Bad Bunny has been outspoken about social and political issues in Puerto Rico, but many wondered if he planned to take a definitive stance this election year. He was ever-present during the 2019 protests, but would he show up now? In September, he released “Una Velita,” a powerful and emotional call for leadership change in the Caribbean archipelago. Rumors abounded about what would come next, but nothing was confirmed. Suddenly, he began to follow only one person on Instagram: Puerto Rico’s third-party gubernatorial candidate Juan Dalmau Ramírez.
To understand Dalmau’s campaign, you have to look at Puerto Rico broadly. In recent years, Puerto Rico has been beset by multiple recessions, a catastrophic hurricane, devastating austerity measures, rampant corruption by congress members and high government officials (including its Secretary of Education), jolting earthquakes, the pandemic, and so much more. All of this has led to the largest exodus of residents since the migration of the 1940s, a dearth of medical professionals, the closure of schools and hospitals, and skyrocketing rent prices due to the influx of foreigners who have bought up entire blocks and terrain to convert into short-term housing and vacation rentals.
The 2020 elections produced a race that wasn’t the usual two-way between the pro-statehood New Progressive Party and the pro-commonwealth Popular Democratic Party. That year saw the rise of the Citizens Victory Movement, a new left-leaning party that invited voters to address the social needs of Puerto Rico and centered those initiatives regardless of their preferred status. Along with the historic Puerto Rican Independence Party, which for decades had always come in distant third place during the elections, they earned a combined 354,000 votes. Emboldened by these numbers, the two parties formed a coalition and united behind one candidate. The coalition was named La Alianza (“the Alliance”) and the person chosen to lead it was Juan Dalmau, a former senator and the Independence Party’s candidate in 2020.
Bad Bunny following Dalmau on Instagram wasn’t a tacit endorsement. Fellow urbano artists were speaking their mind, in Puerto Rico and the United States, with Anuel AA and Nicky Jam endorsing Donald J. Trump and others publicly supporting Dalmau. Benito maintained his silence until just before Dalmau’s closing rally on Nov. 3, posting on X: “Remember, the week starts on Sunday, not Monday.” On Nov. 2, he posted on Instagram: “I’m going to bed now, so it can be tomorrow already.”
At noon on the day of the rally, Dalmau’s social media accounts posted a rundown of the artists who would be performing. At the top, finally, was the name everyone was looking out for: “Bad Bunny.” Dalmau has consistently attracted the largest crowds during the campaign cycle, and has gotten the endorsement of some of the highest-profile names on the island. Here’s what Bad Bunny said when he showed up at the rally, and the highlights from the historic event.
Huge Attendance
The rally surpassed even the highest expectations. Final estimated attendance was 65,000 people, easily eclipsing any of the other party’s rallies that same evening by a giant margin. The lineup featured a variety of artists and bands, from popular and ever-politically minded rock band Fiel A La Vega and legendary folk singer Roy Brown to the rising young quartet Chuwi. The other performers who showed up were PJ Sin Suela, Rafa Pabön, Kany García, iLe, and Residente. Other artists like Rauw Alejandro, Brray, and Arcángel were present as well as supporters, but their presence was fondly noted by fans at the event and online.
Mixed Reactions for the Presidential Election
The event was almost entirely Puert Rico-centric, with the exception of a few minutes taken up by guest speaker congresswoman Nydia Velazquez, the first Puerto Rican woman to serve in the U.S. Congress. She had endorsed Dalmau two weeks earlier, and showed up push for his candidacy, but also segued into mentions of the tight race between Vice President Kamala Harris and Trump, calling the former a racist and referring to the infamous “island of garbage” slur directed at Puerto Rico by one of his surrogates at his recent Madison Square Garden rally.
The reaction to her speech was tepid at best. It included a prerecorded message from congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez that also gravitated more towards the stakes of the U.S. election and seemed aimed more towards sympathizers living in the states. A post made by Ocasio-Cortez on X shortly after received criticism for referring to the rally as anti-Trump before mentioning La Alianza and Dalmau. “This was not about U.S. mainland politics at all, and it’s completely disingenuous of AOC to suggest otherwise,” said an user quoting the original post.
A Soft-Spoken Residente Addresses the Crowd
Residente and Kany García made their way to the stage and sang Residente’s 2017 song “Hijos del Cañaveral.” Turning his attention to the crowd, he spoke about what the moment felt like for him. “[I’m here] filled with hope for better public education and for an end to all the fucking corruption in this country. You don’t know how excited I am,” he said. “This means more than any concert I’ve ever given in any country in the world, or any award I’ve won. This is the best thing that’s ever happened to me, just to see so many people proud to be Puerto Rican.”
Bad Bunny Talks His Political Awakening
Soon after, the man everyone was waiting for showed up, without much fanfare. A spotlight revealed Bad Bunny to the crowd, who exploded in cheers. Shifting his weight and looking more solemn than usual, he exuded an uncharacteristic nervous energy. His opening words acknowledged as much, as he shared that he found giving speeches more nerve-wracking than performing. As he started his remarks, he paused to gather himself, taking deep breaths.
He directly addressed the idea that he was paid or pressured to attend the rally, saying: “Nobody told me I had to be here. My heart told me to come; my heart and my love for [Puerto Rico] brought me here.”
For more than 30 minutes, he talked about how he got to this moment, and what he considers his political awakening. He mentioned growing up in a household that voted militantly for the pro-statehood New Progressive Party, and recalled the first time he voted was “for a traitor that left more than 30,000 families without jobs” including most of Benito’s family at the time. While unnamed, he was referring to ex-governor Luis G. Fortuño, who in 2008 laid off close to 30,000 workers in an effort he said was intended to curtail government spending. (There was initial confusion about the timeline; Bad Bunny took to X later to clarify and push back on those calling him a liar)
“Nobody had to tell me about it,” he said, referring to the bad management and corruption. “I lived it. I was born and raised here.” He then said it was the first and last time he ever voted for a New Progressive Party candidate.
Bad Bunny’s Final Endorsement
Over the last month, Benito has invested nearly $500,000 buying up billboards around the island with slogans and messages criticizing the two major parties on the island. “I live in Puerto Rico. I’ve lived in Puerto Rico my entire life. I was born here, and I want to die here,” he said, adding that he spent seven months abroad in 2023 for work, asserting it’s the longest he’s ever spent away from his home. “There’s many Puerto Ricans who have had to leave, but still have the right to speak out, especially when their dream is to someday come back.”
As his speech wound down, he finally and formally endorsed Juan Dalmau and La Alianza, saying “the [other two parties] are not a change and are not an option.”
As he grew more emotional, his body language loosened up and the Bad Bunny everyone there knows and loves began to come out. “I dream of a united Puerto Rico that demands respect for itself, dammit! I don’t follow any party. My party is the people, my party is Puerto Rico,” he said. With his voice rising, he looked out and said “I’m here because I love my country the same way I love my mother, and I’d give my life for my mother.”