Northeastern Spain was simmering over Americans’ Memorial Day weekend — and it wasn’t just the unseasonable heat wave.
Puerto Rican rapper and singer Bad Bunny kicked off the eight-week European leg of his tour in Barcelona, the first stop on a jaunt across the Continent that will take him from Portugal to Poland to Belgium and half a dozen places in between.
Demand for tickets was high to begin with, but I had an additional factor to consider. The artist, whose real name is Benito Antonio Martinez Ocasio, isn’t touring in the U.S. this time out of fear of immigration raids.
Knowing this could be my one chance to see him in concert, I hopped on a quick flight from Germany to Barcelona for the opening weekend.
I wanted to go to Spain for the vibes, but Bad Bunny has a number of stops this summer that are much closer to U.S. installations.
Bad Bunny performs in Barcelona on May 23, 2026. Following shows in South America and the Pacific earlier this year, the artist kicked off the European leg of his tour in Spain over Memorial Day weekend. (Lara Korte/Stars and Stripes)
Bad Bunny performs in Barcelona on May 23, 2026. Following shows in South America and the Pacific earlier this year, the artist kicked off the European leg of his tour in Spain over Memorial Day weekend. (Lara Korte/Stars and Stripes)
His two Düsseldorf shows, June 20 and 21, are a three-hour drive from Ramstein Air Base in Germany. Troops in Belgium and the Netherlands could catch him in the Dutch city of Arnhem. And he’ll also swing through London, Warsaw and Milan.
His latest album, “DeBi TiRAR MaS FOToS,” is an ode to his homeland, combining reggaeton with other traditional Puerto Rican music styles to explore themes of heartbreak, family, gentrification and, naturally, partying.
It seemed as if everyone in the city was buzzing about the concert. Each time I took the metro, I saw a handful of people wearing DtMF merch. One Adidas store promoted a new line of Bad Bunny-themed apparel just for the occasion.
I’ve never had the pleasure of visiting Puerto Rico. But if the vibes are anything like those of a Bad Bunny concert, I might just move there.
As the sun set over Barcelona, the packed stadium built for the 1992 Summer Olympics thrummed with excitement. When Bad Bunny finally came onstage, rising dramatically from the floor in a double-breasted cream suit and sunglasses, the crowd roared.
He just stood there for a full minute, eyes closed while the crowd chanted “Benito! Benito!” Finally, he approached the mic and spoke the opening lines to “LA MuDANZA,” or, “The Move,” a tribute to his parents for raising him in Puerto Rico.
“Un aplauso pa’ mami y papi porque en verda’ rompieron.” (In English: “A round of applause for mom and dad, because they really nailed it.”)
And we were off. The first part of the show took place on the main stage, with Bad Bunny singing in front of a live percussion and brass ensemble.
He performed several of the top songs from the album there, including “NUEVAYoL,” an ode to Puerto Rican culture in New York, and “BAILE INoLVIDABLE,” meaning “Unforgettable Dance.”
Then, after a quick costume change, Benito entered “la casita,” a separate stage designed to imitate the front of a traditional Puerto Rican home.
From there, the concert definitely took on more of a party vibe, with Bad Bunny dancing on the roof in athleisure clothing while sipping from a red plastic cup.
The “porch” area of the casita is often reserved for VIP guests, and the crowd cheered when the camera panned to FC Barcelona soccer star Robert Lewandowski.
Bad Bunny wrapped up the night with another set on the main stage, this time in his signature floppy winter cap and gloves. He finished with “Debi Tirar Mas Fotos,” the title track on the album, before coming back to sing “EoO” as an encore.
As we left, I was struck by how many different kinds of folks we had run into. A group of girls beside us was from Australia, and in front of us was an Irish couple.
Those who couldn’t get tickets to the concert had gathered on the hillside outside, dancing in the streets and singing along to the music as it drifted over the walls of the stadium.
We even encountered some fans who had flown all the way from Los Angeles to attend. They liked the Barcelona concert so much that they ended up attending another show.
I just might end up following their example.
DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS tour dates:
Lisbon, Portugal: May 26-27
Madrid: May 30-31; June 2-3, 6-7, 10-11 and 14-15
Düsseldorf, Germany: June 20-21
Arnhem, Netherlands: June 23-24
London: June 27-28
Marseille, France: July 1
Paris: July 4-5
Stockholm: July 10-11
Warsaw, Poland: July 14
Milan: July 17-18
Brussels: July 22
