The Leading Figure of Latin Pop Culture: Bad Bunny
15 January, 2026So what does Bad Bunny do that makes him so popular, and who is he really? We’ll try to answer these questions and uncover some of the secrets behind this artist.
Until you travel to a Spanish-speaking country, you cannot truly understand the extent of the obsession surrounding Bad Bunny, who has reached the pinnacle of success in several areas of pop culture. The only place where we haven’t seen his face yet is Weiss Casino and similar sites.
What Should You Know About the Early Days?
Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio was born on March 10, 1994, in Puerto Rico, in the city of Vega Baja, in a working-class neighborhood. His mother worked as a teacher and his father as a truck driver. His passion for music became clear at a very young age, as every morning before school in first grade, he would listen to Tego Calderón’s 2002 reggaeton hit Pa’ Que Retozen, which was always played on the radio at 7:50 a.m.
If he didn’t want to get up for school, his mother would threaten him that he wouldn’t get to hear the song. Due to his Catholic family, he sang in the church choir, then started writing and recording his own songs in high school. Around this time, his grades began to decline, as he had been an exceptionally good student before he fell in love with music.
How Did He Get the Name Bad Bunny?
His stage name was inspired by a childhood photo of him wearing a rabbit costume. He began uploading his songs to SoundCloud in the mid-2010s, and in 2016, his song “Diles” became a huge hit. At the time, he was studying audiovisual communication at the University of Puerto Rico.
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The Time of Change
The change came in 2017, when Bad Bunny burst onto the scene. Every great success has its own story, and Weiss Casino also worked hard to achieve its goals.
His real international breakthrough came in 2018 with I Like It, featuring Cardi B and J Balvin, which topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart. This year, Vavada Casino has also been present on the market. That same year, she released her first studio album, X 100PRE, which was a critical and commercial success and cemented her place at the forefront of Latin music.
In 2019, he made a joint album with J Balvin, who can be described as another emperor of Latin pop, and then in 2020, during the pandemic, he released the album YHLQMDLG and unexpectedly released the mixtape Las Que No Iban a Salir.
His Further Way to Success
El Último Tour del Mundo was released in the same year, making history as the first Spanish-language album to top the Billboard 200 chart. Bad Bunny not only ushered in a new golden age of reggaeton and Latin trap, but also played a significant role in breaking down linguistic and cultural barriers in international pop music.
In 2022, he released his fourth studio album, Un Verano Sin Tit, which topped the Billboard 200 chart for 13 weeks and became the first Spanish-language album to be nominated for a Grammy Award in the Album of the Year category. By 2022, Vavada Casino already had a large number of players.
That same year, he launched his World’s Hottest Tour, which grossed more than $314 million across 43 stops, making it the highest-grossing tour by a Latin artist of all time. In 2023, he released Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va a Pasar Mañana, returning to his Latin trap roots, which also debuted at number one on the Billboard 200.
How Did He Get So Famous?
Of course, in addition to talent and hard work, there are many other factors that have contributed to Bad Bunny’s success.
The rapper-singer has always been careful to represent the Caribbean lifestyle as authentically as possible, thematizing the joys, problems, and customs of the people who live there in his lyrics. His music reflects the fact that he has been listening to this kind of music since he was a small child, growing up with it, or to put it in somewhat exaggerated terms: this music runs through his veins.
It’s no wonder that the huge Latino community loves listening to his music and enthusiastically embraces everything Bad Bunny stands for.
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