Bad Bunny is part of the Puerto Rico phenomenon. What is this phenomenon, you might ask. Well this little island has a knack for producing musicians and music that has worldwide appeal. Have you heard of Despacito, Ricky Martin, Daddy Yankee or Jose Feliciano? There’s just something about music produced in Puerto Rico that vibes with millions of people.
What makes Puerto Rico so musical?
Music is a part of life for all Puerto Ricans. Any event or just a drive in the car is always accompanied by music, sometimes loud. It’s common to hear a car’s stereo coming way before you see the car. Some claim that “Voceteo” or the extreme amplification of car stereos should be declared a sport. So, on the island you are constantly surrounded by music of all kinds, from salsa to rock to reggaetón.
Many musical traditions in one island
All four main cultural roots that make up Puerto Rican culture, Taíno, Spanish and African and American have strong musical traditions. The Taíno would hold celebrations or Areytos. These singing, dancing and storytelling events were village wide celebrations. The Africans would get together and even though they were all from different regions and tribes they created a unique musical tradition, Bomba. Spanish danza provided a foundation or structure for a lot of modern latin music. Rock music also has a strong presence on the island.
What is Bad Bunny’s unique contribution to Puerto Rico?
El Conejo Malo has created something larger than the significant immediate economic impact of his residency. He has allowed Puerto Ricans to look at their island and culture with a deep feeling of pride for even the smallest details. Whereas before things like dominoes, plastic chairs and the style of a middle class home were mundane things. Now they are being cherished as unique cultural expressions of a society. At every concert there’s a particular moment that kicks off the house party. When the special guest cries out “Acho, Puerto Rico es otra cosa” (Man, Puerto Rico is something else..) almost every local swells with pride and for the first time in a while, has a reason to believe it. There’s no putting a price on that.
The economics of Bad Bunny’s residency
From a strictly economic perspective Bad Bunny’s residency is expected to directly generate more than $200 million for the local economy from the roughly 400,000 visitors expected from all over the world. Summer, usually a slow period for tourism, is now on route to surpassing all previous occupancy levels. The tourism agency recorded a 75 percent increase in hotel occupancy for August and a 200 percent spike in short-term rental bookings for September. Visitors who never thought about traveling to the island are experiencing its wonders. These first time visitors are bound to become repeat tourists once they get a taste of the island that is “otra cosa”.
The intangible economic effects are that the spotlight is now on the Puerto Rican creative industries since a lot of the production design and execution is being done locally. This is a boost to the hundreds of people, musicians, designers, innovators and more that work on the Island.
The Final Show
If you missed tickets for 30 shows there are good news! On Saturday, September 20, 2025 at 8:30 pm AST one last concert will be streamed live in Amazon Prime. See the event page here: No me quiero ir de aquí: Una Más
Find more about Bad Bunny’s music and videos in Spotify http://Spotify.com/Artist/BadBunny and in the official YouTube Channel: Youtube.com/@BadBunnyPR/videos.
