Solas Sounds 3 Bad Bunny
How Bad Bunny Leads by Example
In January 2025, Bad Bunny dropped his 7th album Debí Tirar Más Fotos (I Should’ve Taken More Photos). A love letter to his native Puerto Rico (PR), the album has traditional music from his childhood: plena, jíbaro, salsa, and bomba. The lyrics comment on PR’s politics, gentrification, and loss of cultural identity, and the album features PR artists Chuwi, Omar Courtz, Los Pleneros de la Cresta, Dei V, and RaiNao.
Benito held a San Juan residency, No Me Quiero Ir de Aquí (“I Don’t Want To Leave Here”), referencing the growing number of Puerto Ricans moving to the US. The first 9 resident-only dates sold out immediately, despite hurricane season causing tourism to drop by up to 45%.
~600,000 attendees are expected to have a direct economic impact of $250–$733 million, raising PR’s 2025 economic forecast from 0.3% to 0.4%.
The main stage was modeled after a mogote. Grass, chickens, goats, plantain and flamboyán trees adorned the stage, resembling jíbaro farming culture.
The 2nd stage was modeled after a rural PR house, la casita (little house), with performances on the front porch, evoking a party de marquesina (garage party) where reggaetón was partially developed.
It was no mistake the final concert landed on Sep. 20, the 8th anniversary of Hurricane Maria, the deadliest natural disaster to hit the island. Bad Bunny has been vocal about the disaster, donating time and money to repairs.
We recommend you take a look at his music video/documentary covering the event, El Apagón - Aquí Vive Gente / Un Verano Sin Ti (The Blackout - People Live Here / A Summer Without You).
Benito announced a 23-date World Tour starting in November, with no US dates (see quote above). Traditionally, touring artists “World Tour” shows are mainly in the US, a few in Europe.
Ironically, in February he will make history as the first male Latin headliner at the Super Bowl.
Bad Bunny has plenty of spotlight, but he’s reflecting it on the people, country, and influences that made him, those before and after him. No matter how small your country is, what language you speak, everyone can vibe to Benito’s music
Listen to our favorite Benito songs on our Solas Sound playlist
