One of the most listened to Spanish artists right now is on a residency in his home country. Bad Bunny is in the Coliseo De Puerto Rico Jose Miguel Agrelot, or better known as el Cholí by locals, performing 30 functions in the island’s capital, San Juan. He started his residency on July 11, lasting until September 14th, performing three times a weekend. It is estimated that the residency has attracted over 600,000 people to the island.
Many questioned why Bad Bunny wasn’t going to the States to perform, including me. After many of his fans complained, Bad Bunny released a statement saying he was afraid of putting his fans at risk. The majority of people who listen to his music are Hispanic, and with the stereotypes around Spanish speakers, he was afraid that his fans could be in danger of being detained by ICE. After the current issues happening in the U.S. regarding immigrants, Bad Bunny opted to keep the shows on the island in protest of the injustices and for his fans’ safety.
The residency is based on Bad Bunny’s album called “DeBi TiRAR Mas FoTos,” which debuted its first full week as #1 after being released. The album’s name, Debi tirar mas fotos, translates to I should’ve taken more photos. The album is inspired by Puerto Rican culture and the different types of music and beats from the island. This includes pleana, bomba, salsa, and música jíbara, which are heard throughout the island and its history. Bad Bunny wrote the album as a love letter to Puerto Rico, to express his appreciation for the culture and how it has shaped him into who he is and his music. Many Puerto Ricans felt especially connected to the album, which included unique elements of the culture and also criticized the corruption in the Puerto Rican government.
Bad Bunny culminated his residency with a surprise last show Saturday, September 20th, which marks seven years since the island faced tragedy during Hurricane Maria in 2018. He wanted to share the Puerto Rican culture with everyone who couldn’t be there by professionally live-streaming the whole night on Amazon Prime for the world to see. De Puerto Rico pa’l mundo. Alongside all of his fans, I can’t wait to see what he does next.
