At the Coliseo de Puerto Rico in San Juan, where Bad Bunny’s ten-week “No Me Quiero Ir De Aquí” residency, one of this summer most relevant events, took place, a one-story house was built: flat gray roof, pink façade, rattan garden furniture. Conceived as a secondary stage, the structure served as a visual and symbolic counterpoint to the monumental mountain that dominated the main stage, covered in hand-painted wildflowers.
During each concert, the patio of La Casita filled with celebrity guests — among them LeBron James, Austin Butler, Darren Aronofsky, Kylian Mbappé, Penélope Cruz, and Javier Bardem — drawing attention for its resemblance to Puerto Rico’s traditional houses. The construction, carried out by a group of local designers, faithfully reproduced at full scale a Caribbean “casita” from Humacao: simple geometry, wooden shutters, and pastel tones evoking a fragile yet resilient vernacular domesticity.
This decision to root the show in Puerto Rican landscape and memory proved immediately successful. La Casita, initially conceived as a performative stage device, has since become an informal symbol of the Latin diaspora — replicated in countless fan-made versions celebrating the Puerto Rican artist’s triumphant summer.
In Miami’s Little Havana district, the bar Dead Flamingo created a themed corner titled Mi Casa Tu Casa dedicated to Bad Bunny, featuring a replica of La Casita designed in collaboration with the Lyfe After Death Agency. After four sold-out Bad Bunny-themed parties, the Calle Ocho venue announced that the installation would remain open until the Super Bowl, when the artist is set to perform at the Halftime Show.
In Queens, New York, the bar Bad Habits also recreated the façade of La Casita as a pop-up installation, turning the neighborhood into a destination for fans. Here, the architectural object becomes a photographic set — an ephemeral structure meant more for digital sharing than for spatial use.
Through its multiple reincarnations — from the San Juan stage to bars in Miami and New York — La Casita reaffirms the emotional and cultural value embodied by this modest dwelling. Though ephemeral, these reproductions remain a living, recognizable fragment of Puerto Rico’s architectural heritage, a means of reclaiming a shared sense of belonging and rediscovering one’s roots.
Opening image: La Casita from Bad Bunny's video "DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS"