Bad Bunny’s new album and concerts spotlight Puerto Rico’s colonial status, housing crisis, and culture, sparking hope for change across the island.
As the lights dimmed in the José Miguel Agrelot Coliseum on Friday night, a giant billboard declared in bold letters: “Puerto Rico is a colony since Christopher Columbus ‘discovered’ the island during his second trip to the New World in 1493.”
The declaration set the tone for the first of Bad Bunny’s 30 sold-out concerts on the island, a series that fans and officials alike hope will amplify Puerto Rico’s long-standing political, economic and cultural struggles.
According to AP News, In the days leading up to the shows, a different kind of gathering took place at Plaza Las Américas, the Caribbean’s largest mall. There, dozens of mostly older Puerto Ricans flipped through “The ABC of DtMF,” a pocket-sized dictionary explaining the slang, place names and cultural references in Bad Bunny’s new album, “DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS.”
Organizers say the guide has helped Bridge the gap between generations and deepen listeners’ connection to the island’s history and identity.
Bad Bunny—born Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio—has spent much of his megastar career weaving Puerto Rican folkloric rhythms and pointed social commentary into his music. Onstage, he performed portions of Friday’s set from the porch and roof of a full-scale replica of a traditional jíbaro home, lamenting that it “has been rented” and asking whether it had become an Airbnb.
The audience’s thunderous boos underscored a shared anxiety: from 2018 to 2024, Puerto Rico’s housing price index jumped nearly 60 percent, and the proliferation of short-term rentals has displaced long-time residents in many neighborhoods.
The singer’s lyrics also give voice to the island’s mass exodus of young professionals. In “What Happened to Hawaii,” Bad Bunny sings, “He didn’t want to go to Orlando, but the corrupt ones kicked him out,” encapsulating the plight of families forced to leave in search of work.
For Andrea Figueroa, a 24-year-old athlete, the line resonated because her own father left for the mainland. “Foreigners have begun asking me about our situation,” she said. “Maybe now they’ll truly listen.”
Economic forecasts suggest the concert series could inject more than $186 million into Puerto Rico’s economy, generate over 3,600 jobs and fill more than 35,000 hotel nights during the traditionally slow summer season.
Local business owners report a surge in reservations for dance lessons in bomba and plena—the island’s signature folkloric styles—which Bad Bunny has highlighted in his performances and music videos. Even the endangered Puerto Rican crested toad, featured in an album video, has inspired amateur herpetologists to scour the limestone hills for sightings.
Beyond the immediate cultural and economic boost, many Puerto Ricans see Bad Bunny’s artistic advocacy as a catalyst for political change. Islanders are U.S. citizens yet cannot vote in presidential elections and have only one non-voting representative in Congress.
As Luis Rosado, 57, put it after attending the dictionary launch, “He’s going to bring change, and there’s a young generation who’s going to back him.”
With millions tuning in worldwide, Bad Bunny has transformed a pop concert into a global podium for Puerto Rico’s colonial status, housing crisis and cultural heritage.
As the echoes of Friday night’s performance fade, many hope his message will endure long enough to reshape both island policy and international perceptions.
