What does it feel like when 50,000 people come together to celebrate life?
Last Friday I had the opportunity to see Bad Bunny perform live, his first set in Europe since 2019. Imagine 50,000 people from everywhere, colorful, radiant, under the first fierce rays of the Barcelona summer sun. People singing at the top of their lungs, smiling, dancing… Some knew every single word to every single song, some just the chorus, but everyone so present and connected.
As the sun went down, the concert turned into one big party. The energy was electric. And then, in the middle of it all, Benito brought us back what really matters: the simple things in life.
To sing.
To dance.
To tell people closest that you love them.
To let go of the past, it’s already the past.
To enjoy the moment, because nobody really knows what will happen tomorrow.
We all held our loved ones a little closer, be it in our arms or our hearts.
And then it ended on such a high, positive note, all of us streaming out onto the streets of Montjuïc, buzzing and alive.
Bad Bunny’s concert was two and a half hours of joy, grounded and full of life, but also rooted in something bigger. He keeps Puerto Rico at the center of his work, pays homage to where he comes from, and stays incredibly clear about his values. That alignment is also a big part of what makes him so beloved globally.
And it goes beyond the music itself. Yale University even offers a dedicated undergraduate course, Bad Bunny: Musical Aesthetics and Politics that looks at Puerto Rican history, migration, and US colonialism through his music and cultural impact. That in itself says a lot about the power of his work, and about the power of the arts more broadly.
Because this is what art can do. It brings people together, yes, and it also carries culture, history, memory, and perspective. It can open up conversations about identity, power, and belonging. It can celebrate joy while still making space for the serious, necessary conversations, in ways that feel open and accessible.
Art is not just entertainment. It is connection, reflection, and a way of making meaning together.
This memory, which I got to share with my dear friend Nolwen Attou Izebatene, the two of us dancing, laughing, crying, all in the span of one concert, is one I’ll cherish for life. We were part of something bigger than ourselves.
#badbunny #artispolitical #puertorico #music #culture #history #identity #creativepractice #liveperformance #artandsociety
Elana Shyong 