SAN JUAN — World-famous Bad Bunny is making an impact with his 30-show residency at San Juan’s Coliseo de Puerto Rico, which has a capacity for 18,000 fans.
The Puerto Rican rapper born Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio is using his megastardom to inject about $200 million into the struggling local economy.
Nico Kogan, an entrepreneur who was born in Argentina and lives in San Juan, said the superstar’s “No Me Quiero Ir de Aquí” or “I Don’t Want to Leave This Place” elevated the island’s profile.
“Puerto Rico is the Silicon Valley of the music in Spanish,” Kogan said.
Kogan owns the Fábrica del Ritmo, a small concert venue near the Coliseo de Puerto Rico and the Escuela Libre de Música Ernesto Ramos Antonini, a music school.
Jenniffer González Colón, the governor of Puerto Rico, had a message for tourists who may have concerns about issues with both electricity and water infrastructure.
“They should come, enjoy the concert, enjoy the island,” González Colón said.
The impacts of natural disasters prompted many young Puerto Ricans to move to the mainland. Edna Brayfield said her kids found work in California, but Bad Bunny motivated a family reunion.
“My life was full of joy with my pava,” Brayfield said about a traditional straw hat that Bad Bunny wore with “Boricua” pride.
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