Anamaria Sayre | April 7, 2025 For a moment, Bad Bunny forgot that he wasn’t in Puerto Rico. Despite its residence in a news building in the capital of the United States, the Tiny Desk can — when colored by the careful vision of a true artist — take you anywhere else, especially the true origins of the music.
But for the superstar, Puerto Rico is so beloved and so sacred that he could never truly forget it… and he’s making sure the world sees that, too. The island is his source of inspiration and the mandate for which he wages war. Flanked by cuatros and congas, Bad Bunny wields the power of Puerto Ricans who have strummed chords and hummed lelolai for generations in efforts to keep the culture alive.
After performing “LO QUE LE PASÓ A HAWAii,” San Benito tells a parable about a man drawn to his band rehearsing outside the White House. “It’s incredible,” the man in the story says, “that after a hundred years of colonization you keep your culture, your language, your tongue, your slang.”
The Puerto Rican flag laid out before him shines; its brilliant blue is defiant and captivating. “They killed people for waving the flag,” Bad Bunny sings in “LA MuDANZA.” But there’s such joy in the expression and such vibrance in the dance. Even with his global platform, Benito’s true magic is intimacy: He wants you to fall in love with Puerto Rico. We scream with him: “Yo soy de P f****** R!” Whether you are you aren’t, your heart won’t know the difference.
SET LIST “PIToRRO DE COCO” “VOY A LLeVARTE PA PR” “KLOuFRENS” “LO QUE LE PASÓ A HAWAii” “LA MuDANZA”
MUSICIANS Bad Bunny: vocals Luis Sanz: cuatro puertorriqueño, tiple, bordonúa, background vocals Fabiola Méndez: cuatro puertorriqueño, tiple, bordonúa, background vocals Emanuel Santana: güicharo, Pandero de plena, maracas, background vocals Julito Gastón: congas Krystal Santana: bass, background vocals Luis Amed Irizarry: piano Jay Anthony: bongos, percussion
TINY DESK TEAM Producer: Anamaria Sayre Director/Editor: Kara Frame Audio Technical Director: Josh Newell Host/Series Producer: Bobby Carter Videographers: Kara Frame, Maia Stern, Joshua Bryant, Keren Carrión, Zayrha Rodriguez Audio Engineer: Josephine Nyounai Production Assistants: Ashley Pointer, Dora Levite Photographer: Virginia Lozano Tiny Desk Series Editor: Lars Gotrich Executive Producer: Suraya Mohamed Series Creators: Bob Boilen, Stephen Thompson VP, Visuals and Music: Keith Jenkins
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