Bad Bunny Watch Party
Craft Hall
901 N. Delaware Ave.
Sept. 20, 2025
I walked into Craft Hall on a recent Saturday night and felt like I was being transported to one of my dad’s famous house parties: Booming loud sound system, the host hugging you tightly at the door, and hundreds of Puerto Ricans anticipating a big night. Perhaps more aptly, it felt like the time I recently spent in Puerto Rico seeing reggaeton superstar Bad Bunny on his revolutionary residency "No Me Quiero Ir de Aquí” at Coliseo de Puerto Rico (a.k.a. El Choli). On this night, he was wrapping up his residency in San Juan with a surprise live streamed finale: "Una Más."
In January of this year, Bad Bunny released his 6th studio album, “DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS.”
The artist went on to call it his ‘most Puerto Rican album yet,’ which – after experiencing the hype around the album and residency – rings entirely true. The album is a perfect mix of hard reggaeton and dembow beats, with an obvious appreciation of the earlier musical styles of the culture, like Plena and samples from legendary artists such as El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico. The work is a clear expression of love and admiration of his island and his people.
This specific Saturday had a strange tone throughout the day. It was Sept. 20, the eighth anniversary of when Hurricane María ravaged Puerto Rico and reportedly killed 4,645 people on the island. It’s no mistake that Bad Bunny picked this day for a special livestream of his residency that everyone, regardless of location, could enjoy with their loved ones. Just like it’s no mistake that Delilah Dee, organizer of the night’s watch party, was the person to bring the community in Philly together for it.
Dee regularly organizes community events in Philly like Jefatona and La Cultura Flow, and she went all out for this one. She received dozens of frantic messages on Instagram asking if she’d be hosting a party for the livestream. Once she saw there was a need for it, she jumped right on it, securing a venue within a few hours of the live stream being announced on September 15 – the start of Hispanic Heritage Month.
“Bad Bunny created a full body of work and a residency that celebrated Puerto Rican culture at every level,” Dee told me, “Seeing that pride reflected back to the Puerto Rican community, and honestly, even all other Latino cultures, was powerful to witness.”
Dee, who went to one of the shows in San Juan back in August, says it felt like an out of body experience, which is exactly the same way I described it to friends once I got back from the island. At the concert, I felt every note, every bang of the goatskin drum, deep in my stomach. I danced harder than ever before, forgetting any ache or pain in my body. I was something entirely different during those three hours in El Choli.
“I wanted to give our community a space to experience that together, especially for those who couldn’t be at the shows in person or just want to relive it in the best way possible,” Dee said.
The space was set up with photo ops by PartyWithNena, and a DJ booth featuring DJ Redz and Kennie Flaka. The photo booths were filled with cutouts of Bad Bunny and Puerto Rican iconography like the Sapo Concho – who plays a big role in this residency – and white lawn chairs. And while María was on the minds and hearts of all, the energy inside the venue was positively electric.
Leading up to the start of the concert, the DJ played reggaeton hits like “Muñekita” by El Alfa, JT, and Kali Uchis, attendees grabbed drinks off the themed menu (one virgin Acho PR, please), and couples took photos together in front the photo op backdrops.
Once the clock counted down to the concert’s 8:45 p.m. start time, it all went quiet. Everyone watched the opening sequence of the concert: a scene in which an actor is looking for her camera. The crowd focused with intent and admiration, but once again exploded once Bad Bunny took the stage from around 8:50 p.m. until shortly after midnight.
The crowd in Craft Hall never faltered, and while attendees were excited to see Bad Bunny, it was clear that this was about something bigger than him. It felt that way at the concert I went to earlier in September, too. He is doing something for Boricuas that has not been done in some time, and it is being done at such a pivotal, deeply devastating, and traumatizing moment for Latinos in the U.S. and its colonized territories. The residency, and the resulting event put together by Dee, centers joy as resistance.
“For Latinos, and especially Puerto Ricans, Bad Bunny isn’t just an artist, he’s someone who constantly uplifts his people and his island,” Dee said. “I feel like our local community wanted to be part of that energy, to sing, dance, and feel connected to something bigger than themselves. That’s why the response was so overwhelming.”
Putting together this event meant that those in Philly wishing they could have seen the show in person, but could not, had an opportunity to experience this concert. The crowd gave Bad Bunny and Dee back everything they put forth, and then some. The event sold out so quickly that Dee and the venue worked together to open an adjacent space to accommodate more attendees.
Much like at the show I went to in San Juan, watch party attendees sang every word to every song, partied with the strangers next to them, and waved their Puerto Rican flags throughout. Having experienced both, I feel as though each event has its own special place in history.
We know the concert brought significant attention to La Isla de Encanta – not to mention an estimated $200 million into the local economy (Bad Bunny chose the venue for his residency over more popular stages like that of the Sphere in Las Vegas in order to honor the place that raised him). It has also awakened a spirit in Puerto Ricans across the globe that I haven’t seen in my adulthood, which speaks volumes because Boricuas are well-known for being loud and proud of our culture.
What I saw at Dee’s event feels similar. It may not have raked in millions – tickets were accessibly priced at under $10 a pop and got folks into both the watch party and after party – but it gave Philly Puerto Ricans something you can’t put a price on: the healing power of community.
“To me, this wasn’t just a watch party, it was a chance to gather as a community, celebrate who we are, and feel that same pride and love he’s been spreading on stage,” Dee said. “It’s special because it shows that our culture is worthy of being center stage, and that resonates far beyond one night.”
But for this one night, we felt safe to let loose and forget about all the chaos we’d see next time we picked up our phones to read the news. In this room filled with hundreds of strangers that I felt connected to, we collectively moved our bodies (un montón de perreo, of course), documented the momentous night, and became emotional over Marc Anthony’s surprise performance of “Preciosa.” And while the friend I ran into at the event held me as I cried to “DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS,” I felt like I was in the Motherland.
