Bad Bunny & Arcangel's Impromptu Show at Calle Loíza Gulf Brought High Energy to the Pumps
Just above pumps 1 & 3, the reggaeton royalty performed a surprisingly intimate set and 2022’s best concert
A fan shoulder sits to get a better view of the performers
Throughout my time at Pizza FM, I’ve seen concerts at all kinds of venues. And the location in which a performance happened, from small bars to festival grounds and everything in between, always contributed to the performance in its own way. The tightness of the Empty Bottle is thrilling to be in for a sold-out show, but so is the standing-room-only nature of Aragon Ballroom. However, a last-minute addition to my 2022 concert attendances is definitively the best and most outlandish venue I’ve ever been to: the Gulf gas station on Calle Loíza in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
On December 27, 2022, Bad Bunny Tweeted with just two hours' notice about a pop-up live performance of a recent release with Arcangel (before specifying the location as "Calle Loíza" on his Instagram story)
https://twitter.com/sanbenito/status/1607894166914367489?s=20&t=CW3JCmvV3LaK5TYc-p9LTQ
For context: Calle Loíza is one of San Juan’s busiest and longest streets. Since the music video for the mentioned song (“La Jumpa,” a collaboration with Arcangel) hadn’t yet been filmed, a first-glance look at this tweet would suggest that filming would be taking place. Looking at Bad Bunny But this wasn’t the first people heard of this concert. Speculation was rampant earlier in the day, as police had closed the entire block to vehicle traffic as camera crews began to set up.
Crane-operated camera, complete with a miniature Puerto Rican flag on top!
According to the Conejo Malo himself, this idea for the unconventional video treatment for La Jumpa struck him on Christmas Day, resulting in this almost secret concert two days later. Complete with camera operators (armed with a crane & drone), professional lighting, and a DJ behind a speaker stack tucked behind the pumps, everything about this show seemed surprisingly well-planned; something this underground still happened rapidly for one of the world’s largest artists—and some additional reggaeton royalty for good measure.
So, when my brother saw a tweet about the concert right before 10:00 PM, we decided to go to the concert together. As as I am a concert connoisseur, my brother is the true Bad Bunny expert, with both El Último Tour del Mundo and Un Verano Sin Ti shows under his 2022 concert-going belt. We parked nearby and walked to the venue—or rather, the gas station. As we approached, the vibe slowly changed from cool nighttime stroll to the world’s hottest block party. We saw the aforementioned police barricades and took the sidewalk to face the crowd.
The street and the gas station
People in the street were excited with anticipation, enjoying refreshments from the gas station. But there were also folks watching from their apartment balconies, with one spectator even enjoying a glass of wine while donning a white dress. Employees from the local seafood joint La Cueva del Mar sat on the roof to watch the night unfold after the restaurant closed shop.
Employees stand on the roof of
La Cueva del Mar
In this crowd of hundreds all across the block, the one thing that unified crowd was its gaze: everyone was eagerly looking towards the gas station’s roof. With the way lights were set up, it seemed that the performers would appear above the block.
As we waited, a DJ played some reggaeton to start things off. Running through “Guatauba,” “LOS DUEÑOS DE LA CALLE,” “Reggaetón Hp,” “MODELITO,” and “Matrícula” were all played until the music suddenly cut off. Cheers began, and those in apartments started pulling out their phones to look upstage. A few seconds later, Bad Bunny and Arcangel came downstage to deafening cheers.
Arcangel and Bad Bunny arrive onstage.
The two performed “Me Acostumbré” first, an older collaboration from Bad Bunny’s Latin Trap days, following up with the advertised fare, “La Jumpa.” The song would be repeated just once later that night, but Bad Bunny took the stage for a Arcangel-assisted “Me Porto Bonito” and “La Nota.”
Bad Bunny going solo for part of his set
Arcangel took over, performing two cuts from his latest album. First was “JS4E,” which was not well-known among the crowd. For his next song, “La Ruta,” Arcangel brought out YOVNGCHIMI as a special guest to perform his verse on the track.
YOVNGCHIMI appears alongside the artists
Bad Bunny held the reins for the remainder of the concert starting with the live premiere of “Gato de Noche,” of which he performed the first verse and chorus. “La Jumpa” was performed by both once again, with more energy than the first time. To cap the concert off, Bad Bunny performed two more smash hits from his latest album, “Titi Me Preguntó” and “El Apagón.”
While this concert was an unexpected one, there was something magical about watching a free concert of one of the world’s biggest artists from below a gas station roof. The crowd was so lively that, at times, it was hard to hear the artists themselves. People were FaceTiming friends and family, singing along with every word, and jumping to the beat despite the lack of room.
After the show ended, it still felt surreal that it even happened; the show itself was so ephemeral that the gas station seemed like a different place when I drove past it the next day. For this concert to be put together so quickly and in such a successful way is bizarre to me, in the best way possible. Instead of hyping up the city he was performing in (a la “New York City, how are you feeling tonight?!”), Bad Bunny always referred to the crowd as Santurce or Calle Loíza, something so specific that you’d never think to hear it at a concert. Looking back, the best part about this concert was its length. This could have been just two songs’ worth of a video shoot, but Bad Bunny and Arcangel decided to do things right and add eight other songs to the setlist, rounding out the show at just under an hour.
Bad Bunny’s growth from the last time I saw him until now was exponential: he’s gone from playing an almost-headline show at Los Dells 2018 to allegedly headlining Coachella. I don’t think I could have asked for a better close to this year of concertgoing, and I’ll remember this concert for its uniqueness as Bad Bunny continues to gain popularity.
Thanks to Diego for convincing me to go (and for the ride…and for letting me use your phone when mine was about to die…and for everything else).