Chief Editor's Note: Baila sin Miedo

I don’t usually pay much mind to sporting events of any kind, despite how significant they may be. Every year someone tells me about the final match between some team in some sport and I register that information for two days or so before I forget it. And in that regard this year has been no different. You could ask me all kinds of questions about the Super Bowl and I could not even tell you which teams were playing. Typically I barely know who’s performing during halftime. I’ve seen some halftime shows but it’s not something I watch every year. But this year I did watch the show. It was the only bit I watched from the Super Bowl, and because I value my sleep, I watched it on YouTube the next day. It was an ideal way for me to enjoy the show. The only downside to not watching it live was that the cultural and symbolic dissection was all over my social media already. I didn’t seek it out and I actively wanted to ignore it, because I wanted to experience the show authentically. And I’m glad I did.

Now, I do have to confess that prior to this, I didn’t know much about Bad Bunny or Puerto Rico, and because of that I knew I would miss quite a lot of subtext and nuance within the show. I’m still not educated to the level that I wish to be, but I know more than I did yesterday, you know? And honestly, the show was gorgeous and captivating regardless. It was a beautiful celebration of language, culture and community. I may not understand much Spanish, let alone the Puerto Rican slang Bad Bunny raps and sings in, but I was moved to tears multiple times.

Having said that, I know enough Spanish to understand short phrases here and there, and the show included some phrases that really struck me:
Baila sin miedo. Dance without fear.

I’ve always been a creative person, and over time I realised just how meaningful art can be. On a personal level, art can be an outlet for difficult emotions and on a communal level, it can be identity, culture and history. I quit dance ages ago, but I’m still infinitely moved by how much joy it can bring to performers and audiences alike. I’m captivated by how dance differs between regions and what dance means to the communities in each region. Dancing is a way to express selfhood in a way that is difficult to describe with words. So why make yourself smaller? Instead, allow yourself to take up more space. Who cares how or why, when or where, just do it. It’s a cliché to say dance like nobody’s watching, and honestly, dance without fear is a great way to upgrade that phrase. Fear can be paralysing if we let it, but I think the best way to combat fear is to move, to laugh, to dance. Have a party. Love life.

There was space for everyone and everything in that show. The field was filled with love, joy and dance. It does not take learning Spanish to understand the message of Bad Bunny’s halftime show. The field was filled with love and adoration towards cultural and linguistic diversity, but the performance as a whole was also a moving piece of protest against hate and division. And why not combat those through dancing?

And while we may not all be dancers, we can all try to add a little bit more love and joy into our lives with art and self-expression. That is what we do best, so let me introduce the texts of this issue. Valo guides us through the NAKED EYE exhibition at Kiasma and I interview our very own editor Oliver, who is the new president of Sub! Oliver also has a text in this issue, a fascinating short piece about a smoke break and finally, Alex writes a story about a chance encounter at the Asian supermarket…