In just a few days, the rumor spread across Puerto Rico at the same intense, pulsating pace as a reggaeton song. Was Bad Bunny, the global superstar of this Caribbean-born musical genre, planning to surprise his native island with an impromptu concert?

On January 15, the Festival de la Calle San Sebastian, the grand carnival held each year in the capital’s historic old town of San Juan, kicked off its four days of festivities with a series of concerts spread across three main stages. One line was missing from the program: “A surprise,” was all that Mayor Miguel Romero Lugo announced, fueling the hopes of the million visitors who had come from across the island, as well as from South America and the United States, for the event.

Already, during the 2025 edition, several people thought they recognized the singer’s eyes behind a thick balaclava worn by a man standing alone in the dense crowd. When asked about his presence, the “bad rabbit,” whose stage name was inspired by a photo of him as a child in costume, preferred to say nothing. Playfully, he waited several days before finally admitting he had been there by posting a selfie on Instagram in the same outfit, in the middle of a crowded alley in San Juan.

‘I am no longer ashamed of my identity’

This year, the world-famous 31-year-old performer seemed to pop up at every corner of the cobblestone streets. His recent hits echoed between the brightly painted houses and the stalls of street vendors. Festivalgoers wandered about in T-shirts bearing his likeness, wearing a pava, the traditional woven straw hat of Puerto Rican farmers, that Bad Bunny sported during his latest appearances on stage.

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