Daddy Yankee Calls for Puerto Rico Governor’s Resignation at Premios Juventud
A lot went down at last night’s 2019 Premios Juventud
Photo: Unsplash/@tata186
A lot went down at last night’s 2019 Premios Juventud. The annual event took place at Watsco Center in Coral Gables, Florida and was hosted by Alejandra Espinoza, Lali, and CNCO. Pedro Capó, Lali, and Farruko’s “Calma (Remix)” performance had everyone hyped as well as Daddy Yankee, Natti Natasha, and Pitbull’s performance of their hit song “To Le Trates.” Maluma accepting his Agent of Change Award with his parents was hella sweet but what really made the night was Daddy Yankee’s call for Puerto Rico governor’s resignation while accepting his award.
Daddy Yankee was honored with the “Multi-Tasker” award on Thursday night and used his acceptance speech to bring attention to the protests happening in Puerto Rico calling for the resignation of Gov. Ricardo Rosselló. The protests sparked after the release of at least 889 pages from the governor’s private chat that revealed deeply misogynistic, homophobic, profanity-laced, and cruel text messages between the governor and 11 of his top aides and cabinet members.
“Resign. Hand over power peacefully, reasonably, and diplomatically, and make way for new leaders to direct our country the right way,” Yankee said. “Puerto Rico is tired of corruption, of decades of mistreatment, of lies. The education system is broken. We need to improve education, please! Let’s keep protesting courageously, but wisely. Demand your right, but do so smartly. Passively, without fear. We’re hurt, but we’ll keep going forward bravely.”
Daddy Yankee wasn’t the only one at Premios Juventud who expressed his support for the #RickyRenuncia movement. Eladio Carrion wore a “Renuncia” shirt during his performance of “Mi Error” feat. Zion, Lyanno was seen waving the Puerto Rican flag, and Farruko even yelled out “nosotros necesitamos líderes, no gente que nos roben.” Residente sent out a tweet the night of letting artists attending Premios Juventud know that peace isn’t what’s needed right now but instead a direct demand for Ricardo Rosselló’s resignation.
A los artistas hoy en @PremiosJuventud No necesitamos que pidan Paz para Puerto Rico, necesitamos que pidan que Ricardo Roselló renuncie 🇵🇷
— Residente (@Residente) July 18, 2019
But Danny Yankee’s speech was probably the most straight-forward, candid, and effective out of all the messaging that night. It was encouraging to see so many celebrities taking a stand on something that’s deeply impacting the people of Puerto Rico while highlighting the importance of involvement. This is certainly no time to be neutral.
