Review: Bad Bunny the bandido lights up the Wells Fargo Center on his ‘Most Wanted Tour’

Bad Bunny came to South Philly on Friday night for a sold-out show at the Wells Fargo Center.

It was the first time in Philadelphia for the Puerto Rican rapper, singer and influential cultural force — who was born Benito Antonio Martinez Ocasio — since he headlined the Made in America festival in 2022.

The stop on his Most Wanted Tour was in support of his 2023 album Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va a Pasar Mañana — which translates from Spanish to English as Nobody Knows What Is Going to Happen Tomorrow — and a thumping, infectious celebration of Latino pride.

The Inquirer’s Rosa Cartagena and Dan DeLuca went to the show. Here’s their review.

Dan DeLuca: Good morning after Bad Bunny, Rosa. We saw Bad Bunny take the stage following an overture by the Philharmonic Orchestra Project (led by Grammy-winning conductor Carlitos Lopez), ride a horse, and entertain fans while looking down on them from a floating skybridge. How’d you like it? What were the highlights for you?

Rosa Cartagena: I am still so pumped. Sore, but energized. Bad Bunny is one of the artists who has defined my 20s. He’s delivered so much incredible music that has catapulted reggaeton, Latin trap, and Spanish-language music overall to a completely new level — all while simultaneously shining a spotlight on Puerto Rico’s political problems and resilience. My family and I love Bad Bunny and we have so much fun listening to him together, so what I was really excited to see was how the crowd reflected that, too: There were so many intergenerational families (including at least one abuela!) and it warmed my heart.

Inside the arena, the biggest highlight for me was his Latin trap section. Nadie Sabe was a great album, but I desperately wanted to hear such tracks as “Tú No Metes Cabra,” “Chambea,” and “Soy Peor.” I wish he performed more than snippets but I’ll take what I can get. He was his flirty, funny self — blowing kisses, waving, and winking at the crowd. The floating stage brought him closer to the fans at all seating levels and he had me tearing up at one moment when the lights went on and showed so many Puerto Rican flags, and he simply, quietly, soaked it all in from his perch.

Despite being a fan since the mix-tape days, I hadn’t seen him live before, but you’ve seen him a few times in Philly, right? How did this show compare?

D.D.: I’ve only seen him once before, actually. When he headlined Made in America in 2022, in the closing night show that, if the festival, which is canceled again this year, never comes back will go down as the last-ever MIA performance.

I enjoyed this more. What was cool about that MIA show was how he transformed the grounds into a Latinx dance party, making Jay-Z’s festival over in his own image and language. This was a really smartly staged arena show with top-shelf production — though the relationship between Bad Bunny and the audience is still what makes it special.

He did a lot of standing there and soaking in the adulation — it was a bit Evita-ish when he was on the floating stage, looking down on his people from the balcony. But who can blame him? The passion and appreciation for the ways he’s represented Latino culture and refused to compromise or cross over by rapping or singing in English is real. His audience loves him for it, as well they should.

Yeah, the Latin trap section was impressive. I could feel the bass coming up through the soles of my shoes.

Let’s talk about the staging. The orchestral introduction was classy, and created an Ennio Morricone Spaghetti Western vibe, fitting with the outlaw imagery of Nadie Sabe. A friend of mine on Facebook who’s also a non-Spanish speaker compared it to watching an Italian opera. You can be swept up by the emotion of the music, and the contours of the story reveal themselves.

R.C.: The orchestra definitely brought a level of class to the crowd ready for perreo — and that kind of genre-mashing surprise is part of why people love his sound. I see the bandido theme here almost in between Beyoncé's Cowboy Carter (which came out five months after Nadie Sabe) and Taylor Swift’s brand-new The Tortured Poets Department, because it’s both bad boy and sad boy. (And unlike Beyoncé's country, he leans hard into Tex-Mex vaquero culture with a bolo tie and his mariachi-inspired outfit.)

But the resonance isn’t just contemporary. He also spotlights Puerto Rican folkloric music, like bringing plena performers to last year’s Grammys. Before he arrived onstage, the orchestra played an instrumental rendition of the iconic bolero by La Lupe, “Qué Te Pedi,” a beloved song that cuts across generations, proving what I heard from so many fans last night: He hasn’t forgotten his roots. It was also refreshing to hear his intimate, pared-down acoustic section, when he sat on the piano and crooned while holding a horse plushie.

D.D.: The piano section was sweet. Sitting on it, sort of like Michelle Pfeiffer in The Fabulous Baker Boys. It was impressive that he could pull off a cocktail lounge vibe in a massive arena. And before “Qué Te Pedi,” the intro music was Billie Holiday’s “I’ll Look Around.” Mood music of the highest order.

The filmed interlude of a masked man riding across the desert was like Clint Eastwood in a Sergeo Leone movie crossed with Max von Sydow in The Seventh Seal. But when Bad Bunny actually rode in on a horse it was anticlimactic, a brief video screen talking point. And I was glad it was short, though: I was worried the poor horse was going to freak out in a room with 20,000 people!

The setup with two stages, plus the floating sky bridge — that worked really well. And the lights were spectacular. It seemed almost everybody was wearing the light-up Bad Bunny boot necklaces synced to turn the room green or red, in rhythm with the music. The only show I’ve seen that used that trick so well was the Weeknd at the Linc a couple of summers ago.

R.C.: Breathtaking, for sure. The orb lights were versatile and dynamic, at one point making a bridge (like our own Benjamin Franklin). He threw down. The only thing Philly fans might have missed was “Acho PR,” the track where he shouts out Bryce Harper and the Phillies.