Disturbingly detailed analysis of my first rewatch incoming First shot: sugarcane The backbone of Puerto Rico's agricultural economy since colonial times Still used to make rum of course!
A sticker for anyone who can tell me what the hat is called!!! Even this font is giving postcolonial Spanish
First song was "Tití Me Preguntó" as I successfully predicted today at lunch when a guy working in the restaurant saw my Bad Bunny t-shirt and asked which one I thought would be first
You have not lived until you've drunk from a fresh coconut Absolutely ubiquitous in Puerto Rico
Hard to get pictures that aren't blurry Anyway, next stop was a table of abuelos playing dominoes Often considered Puerto Rico's national pastime and enjoyed by people of all generations He specifically talks about playing dominoes with his abuelo in "DtMF"
The nail salon requires no explanation
Poor Joe has to watch the end of the actual Super Bowl upstairs on the tiny TV while I do this by the way Piraguas are a delicious street food treat in PR, basically like a shave ice They're always sold from brightly colored carts
Boxing is huge in Puerto Rico I think they've maybe produced more champions per capita than almost any other place
Okay yeah this is when I really started screaming CASITAAAAAAA (A smaller version of the now iconic little house that was constructed inside El Coliseo de Puerto Rico for the residency last summer)
And now it's time for some goddamn PERREO
This song "Yo Perreo Sola" is an anthem about women's right to throw ass in the club without men creeping on them PERREO on the big screen I'm crying
OH MY GOD I FORGOT HE DID "SAFAERA" HAHAHAHAHA I cannot emphasize enough that what he's singing here, obscured by beeps, is "If your boyfriend doesn't eat your ass, he'd better fuck off"
IT IS OFTEN REFERRED TO AS THE BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY OF REGGAETON
I am told it is the bohemian rhapsody of reggaeton!
And right before the video clip above, he sings: My dick is being chased and I want you to hide it Grab it like a bongo She took a pill that makes her horny She fucks in the Audi, not the Honda I can't believe he did this song I am so incredibly delighted THE FORBIDDEN DANCE MOVES
Sorry 30 second break I need to pee so bad After "Safaera" he did like 30 seconds of "Party" (ft. Rauw Alejandro) from Un Verano Sin Ti Shots of Pedro Pascal and Jessica Alba on the casita porch A throwback to the 31-night residency in San Juan last summer when every night we were so excited to see which celebs would be in the casita And then a verse from "Voy a Llevarte Pa' PR," my most listened song of 2025 Oh oh this moment was so good After he came out of the casita, there was a little medley of classic reggaeton jams like "Gasolina" by Daddy Yankee and "Pa' Que Retozen" by Tego Calderón Throwing it back to the origins of the genre
Then a bit of "EoO" (as in PERREEOOOO) Such an absolutely filthy reggaeton track unghhhh "You're listening to music from PR, from the barrios and the villages" shoutout to the roots of this music and the backyard parties where it first spread
Omg this is so good I missed this! VERY intentional shot lingering on two men grinding on each other Throughout his career Benito has been an ally to the LGBTQ community and has tried to push back against the machismo prevalent in Latin music
Did I already post a video of the forbidden dance moves? Yes. Am I posting another one? Also yes
C0NCHO ON THE SCREEN!!! The sapo concho is the Puerto Rican crested toad. Endemic to the island and endangered (metaphor!!) A cute cartoon version of the toad was the mascot for his latest grammy winning album Debí Tirar Más Fotos
Next song "Monaco" which incorporates a string sample from the 1964 French classic "Hier Encore" by Charles Aznavour
He's telling us that he's here because he never stopped believing in himself, and we should never stop believing in ourselves either Sorry for the unflattering screenshot Benito
I've been told that this was an actual wedding I haven't had time to confirm that because I've been too busy shaking uncontrollably
I'm skipping Lady Gaga y'all fucking know who she is already I did love it when they salsa danced to "Baile Inolvidable" which I told you all to listen to a couple days ago I HOPE YOU DID YOUR HOMEWORK Also sorry my dog walked in front of the screen
This whole wedding scene is beautiful, it's like a big family gathering with multiple generations represented, so joyous Hahaha this is amazing He goes over to wake up a kid sleeping on some chairs There's always a kid sleeping in the corner at a real wedding The details!!!!
He jumps off the wedding platform and now we're at a NYC bodega The Puerto Rican diaspora in New York and elsewhere is a major focus of his recent work People who have been forced to leave their home and start over elsewhere
Peep the LIGHT BLUE Puerto Rican flag in the window The flag with the light blue triangle represents the Puerto Rican independence movement For many years it was illegal to display on the island (Lots more light blue flags forthcoming in this performance) I'm pretty sure there's a barber giving someone an actual haircut in that window
The switch in the fashion here to Nuyorican street style... incredible work by his costume team Essential to note that the row of "trees" on the left is actually people in tree costumes standing perfectly still
Incredible detail I just noticed Benito takes a drink from this woman as he sings "un shot de cañita en casa de Toñita" She is Maria Antonia Cay (aka Toñita), owner of the famous Caribbean Social Club in Brooklyn A beloved place for the Latino community in NYC
Many people have already talked about this moment I think it turned out it's not the boy everyone thought it was? But it obviously is meant to represent him
Cut to a man in a pava playing a cuatro, which is a traditional Latin American guitar often played at social gatherings
We ALL know that's Ricky Martin singing in front of the bananas He's singing "Lo Que Le Pasó a Hawaii," an anti-statehood song that holds up Hawaii as a cautionary tale (as already established, Benito is pro independence)
Another great detail, the chairs echo the cover of his latest album These chairs are so commonly seen all over the island The fact that they're empty represents all the people who have been forced to leave their homes because of gentrification and other problems
Next is "El Apagón" (the blackout) which I could write a whole thread about on its own The song and its video (a mini documentary) are about a lot of things, including the problems with Puerto Rico's electrical grid, which have gotten worse since Hurricane Maria
I'M ALMOST DONE
Becky we have to go to work in the morning!
Here comes Benito with the light blue flag
They put a fancy little garble effect over "Puerto Rico está been cabrón" (PR is fucking great) let the man speak his truth NBC We absolutely must give it up for the tree people
Lights flashing and strobing during this section to underscore the political commentary about the electrical grid
*whispering* yes. yes.
Devastated that they cut this song off right before the part where he sings "me gusta la chocha de Puerto Rico" 50 times in a row Iconic moment as he says "God Bless América" and then names every country in South, Central, and North america in order For the rest of the hemisphere, América doesn't mean the U.S. It means evveeerrybody
The guys behind him in the flat hats are Los Pleneros de la Cresta, a teaching ensemble working to keep traditional plena music alive on the island They were an integral part of the residency last summer and are on tour with him this year
He says "Seguimos aquí" after listing Puerto Rico last in the roll call of countries "We're still here" A refrain from the residency last summer and an expression of defiance in the face of so many challenges Final song was "DtMF" as I YET AGAIN correctly predicted should I go buy a lottery ticket or something??? A song about appreciating the people in your life while you still have them, it resonates on a personal level and calls back to the themes of diaspora I'm not crying you're crying
Am I done?? Guys I think I'm done Benito really did the thing tonight and gave us an amazing performance I'm going to be thinking about for a long time I hope this inspires some of you to become fans and listen to his music If you do, I'm always here to talk about him with you!! (Starting tomorrow. I'm going to bed)