Bad Bunny wearing a pava at the 2025 Met Gala is proof that no matter where we go, we carry Puerto Rico and her history with us.
Like many Puerto Ricans, my mom moved us from the island when I was just a kid. She wanted to give us a better life and our best chance to achieve our dreams. And having been born and raised in Puerto Rico, moving to the mainland of the U.S. was a culture shock. From the language to the food, I struggled to see myself amongst the people around me because I was Boricua through and through.
Thirty years later, I still miss Puerto Rico. And I carry her memory with me through our language, food, and multiple items of apparel that have our bandera on it—because that’s how Boricuas are. I also seek out Puerto Ricans everywhere I go and in everything that I do. And every time I see one of us, whether it be on the streets or on my TV screen, I feel like I’m back home on the island with my people and our history. So when I saw Bad Bunny on the steps of The Met Gala wearing a pava, it instantly took me back home.
And I cried.
Here was Bad bunny at the biggest fashion night of the year. A fashion night that few get to go to and that everyone likes commenting on from the comfort of their couch like we’re some big fashion experts ourselves. We’re not. But here was Bad Bunny using his Met Gala look to highlight Puerto Rico with a pava, a reference to the jíbaro and a symbol of our connection to the land of Borikén and the hard-working people who live there.
At that moment, every Boricua was on those Met Gala steps. Everyone saw us, our people, traditions, heritage, history.
Even the day after, I can’t help but think about all the conversations that Bad Bunny started at the 2025 Met Gala. How many people asked him about what the pava meant? Or how many people at home looked up what a pava was? Because we know what it means, the pava. We carry it with us, just as we carry the bandera, no matter if we’re on the island or halfway across the world. And now there are millions of people learning about who we are in a time where Puerto Rico is fighting for her life and begging to be seen.
Bad Bunny made Puerto Rico seen. And she wasn’t a destination spot for tourists to flock to. She was a history. She was a people. And he did it on the steps of The Met Gala for the world to see.
