Pre-Game Bad Bunny’s Residency With This Puerto Rican Art Pop-Up
Photo Credit: Bryan Suárez
The island of Puerto Rico has been front and center in cultural discourse this summer. Bad Bunny’s local residency is booming the local economy and highlighting mainland talent, as local fans and traveling tourists alike gather on the island for a 360 experience of the DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS Tour.
To further center and highlight local talent, a Puerto Rican art group known as The Diaspo Rico Project aims to center local talent and offer community-centered programming through an immersive art experience in Santurce, Puerto Rico.
La Sala Libre, by The Diaspo Rico Project, is a multi-sensory art residency that runs weekly programming ranging from art and storytelling, to music performances and local commerce. The cultural residency is housed within Casa Saffra, a space that is “designed around multiple dynamic areas that invite you to engage, reflect, and build together,” according to the project’s website.
“With hundreds of thousands flying in for El Conejo Malo, we’re using this moment to offer community-rooted programming that honors our people,” says Mikey Cordero, Nuyorican filmmaker, cultural agitator and creative director of Defend Puerto Rico, and founder of The Diaspo Rico Project.
“While big brands sell versions of Puerto Rican culture, we’re here to show the real thing—alive, complex, and created by us,” adds Cordero.
Bad Bunny’s 30-night concert residency in San Juan’s Coliseo de Puerto Rico is expected to inject about $200 million to the Puerto Rican economy. The Diaspo Rico Project invites locals and visitors alike to not only attend this landmark concert series but also experience a local “pre-game” at La Sala Libre. La Sala Libre is also raffling off four tickets to Bad Bunny’s sold-out residency, with a three night stay at Casa Saffra for the September 5th show.
La Sala Libre runs programming every weekend starting August 1st, 2025 to September 14, 2025 in Santurce, Puerto Rico. Reservations are strongly recommended for visiting La Sala during regular visiting hours, with special events requiring a separate RSVP on diaspori.co.
