Why is Bad Bunny's "La Casita" so controversial?

BarcelonaEveryone is talking about Bad Bunny. And not just because of the magnitude and buzz of the twelve macro-concerts he's doing between Madrid and Barcelona these weeks, but for a decision that is as aesthetic as it is intentional and has tinged the tour of the album Debí tirar más fotos: the placement of an element that functions as a second stage during the show and has become the height of exclusivity. It is La Casita, a reproduction of a traditional house from Puerto Rico, intended to be a symbol of the singer's identity and his native country, but which has received a shower of criticism for lack of inclusivity and for sexism.

La Casita is a reserved space for celebrities and influencers during the concert: the porch of the pink house has become a coveted space, where only VIPs and spectators expressly chosen by Bad Bunny's teamcan enjoy the show alongside the Puerto Rican singer and sing the songs while thousands of spectators watch them on a large screen. In Barcelona, footballers like Lamine Yamal, Robert Lewandowski, Gavi, and Balde danced there, as did actresses like Úrsula Corberó. In Madrid, so far, celebrities like Ester Expósito, Ana de Armas, Martiño Rivas, Los Javis, and María León have visited, as have athletes like Marcelo, Héctor Bellerín, and Achraf Hakimi, and even the businesswoman and daughter of the president of Inditex, Marta Ortega. In this regard, it is worth remembering that Bad Bunny has a contract with the clothing brand Zara, who dresses him on the tour.

But in addition to the criticisms of turning a space dedicated to denouncing the gentrification of Puerto Rico and recognizing the country's working class into a platform dedicated only to the rich and famous, the great disapproval also came from the lack of representation among the bodies that have stepped on the pink booth. Apart from celebrities, some anonymous people from the audience are chosen before the concert to go up. They are chosen by a kind of observer, who invites people to share the space with important people. Now, who are these chosen ones? Well, beautiful, young, and mostly normative girls, selected to fill the space and the screen of the macro-spectacle.

In view of the lack of diversity among attendees, social networks and the media were filled with criticism of Bad Bunny for this selection process. The singer, known for breaking aesthetic and gender canons, for defending feminism, for participating in civil movements and for turning the tour into a cultural and political demand for Puerto Rico in the face of Trump's attacks, unsettled the internet for perpetuating feminine stereotypes.

In fact, especially on TikTok, girls no older than 25 explain how to dress or how to do their makeup to get chosen to enter La Casita. They all share the same age and a physical standard, and they explain that it was a young guy who approached them and chose them.

Faced with the avalanche of criticism received, it seems the singer has reconsidered and decided to include more diversity in his concerts: in the last one, held in Madrid on Tuesday, June 2nd, the audience was able to see strangers of different sizes and ages: older women, couples with diverse bodies, more racialized people, and profiles different from the heteronormative young girls who had been at La Casita in his latest shows. It seems, therefore, that the Puerto Rican singer has decided to move away, even if only visually, from the elitism of the Puerto Rican house of the first concerts, a place that had very little snobbery about it.