Bad Bunny sings against gentrification and touristification. His tour has increased the price of hotels in Madrid by 29%
Bad Bunny has been on tour for a year and a half with an album that criticizes mass tourism and the displacement of Puerto Rico’s residents. Meanwhile, his time in Madrid has increased the average price of hotel rooms by 28.9% and its most emblematic setting (La Casita, a replica of a popular Puerto Rican home) has become a VIP area for celebrities. We are well aware of the contradictions of capitalism, but in this case, coming from where they come from, they have exceptional relevance. What happened to you. One of the most relevant songs from Bad Bunny’s latest album, ‘I should have thrown more photos’ is ‘LO QUE LE PASÓ A HAWAii’, a song that, has been analyzed in great detail because it denounces gentrification and the privatization of natural resources in Puerto Rico. To do this, he draws a parallel with the touristification process that has turned Hawaii into a destination for the rich and expelled its original communities. It is a problem that resonates in Mexico, Cuba and Spanish regions affected by mass tourism. The album was accompanied by a short film commentator filmed in a traditional home in Humacao, on the east coast of Puerto Rico, owned by Román Carrasco Delgado, an 84-year-old man. The house (with its wide porch and traditional kitchen) became the visual axis of the project: La Casita. Now, a portable version of it tours stadiums around the world, although its significance has partially changed. USA no. There was also a lot of talk about how on his world tour, Bad Bunny chose not to tour North America. He staged a residency of 30 concerts between July and September 2025 at the José Miguel Agrelot Coliseum in San Juan, Puerto Rico. And the first nine shows were reserved exclusively for residents there. The effect was absolutely unusual: the NGO Discover Puerto Rico calculated a tourist injection of about 200 million dollars in accommodation, transportation and restaurants; others spoke of 733 million including the impact on the international perception of the island. What came then was the inevitable express gentrification: short-term rentals grew 118% in August compared to the previous year. The mayor of San Juan himself recognized months later, at FITURthat visitor spending on the island had increased by 700 million dollars compared to 2024. That is, the album denounces mass tourism and the concerts, in turn, generated mass tourism in the low season. More than half of foreign visitors declared that the concert was the main reason for his trip to the country. Come on, the pattern of event tourism that saturates infrastructure and makes rent more expensive. Welcome Mr. Bunny. The ‘DeBÍ TIRAR MORE FOToS World Tour’ tour has been in Spain since May 30, 2026 and will extend until June 15, with ten concerts at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano. The impact on tourism is being noticed: In Madrid alone, hotel occupancy in the region reached 47% on average in the period between May 29 and June 14 and the average price per room has risen by 28.9%. The Association of Music Promoters estimates a total economic impact of between 185 and 220 million euros, and some 600,000 spectators will pass through the stadium, around 40% from outside the Community of Madrid. The Spanish Casita. The secondary stage once again occupied the center of the debate, due to its repertoire of visitors in Madrid and Barcelona, which has included Esther Expósito, Ana de Armas, Marta Ortega, Álvaro Carreras, Lamine Yamal, Los Javis and Chiara Ferragni, inter alia. Aside from the famous guests, Bad Bunny’s team also selects fans from the general public to go on stage, and this selection process has generated criticism on social networks, since is systematically chosen to young women who respond to a very predictable standard of beauty. Bad Bunny has explained He doesn’t like the concept of the VIP area, so he decided to make a replica of the little house from the short film, with its kitchen and sofa. The intention, in his words, was to “democratize privilege through symbolism.” Many fans see in practice a social showcase which contradicts the message of the album. The original Casita. Let’s go back to Román Carrasco Delgado: he built his home in Humacao in the sixties with the help of his father and brother, both carpenters, block by block. It has three bedrooms, two bathrooms and a porch. In November 2024, a member of Bad Bunny’s team asked him for permission to use the farm as a location for the short film. Collection two checks: one for 2,400 dollars and another for 2,800. In September 2025, Carrasco filed a lawsuit against Bad Bunny and his partners before the Court of First Instance of Puerto Rico for six million dollars: five for unjust enrichment and unauthorized commercial exploitation of the image of his property, and an additional million for emotional damages and loss of privacy, given that since the release of the short film his house has not stopped receiving visitors and onlookers. His house was copied without properly compensating him, and although Carrasco assures that he does not wish Bad Bunny any harm and only wants to receive what is his, the Casita is, once again, the best symbol of the contradictions in the artist’s project.
