Bad Bunny positioned to consolidate his popularity in Brazil with first-ever performances

SAO PAULO (AP) — While Bad Bunny has dominated global charts, the superstar has not had quite the same success in Brazil, a country notoriously hard for foreign stars to win over due to a devotion to national artists.

But a shift that began with his Grammy-winning album “Debí Tirar Más Fotos” may accelerate further after his first-ever gigs in Brazil on Friday and Saturday in Sao Paulo.

Bad Bunny has come to Brazil at the peak of his career so far, following the phenomenal hype around his performance at the Super Bowl halftime show.

“It’s the best time to try and unlock a country like Brazil, at a time when he’s managed to dominate practically the entire world,” said Felipe Maia, an ethnomusicologist who is pursuing a doctoral degree on popular music and digital technologies at Paris Nanterre University.

For years, the Puerto Rican artist born Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio has been one of the most-streamed artists on the planet.

But neither the singer, nor his album, nor his songs were among the most played last year in Brazil, according to Spotify. The most streamed artists in the country on the platform in 2025 were all Brazilian.

In the land of samba, funk, bossa nova, choro, sertanejo, forro and pagode, among other Brazilian music genres, 75% of streaming consumption in Brazil focuses on national artists, according to the 2025 midyear music report of Luminate, a company specializing in entertainment industry data. Brazil is the country that most listens to its own music, it said.

Still, particularly since “Debí Tirar Más Fotos," the fever around Bad Bunny has made headway in Brazil. Only one performance was initially scheduled at the Allianz Parque arena, but it sold out so quickly the artist added an extra date, which also sold out.

By mid-afternoon on Friday, long queues had formed. Brazilian fans mixed with people from El Salvador, Colombia and Venezuela. Many came wearing straw hats — used by Bad Bunny and traditionally worn by jíbaros, rural Puerto Rican farmers.

Tickets on Ticketmaster, the official vendor, ranged from $50 to $210, but resellers on Friday were selling tickets for that same night for more than $830 — more than 2.5 times the minimum monthly wage in Brazil.

Flávia Durante, a Sao Paulo -based DJ who specializes in Latin American music, said that some Brazilians have a tendency to see Spanish-language music as corny due to the association with Mexican telenovelas, but that Bad Bunny pierced a bubble with his latest album.

“Nowadays everyone knows all the songs, they sing along and really get into it. I normally play him at the peak of the night. People request him, even at rock or 80s pop themed parties,” Durante said.

Since the half-time Super Bowl show, that popularity has grown. Bad Bunny’s average streams grew by 426% on Spotify in Brazil in the following week compared with the previous one. Many songs experienced massive streaming surges, with “Yo Perreo Sola” leading the growth with a 2,536% increase.

During Brazil’s Carnival celebrations, Bad Bunny themed costumes were a fixture in Rio’s raucous, dazzling street parties.

Nicole Froio, a Colombian Brazilian writer specializing in Latin American cultural issues, went kitted out in a straw hat and plastic, tropical plants that echo the background of his latest album. It was the third Carnival in which Froio — who has two Bad Bunny tattoos and a third one planned — wore attire that evoked the Puerto Rican artist.

For a long time, Froio was the sole person among her Brazilian friendship group who liked Bad Bunny. She believes that Brazilians in general have trouble identifying themselves as Latino.

“There’s a lot of prejudice around Hispanic music and there were preconceptions against him because of his Puerto Rican accent, because people don’t understand him,” she said.

Brazil’s Latino identity exists but it is diffuse and difficult to seize due to the variety within the continent-sized country, said Maia. But Bad Bunny succeeds in giving it emphasis, particularly in cosmopolitan cities such as Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, he said.

Brazil, like other countries in the Americas, was listed by Bad Bunny in the Super Bowl halftime show, when he reminded the world that while “America” is used as a synonym for the U.S. in the U.S., it is the name used across two continents.

Bad Bunny’s global success, including in Brazil, “reinforces that we’re part of this — that we belong,” said 22-year-old Diogo da Luz, a longtime fan of the Puerto Rican ahead of Friday's concert. “He reinforces that we are one people and that we’re very united.”

For Froio, who has been waiting to see him live for six years and will see him on Saturday, Bad Bunny “represents a Latino resistance.”

She pointed to the fact that other Latin American superstars, including Anitta, Shakira, and Ricky Martin, have recorded full songs in other languages, while Bad Bunny has kept his music almost entirely in Spanish.

“For me, there’s a great authenticity in his sound that inspires me to be who I am and let everyone else deal with it,” Froio said.

Bad Bunny performs in concert at the Allianz Parque stadium in Sao Paulo, Friday, Feb. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)

Fans cheer as Bad Bunny performs at Allianz Parque stadium in Sao Paulo, Friday, Feb. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)

Fans cheer as Bad Bunny performs at the Allianz Parque stadium in Sao Paulo, Friday, Feb. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)

Bad Bunny performs in concert at the Allianz Parque stadium in Sao Paulo, Friday, Feb. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)

Bad Bunny performs in concert at the Allianz Parque stadium in Sao Paulo, Friday, Feb. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)

Bad Bunny performs in concert at the Allianz Parque stadium in Sao Paulo, Friday, Feb. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)

Bad Bunny performs in concert at the Allianz Parque stadium in Sao Paulo, Friday, Feb. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)

Bad Bunny performs in concert at the Allianz Parque stadium in Sao Paulo, Friday, Feb. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)

Bad Bunny performs in concert at the Allianz Parque stadium in Sao Paulo, Friday, Feb. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)

Bad Bunny performs in concert at the Monumental stadium in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

BORMIO, Italy (AP) — The steepest hill ski mountaineering athlete Ana Alonso Rodriguez had to climb on her way to an Olympic bronze medal involved no course at all. No snow or competitors, either.

Just trusting in herself, and an injured knee, to give it a try and get to the starting line at the Milan Cortina Games.

In September, while riding her bike in a training session, the Spanish racer was hit by a car. She tore ligaments in her knee and injured her shoulder. Surgery would've surely meant sitting out the Winter Games, where her sport — one that involves skiing uphill and then downhill — was making its Olympic debut.

So, she rehabbed, instead, and hoped just to be able to compete in Bormio in some fashion. This bronze medal, the one she earned Thursday, felt almost surreal. On her way to the finish line, she even glanced over her shoulder not once or twice but three or four times just to make certain the medal, indeed, belonged to her.

“I couldn’t believe it,” said the 31-year-old Alonso Rodriguez, who is expected to combine with teammate and Olympic men's gold medalist Oriol Cardona Coll for the mixed relay on Saturday. “I was so emotional. Trying to believe that I achieved this medal, it was a beautiful moment for me.”

Back in early October, Alonso Rodriguez posted the news of her crash on Instagram. Along with it, a picture: Her left arm in a sling and her left knee in a bulky brace. She explained that she saw the car at the last moment and, realizing there was no escape, braced for the impact.

That, she wrote, prevented something worse from happening. There was another picture of her on the street, with people around, and a car windshield smashed in the background.

She vowed to work her way back to the skimo course, posting a note at the time that read, through translation: “Just 7 months ago I fulfilled a dream (of making the Olympics) that was born when I was 7. I don’t think life has taken me this far to leave me here. This is not an end. It’s just a new challenge to climb with determination, faith and a lot of passion.”

About three months after the crash, she returned to skis. By mid-January, she was back on the World Cup racing circuit.

And by early February, she was on the podium again, taking second with Cardona Coll in a relay race.

That's why she had so much confidence Thursday as she navigated a course that included traversing through a diamond-shaped pattern before taking the skis off to go up stairs in ski boots, followed by another vertical ascent with skis back on and finally the downhill. She finished 10.45 seconds behind winner Marianne Fatton of Switzerland, but, truth be told, just lining up was the goal.

This medal, well, it was extra.

“I wanted to focus on myself and be proud of my performance, no matter the results,” said Alonso Rodriguez, the silver medalist at the 2025 world championships. “So I only wanted to cross the finish line being happy with my performance.”

Next up, the mixed team event on Saturday to close out the racing program in Bormio. She and Cardona Coll are expected to be paired up — the official pairings come out later — and will be among the favorites. It's a powerful field that includes Emily Harrop, the silver-medal winner, who's expected to combine with Thibault Anselmet, the bronze medalist in the men's race, to represent France. A Swiss team, led by Fatton, will be in the medal mix, too.

Count teammate Cardona Coll as impressed with Alonso Rodriguez's performance.

“We were warming up and we realized Ana got third place and we had the first medal with us,” Cardona Coll explained. “That was a push of motivation.”

For Alonso Rodriguez, her push of motivation came from another mountain, in Cortina, where Italian ski racer Federica Brignone captured gold in the super-G and giant slalom. Brignone returned after breaking multiple bones in her left leg last March.

“We always had belief I could be here and give my best performance,” Alonso Rodriguez said. “The last days when Federica won two gold medals were an inspiration, because I know she has been working very hard.

“At the end, the hard work paid off. I’m so happy for her and for myself.”

This story has been updated to correct that Alonso Rodriguez's social media post was in October, not September.

AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

Spain's Ana Alonso Rodriguez competes during a ski mountaineering women's sprint heat, at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Bormio, Italy, Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Spain's Ana Alonso Rodriguez celebrates taking third place in a ski mountaineering women's sprint final, at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Bormio, Italy, Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

Spain's Ana Alonso Rodriguez reacts after winning the bronze medal in a ski mountaineering women's sprint final, at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Bormio, Italy, Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)

Spain's Ana Alonso Rodriguez celebrates after winning the bronze medal in a ski mountaineering women's sprint final, at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Bormio, Italy, Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)