4.1 • 5.3K Ratings
🗓️ 31 December 2025
⏱️ 11 minutes
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This summer, the island of Puerto Rico was under the thrall of Bad Bunny. His 31-concert residency at a stadium in San Juan was a homecoming for the global superstar.
It's also a homecoming for many thousands of people who left home – but are flocking back for the shows.
NPR’s Adrian Florido reports on how the concerts resonated with Puerto Ricans on and off the island.
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This episode was produced by Kathryn Fink, Elena Burnett, Liz Baker and Marc Rivers. It was edited by Patrick Jarenwattananon and Gigi Douban. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.
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| 1:01.4 | Now to today's show. |
| 1:08.3 | In Puerto Rico, it was the summer of Bad Bunny. |
| 1:15.0 | That's when he played 31 sold-out arena concerts in San Juan. |
| 1:19.5 | Having become a global superstar, he wanted to galvanize his homeland |
| 1:22.9 | and let Puerto Rican fans see him perform, |
| 1:25.6 | whether or not they actually still live in Puerto Rico. |
| 1:28.3 | Yari Amar Bonilla is a political anthropologist at Princeton University. |
| 1:31.8 | She went to more than one concert this summer. |
| 1:33.8 | Oh, I get emotional. |
| 1:35.9 | It's almost like forgiving. |
| 1:37.8 | I think for those in the diaspora, it feels like we've been forgiven. |
| 1:42.0 | You know, it's like a recognition that we left unwillingly and that we've never forgotten |
| 1:48.0 | this place, that we were still part of it. |
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