Sawt Falasteen - Bad Bunny draws jubilant Puerto Ricans to historic residency

Wearing Puerto Rican flag shirts or just draped in the flags themselves, jubilant fans packed the area surrounding San Juan's Coliseo de Puerto Rico arena ahead of the show entitled "No Me Quiero Ir De Aqui" — "I don't want to leave here."

The album of the same name is a history lesson in Puerto Rican music and rhythms as well as a rallying cry that lays bare its colonial past and present.

It also addresses the issue of gentrification that favors luxury homes and tourism over the needs of Puerto Ricans.

Bad Bunny, 31, has long used his platform as a means to give voice to his fellow Puerto Ricans, while also managing to rule the charts with his reggaeton-forward blend of eminently danceable pop that has found massive global success.

And now the artist born Benito Martinez Ocasio is bringing that success back home to El Choli, as the arena with a capacity of more than 18,000 is colloquially known in the Puerto Rican capital.

"It's super emotional," Amanda Sanchez, 30, told AFP.

"I think Benito did something really transcendental, for what the culture is, here in Puerto Rico," said the content creator dressed in a red scarf and a Puerto Rican-flag colored bikini top.

— Locals first —

That the first nine shows are limited to Puerto Rican residents -- a poignant remark on Bad Bunny's commitment to making music first and foremost for the people of his homeland -- is something "really special for us," said Sanchez.

Puerto Rico is a US territory but not a state. Even though its residents are American citizens, their rights are limited.

They cannot vote in the US presidential election, for example, and have only a non-voting delegate in Congress.

Sanchez said it was heartwarming "to be able to feel like an artist of Bad Bunny's magnitude can give us, the people of the island" first pick of shows.

"And we are here to enjoy it, to dance and to have a great time!"

As fans, many wearing the iconic Puerto Rican "pava" straw hats, filed en masse into El Choli, vendors slung pina coladas, the beloved frozen drink born on the island.

A big screen overlooking the lush, tropical set onstage -- on which live chickens wandered freely -- displayed facts about Puerto Rican history and unabashed political statements.

The crowd burst into applause when the screen flash with the message: "PR is an unincorporated territory of the United States, but has its own flag, culture and identity."

- Speak the 'truth' -

The highly anticipated residency announced in January begins on July 11, and will continue into September over subsequent Friday to Sunday three-day weekends.

Michelle Munoz, 55, a Brooklynite of Puerto Rican origin, did not have tickets for the buzzy opening night but showed up anyway to soak in the vibes.

Munoz said she began coming back to her parents' homeland in 2023, after having stayed in the United States for decades.

Now, she feels "like this is where I want to spend the rest of my life."

For Munoz, Bad Bunny's popularity stems from his willingness to speak the "truth" while "showing and honoring the history of music -- the music that came before him, that he grew up on, and that made him."

"He's not a crossover. He is a Spanish-singing global artist," she added. "Not everybody can do that."

D.Qudsi--SF-PST