Coachella 2023: Bad Bunny celebrates Puerto Rican and Mexican cultures during Weekend 2 set

Bad Bunny turned the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival into a Puerto Rican perreo again during Weekend 2, but this time it was also a celebration of Mexican culture.

Among several changes to his electric Coachella set — with which he became the first Latino solo artist to headline the festival last Friday — perhaps the biggest was the two flags that showed up on his stage: Puerto Rico’s and Mexico’s.

It’s been less than a week since the release of his and Grupo Frontera’s collaboration “un x100to” (read as “1%” in Spanish), yet the regional Mexican act on Friday joined Bad Bunny for their first live show of what has quickly become a global No.1 hit.

Dressed in an all-black ensemble, and occasionally dawning a hoodie, Bad Bunny initially followed the same setlist as Weekend 1. He ran through a few of the songs from his last full-length album, “Un Verano Sin Ti,” leading into “La Difícil,” a snippet of “A Tu Merced,” “Vete” and “Booker T.”

His first surprise of the night came with "La Jumpa," when fellow reggaetonero Arcángel showed up for a joint performance.

After showcasing a video homage to musicians across Latin America that included Juan Gabriel, Shakira and Chayanne, the Coachella crowd was asked to please welcome Grupo Frontera. The group walked out to thunderous cheering.

As the Mexican band started belting “Me queda un porciento,” Bad Bunny was nowhere to be seen, giving it center stage. Grupo Frontera also sang "No Se Va" and "Bebe Dame," songs that have reached viral status on TikTok and Instagram in recent months.

The group's temporary spotlight seemed to give Bad Bunny the chance to further commit to the Mexican genre as he resurfaced on the stage dressed in full rancho attire: All denim clothing, a tejana hat and cowboy boots.

He then sang his part of the song with Grupo Frontera that, despite being a new single, the festival audience of over 100,000 seemed to fully know the lyrics to.

Grupo Frontera's appearance on the Coachella Stage spoke to the historic week that regional Mexican music has had at Coachella, leading up to the release of “un x100to.” Other singers in the Spanish-language format at the festival have included Peso Pluma, Fuerza Regida, Conexión Divina, and the valley's own DannyLux.

Bad Bunny once more brought out Ñengo Flow and Jowell & Randy for the raunchy "Safaera." He again shared the stage with Jhayco, to sing "Dákiti," "Tarot," and Jhayco's hit "No Me Conoce."

But another unexpected guest was Puerto Rican acoustic guitar player José Feliciano, who while a legend in his own right, the audience seemed to be too young to recognize. The two sang a soft rendition of "La Canción," and Feliciano credited Bad Bunny as a "conejo bueno" (a good bunny).

The show also changed in that it felt more intimate than last week. For part of the Weekend 2 set, Bad Bunny was hoisted over the crowd to the opposite end of his stage, giving more spectators the chance to see him up close. He also signed a fan's shoe.

As he eventually walked back to the main stage, he touched people's hands in a sea of twinkling phone lights while singing "Ojitos Lindos."

The Weekend 2 show concluded earlier than last week, at 1:02 a.m. (just after curfew), with a live orchestra of trumpets, tubas, bongos, drums and a slew of other instruments needed for the mambo-inspired "Después de la Playa."

The reggaeton star's birth name is Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio and after his Weekend 2 performance, it's no wonder the crowd was not chanting his stage name of "Bad Bunny." They were chanting "Benito!"

Eliana Perez covers the eastern Coachella Valley. Reach her at eliana.perez@thedesertsun.com or on Twitter @ElianaPress.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Coachella 2023: Bad Bunny celebrates Puerto Rican and Mexican cultures