As Bad Bunny residency ends, young concertgoers praise its massive boost to Puerto Rico
Praise for an ‘affordable’ concert
Beyond the surge of outside visitors that Bad Bunny — whose real name is Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio — has brought to the island during the typical nadir of its tourism season, he ensured that shows remained accessible to both tourists and Puerto Ricans living on the island.
The residency’s first nine shows were only available to Puerto Rico residents, and when tickets went on sale in January, the prices for all shows ranged between $35 and $250, a rarity in an era of concert price-gouging and Ticketmaster wars.
“Today I spent zero dollars on my ticket because my cousin, who lives here, gifted it to me,” said Francisco Guzmán, who is from San Juan but lives in New York City. “This is the second time that we’ve been to this show. The first time that we came, we were super close to [the stage] and we paid the regular price of $175.”
Inside the arena affectionately known as El Choli, food and drink prices were also surprisingly low, with specialty cocktails priced between $10 and $13. For Alexandria Alicea, who spent $450 flying from Boston to come see the show, the cost of food and tickets felt more “affordable” than for other shows that she’s been to.
“I think this is the cheapest concert ticket I’ve ever bought. The food’s under $10, it’s all affordable,” Alicea said. “It really feels like it’s meant to be an enjoyable experience, and not just a money gouge.”
Between her $100 concert ticket, lodging at La Concha, a beachside resort in San Juan, food and airfare, Alicea said she spent about $1,000 in total on her trip to the residency.
“I think the whole rest of the experience is worth the money that I’m spending,” Alicea said.
Standing in line for a drink at the residency’s second-to-last weekend, Guzmán said he thinks that what Bad Bunny is doing in Puerto Rico with his concerts is something “unprecedented.”
“I think it’s important that people see Puerto Rico, that they see who we are as a people. This is an island that’s so small in a world so large, and people are looking at us,” Guzmán said. “Maybe thanks to Bad Bunny, thanks to what’s happening, Puerto Rico will always be on the map.”