Bad Bunny added another gemstone to his expansive collection of them this year, landing a headliner gig at the Super Bowl 60 halftime show.
The 31-year-old musician is one of the biggest artists to ever traipse atop the stage at U.S. sports’ grandest spectacle. His latest album, “Debí Tirar Más Fotos” was a chart-topping release that made Bad Bunny the world’s most popular artist in 2025.
Much will be made about the Puerto Rican megastar’s appearance at Levi’s Stadium. He hasn’t performed on U.S. soil since 2024, leaving the country out of his tour plans for a number of reasons — one of which was that he wanted to avoid putting Latino fans at risk of detention and deportation from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Suffice to say, Bad Bunny will be the name on the lips of those watching the Seahawks and Patriots clash in Santa Clara, Calif.
With that, here’s what you need to know about Bad Bunny’s roots.
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Where is Bad Bunny from?
Bad Bunny hails from Vega Baja, Puerto Rico, a town of 54,414 located in the island nation’s northern coast. The eldest son of a truck driver mother and schoolteacher mother, Bad Bunny — real name Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio — was a playful child, doodling and masquerading as different characters throughout his youth.
He also showed an affinity for music. Bad Bunny was a rapper on weekdays, delivering searing bars during middle school talent shows. On Sundays, he would turn singer, delivering hymns as a member of his church’s choir. His parents, who introduced him to the salsa, ballads and merengue that came to influence his sound, weaponized his love of rap and reggaeton to keep him on track.
“I always tell the story of when I was in school: If I was feeling lazy and I didn’t want to get up, they’d threaten me with not being allowed to listen to [famed Puerto Rican MC and reggaetonero] Tego Calderón,” Bad Bunny told GQ in 2022. “Man, I’d get up so fast and get dressed. I’d be ready. ‘You’re not going to listen to Tego’s song!’ And I’d say, ‘Okay, Mami, fine. I’m ready!’ ”
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Is Puerto Rico in America?
Yes, Puerto Rico is a part of the United States; however, it is classified as a U.S. territory rather than a state.
Puerto Rico became a United States territory in 1898 following the Spanish-American War. Although there is a robust movement for statehood, the authority to admit new states resides exclusively with the United States Congress. To date, Congress has not taken any action to facilitate such admission.
Where did Bad Bunny go to high school?
Bad Bunny attended Juan Quirindongo Morell High School, better known as La Quiri. He graduated from the school in 2012, earning rave reviews for his temperament.
“He was very calm, very smart,” Nydia Vázquez, a school custodian, said of Bad Bunny in a 2025 interview with Pittsburgh Latino Magazine. “He loved Spanish class. That might be where he started writing his early lyrics.”
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Where did Bad Bunny go to college?
Upon graduating high school, Bad Bunny enrolled at the University of Puerto Rico at Arecibo. He intended to major in audiovisual communications. But he failed all but one of his classes during his first semester.
In his free time, he’d write lyrics, produce arrangements and tinker with production. He worked meticulously, weaving various influences in the hopes of creating a distinctive product. A friend pushed him to upload his songs on SoundCloud. Bad Bunny eventually complied, drawing a raucous fanbase that flocked to new snippets like birds. With his musical career on the rise, Bad Bunny dropped out, taking a job bagging groceries at a local supermarket chain instead.
“At the beginning I did what I could,” he told GQ in 2019. “Now I do whatever I want.”
