Thirty-one shows, three Billboard covers and counting, one Amazon Music special and another Saturday Night Live appearance making him two more visits shy of being a part of the infamous five-timers club.
And recently announced, next February, we can expect him to headline the biggest stage in America–The Super Bowl.
According to the Chinese calendar, 2025 is said to be the year of the Snake.
But we all know 2025 belongs to one bunny and that’s Benito Antonio Martinez Ocasio.
After the release of his 6th studio album titled Debi Tirar Mas Fotos (DTMF, I Should Have Taken More Photos), Bad Bunny announced the official No Me Quiero Ir de Aqui (I don’t want to leave here) tour dates excluding the continental U.S.
Instead, he made fans come to him, dropping 31 shows from July 2025 to September 2025 all held at Coliseo de Puerto Rico José Miguel Agrelot commonly known as El Choli in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The first nine shows were exclusively for Puerto Rican residents. After the initial shows, the rest were opened up to and for anyone who could make it to Puerto Rico.
According to i-D Magazine, Bad Bunny said in a statement, “There were many reasons why I didn’t show up in the US, and none of them were out of hate—I’ve performed there many times. All of them have been magnificent,” he says. “But specifically, for a residency here in Puerto Rico, when we are an unincorporated territory of the US…Latinos and Puerto Ricans of the United States could also travel here, or to any part of the world. But there was the issue of—like, ICE could be outside [my concert]. And it’s something that we were talking about and very concerned about.”
As a long time fan of Bad Bunny, I just knew I had to be there. This wasn’t the first time I travelled to go to a Bad Bunny show but it would be the furthest. I really didn’t need to think about the decision that long before I made the choice, I knew I’d be going. The album has by far become my favorite, it was such a deeply reflective piece of Who is Bad Bunny? And where he comes from; but, also, the way he’s intertwined modern day Reggaeton, Dembow, and ‘Latino Pop’ music to reinvigorate salsa, bomba, and plena feels historical.
Plus, Bad Bunny is just one of those artists that you don’t miss on tour. And I knew I wasn’t going to be the only one travelling all the way to Puerto Rico to see La Leyenda himself in his homeland.
“It was the FOMO [fear of missing out],” said Haley Montesinos, from Detroit, who attended the residency on August 31st. “When he announced the residency, I ended up buying them when he released the VIP tickets. It was an impulsive decision but I knew it was going to be something special, and it definitely was. It was worth every dollar.”
One thing super inclusive about the residency is that tickets were not priced at expensive prices either and if you still didn’t get tickets just outside of El Choli there was a whole plaza celebration in anticipation for the concert–every weekend from the start to the end of the show. From sponsors like Garnier, to Visa, T-Mobile, and Jet Blue just to name a few, they all had something for folks to do outside. There were kiosks to try and interact with, free giveaways, and local food vendors.
The show from the No Me Quiero Ir de Aquí tour I attended was on August 24th and it started exactly at 8:30pm, on the dot. No Latino time around here.
I was ready, I had done my research online. We were going to see all the personas and eras (if you will) of Bad Bunny. From Trap Bunny to El Salsero, to Sad Bunny. There was a wide range of discography to get through and this concert was about three hours long. I also expected a special guest. Up until that point, musical guests included: Ivy Queen, Young Miko, Feid, RaiNao, Chuwi, and Residente.
The arena was set up in two pieces. One side held a large billboard-esque screen that looked like it was placed right in the middle of a woody-greenery-forrest. The other side was a house–La Casita– a familial small recreation of a home but symbolic to Bad Bunny’s upbringing.
The lights went off and the arena filled with an uproar of screams from fans shouting “wooooh” and “Beniiiittooo”
One thing about this tour, it told a story. The lights came on, and two people emerged, one looking for their drum and the other their camera. In a way, representing their roots and their memories or connections. Interacting with the crowd helped find their items hidden amongst the greenery, then more dancers in all-white almost Traditional jibaro clothing.
The tune of Bad’s recent song ALAMBRE PúA filled the arena.
The rest was astronomical. Bad Bunny performed. Yes, this was a show in Puerto Rico for the world to see but he was really performing for Puerto Rico, he always has and this concert finally made that evident for everyone. He showed us his home and how these songs, especially from DTMF, go beyond him but speak to Puerto Rico, what’s happening there, and the Diaspora.
“It helped me see a different perspective of him, how he’s taking action to help his people and his island. You don’t see a lot of artists caring about any other thing besides their pockets, so it’s nice to see him advocate for some things going on in Puerto Rico,” said Azucena Soto, Detroit Native, who also attended August 24th, “which makes me want to listen to his music more and kind of pay a little bit more attention to what he’s doing.”
From dramatic-interstellar light show to El Apagon to perreo en La Casita. Bad Bunny fans heard many songs from his discography including x100pre, YHLQMDLG, and of course the long awaited songs to hear live from DTMF like Eoo, Baile Inolvidable, and NuevaYol.
August 24th special guests included Chuwi, Belinda, and Nicky Jam.
At his residency, Bad Bunny also reminded fans to be present. He asked for fans to put down their phones, their cameras, and be in the moment with him. He thanked Puerto Rico, he thanked the visitors, and reminded everyone–through struggle, love, and hardship you still have community, family, and friends.
He ended the show Performing La Mudanza, which pays tribute to his story, his parents, and where he comes from and the resilience of Puerto Rico. He thanked his mom, his dad, siblings, and even getting a little emotional mentioning family of his who had passed on.
Then, he thanked everyone en el Choli for not just supporting him but his message too.
“The concert itself is super special. I really like that he made us go to him. It was the top concert to be at because you just felt empowered, proud to be Latino, even if you’re not Boricua, you know, he’s still saying raise your flag, I’ll remember this trip forever,” said Montesinos. “This concert was definitely something that we Latinos needed, especially this year.”
He gave us passion, he gave us tradition, he gave us a love letter to Puerto Rico. All in three hours.
Travelling to Puerto Rico was a whole separate experience within itself filled with waking up on the beach to watch the sunrise in Luquillo, biking through El Yunque (the Rainforest), dancing salsa in the streets of San Juan with strangers, and eating the best quesitos and empandillas de pizza. That’s a story for another time though and an experience I’ll never forget. If you missed the Residency in Puerto Rico, you still have a chance to see Bad Bunny on tour all over Latin America, Europe, and Asia.
This article and photos were made possible thanks to a generous grant to EL CENTRAL Hispanic News by Press Forward, the national movement to strengthen communities by reinvigorating local news. Learn more at www.pressforward.news.
