrying the Puerto Rican flag was once an act of rebellion, carrying God’s “bloodstained banner” is also an act of countercultural defiance - and something I carry with gratitude.
As a former atheist, I was once enslaved to sin and my own brokenness. But thankfully, in 1997, Jesus set me free, and now I live my life as an expression of gratitude.
The defiance I speak of is rooted in Jesus’s call to go against the grain of the world. In a culture that promotes selfishness, I choose service. In a world obsessed with power, I choose humility. In a society that encourages division, I choose unity. Each act of love is a form of rebellion against the values of a world that resists God.
The world often views rebellion as rejecting authority, but true spiritual rebellion is rejecting the authority of sin and choosing Christ.
Subversive resistance
This mindset has shaped my approach to leadership. I love to work with leaders that others may have given up on. By intentionally investing in those who may be overlooked, I am rebelling against systemic biases that suggest they are not enough. Equipping the saints because they are called, qualified and gifted glorifies God - regardless of what statement it may make.
Jesus frequently engaged in subversive resistance by challenging societal, religious and political norms, offering a transformative vision of God’s kingdom. His conversation with the Samaritan woman (John 4:1-42) defied ethnic and gender boundaries, showing that God’s grace extends beyond social divisions.
As a former atheist, I was once enslaved to sin but Jesus set me free
He healed on the Sabbath (Mark 3:1-6; Luke 13:10-17), prioritising human need over legalism. When confronted with the woman caught in adultery (John 8:1-11), he exposed the hypocrisy of her accusers and emphasised mercy over punishment. By touching lepers and the unclean (Mark 1:40-45; Mark 5:25-34; Luke 7:11-17), he defied purity laws and restored the marginalised to community.
Each of these actions subverted worldly systems - not through violence, but radical love, justice and the proclamation of God’s kingdom. He also turned tables in the temple in righteous protest but, often, he simply lived the rebellion.
Whether it’s a flag or a faith, what we carry communicates to the world who we are. I strive to carry God’s presence with gratitude, and in defiance “against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Ephesians 6:12). And I plan on holding the blood-stained banner till the day I die.
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