On July 11th, 2025, Bad Bunny started his residency, “No me quiero ir de aquí” in San Juan, Puerto Rico, the capital of Puerto Rico. The residency lasted 31 shows going from July to September and did wonders for the island of Puerto Rico.
Who is Bad Bunny?
Before we get into his residency and other topics, Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, better known as “Bad Bunny,” is a rapper, singer, songwriter, actor, record producer, and professional wrestler. He was born in raised in Vaja Baja, Puerto Rico, and has been in the music industry since 2013. While in the industry, he has won three Grammys for albums YHLQMDLG in 2021, El Último Tour Del Mundo (The Final World Tour) in 2022, and one for Un Verano Sin Ti (A Summer Without You), in 2023. Bad Bunny covers many genres in his music like Latin Trap, Latin Hip-Hop, reggaeton, and more.
Debí Tirar Más Fotos: Meaning
Bad Bunny’s new album, Debí Tirar Más Fotos (I Wish I Had Taken More Photos), is the most played album at the residency. With that being said, there should be some added context.
Not only does the album have some songs to dance to and some songs to cry to, it tackles the topic of gentrification in his home, Puerto Rico. In LO QUE LE PASÓ A HAWAii, (What Happened to Hawaii) Benito talks about how colonization from the United States is ruining Puerto Rico and its culture. Additionally in his short film, we can see a Puerto Rican resident, who is played by Jacobo Morales, notice the differences in Puerto Rico like the American music and modern homes. When he gets to a bakery and tries to pay, the payment had to be digital, but he didn’t have cashless money. However, another Puerto Rican resident comes over and pays for him, staying “Seguimos aqui” (We are still here), representing that even in this whole gentrification/colonization of once the beloved island, the Puerto Ricans and their culture is still alive. I feel like as a society it is vital that we preserve cultures no matter where it is and the Puerto Rican culture is in danger of being washed away due to gentrification.
Super Bowl
On September 28th, 2025, Bad Bunny was announced as the Super Bowl halftime performer. Me personally, I am super excited. However, if I were Donald Trump, I would be screaming at Apple Music as to why they would select Benito. I think Benito will use the biggest stage in America to not only make the Super Bowl one big party but to voice his strong opinion on Donald Trump as a president and his use of ICE (more on this later), similar to what Kendrick Lamar did during his Super Bowl performance.
Bad Bunny’s Residency: The Message
Before his world tour, in which he is skipping the US, Bad Bunny hosted 31 shows in San Juan, Puerto Rico, playing 38 songs with the show lasting about 2 hours and 30 minutes. I watched the 31st show on Amazon Prime, as it was live streamed, and it felt like one big celebration of the Puerto Rican/Latino culture.
This segues right into my next thought: Bad Bunny’s residency was a work of art. It allowed those Latinos to fully embrace their culture as Benito mixed slow acoustic songs with salsa songs and reggaeton songs to dance to.
When planning his world tour, Bad Bunny decided to skip the US because of ICE. In an interview with i-D magazine Bad Bunny said “But there was the issue of—like, ICE could be outside [the concert]. And it’s something that we were talking about and very concerned about.” This is an amazing move. Not only does it show that Benito cares about his fans, but it also shows the US Government and Trump that their policies are simply horrible and wrong. ICE agents would take parents away from kids, like how Carlos Molina Manzaneda and Rebeca Ferreira Castillo were taken away from their two-year old daughter Ines(story on Investigativepost.org). Additionally, according to cato.org, ICE is arresting 1,100% more non-criminals on the streets than in 2017. What is stopping ICE from raiding his concert, a place where fans are supposed to have fun and be themselves? This recent authoritarian violence should not be happening.
The Effects of the Residency
The impact of the Residency is huge and is why the United States is missing out BIG time by not having Bad Bunny go to the United States. The residency attracted nearly half a million people and generated an estimated $733 million for Puerto Rico (per data from Gaither International). Additionally, Bad Bunny lived streamed his final, 31st concert on Amazon Prime in which Amazon revealed was the most watched performance live stream on Amazon Music.
Conclusion
Overall, Bad Bunny’s stance against the Trump administration not only hurts the US, as they won’t be able to bring in money from one of the biggest artists of all time (The residency’s earnings went to Puerto Rico’s economy according to the source of income rules found in IRC §862), but it also shows Benito’s character and how much he loves and appreciates Puerto Rico and the Hispanic culture.
