Bad Bunny officially culminated his El Último Tour del Mundo on April 3 at the FTX Arena in Miami. Backstage, he popped bottles with his entire team — not only to celebrate the ending of two successful months on the road, but also a Grammy win, with his accompanying El Último Tour del Mundo taking home best música urbana album at the April 3 ceremonies.
Now, while fans patiently wait for the Puerto Rican artist to reveal information about his next studio album — which he promised he’d share after the tour — his dancers are enjoying their newfound fame.
“Honestly, it was an emotional night because the tour had ended,” recalls Karina Ortiz, Bad Bunny’s lead choreographer. “But more importantly, it was about the respect we had on this tour, and the different stereotypes [we’re breaking]. There was no label, and being able to do that was an achievement of mine as a choreographer.”
Ortiz was one of the 10 Puerto Rican dancers who joined Bunny on his U.S. trek, which kicked off in early February. Notably, the group was particularly diverse, with artists between the ages of 19 and 30, and of all sizes and skin colors.
“Bad Bunny was the one who asked me to make sure the team was inclusive,” Ortiz tells Billboard. “Normally, the choreographer is the one who picks the dancers — but this time, we filmed the auditions, sent them to Bad Bunny’s team, and he picked the dancers.”
Auditions to join the “Bad Bunny Dancers,” as they’re called, began as early as October of 2021. Out of 80 dancers, 16 were picked to dance at his two-day PFKNR shows in Decemeber — and out of those, 10 joined him on the El Ultimo Tour del Mundo trek: Antonio Gonzalez, Brian Gabriel Rivera, Carlos J. Agosto, Irasema Ivis Santana, Jose Ricardo Cora, Karianisse Camillie, Karina Ortiz, Kiara Yamilette Rodriguez Saldivar, Melanie Avilés, and Nigel O’Brian Hernandez Torres.
On TikTok, the group discovered an entire fan base after igniting the “La Zona” dance challenge to kick off the tour on Jan. 31. “It’s one of Bad’s best songs but I felt that it was so underrated,” Ortiz expresses, saying that they didn’t have the opportunity to dance to the song on PFKNR. “We didn’t think the dance trend would go viral.”
@badbunnypensando si subir el mio… 🤔 ya estamos ready PAL TOUR DEL ÚLTIMO TOUR!!♬ La Zona – Bad Bunny
Currently, there are more than 710,000 video creations have been posted on the app to the song, and collectively, the dancers have over 1.6 million TikTok followers.
But beyond the social following and the tour dates, forming part of Bad Bunny’s team represents hope, inclusion, and change for the dancers — best represented during the “Yo Perreo Sola” set, where they all rock the same red leather outfit.
“Again, this outfit was Bad Bunny’s idea,” she notes. “I loved this dance, but it was more about the message we were sending with this outfit. Gender doesn’t matter. We’re all the same at the end of the day.”
Below, learn more about the dancers, who will also join Bad on his “World’s Hottest Tour” in the summer:
MEET THE BAD BUNNY DANCERS
Antonio “Tony” Gonzalez, 23, from Guayama
What does being part of Bad Bunny’s team mean to you? Growth, due to everything I have learned, and the growth for everyone, due to the diversity of the people in the dance crew, and the stereotypes that we broke.
What was your favorite song to perform on El Ultimo Tour del Mundo? “Yo Perreo Sola” and “Safaera.”
What was your go-to tour outfit? The red outfit from “Yo Perreo Sola.” Not only because of how I felt in it, but because of the audience’s reaction.
What was your most memorable moment on the tour? In the last show in Miami’s FTX Arena Benito asked the audience to give us a round of applause and said that we were the best dancers he had ever seen. I swear that in those few seconds, everything changed in me.
Brian Gabriel Rivera, 23, from San Juan
What does being part of Bad Bunny’s team mean to you? It is a dream come true to belong to this team in which stereotypes do not exist and [where you’re allowed] to express yourself as you know how to do it. One of my dreams has always been to be able to be myself on stage, and have the opportunity to inspire other people in the LGBTQ+ community. If I could achieve it, they can too — and thanks to Bad Bunny and his team, that dream has been achieved.
What was your favorite song to perform in El Ultimo Tour del Mundo? Choosing just one from a show that’s so varied is complicated, but my favorites were “La Difícil,” “Bichiyal,” and “Safaera.”
What was your go-to tour outfit? Without a doubt, my favorite outfit was the red leotard from “Yo Perreo Sola.”
What was your memorable moment on the tour? On the last night of the tour, we were all nostalgic, but happy that we met [our] goal after two months and playing 35 shows. At the end of that night’s show, Bad Bunny asked the audience for a round of applause for his dancers, and expressed how happy he was with our work. It feels great that an artist of that caliber can value and recognize your work in front of so many people.
Carlos “Solid” Agosto, 30, from Bayamon
What does being part of Bad Bunny’s team mean to you? It’s extraordinary. Being chubby and being able to work with the number one artist is more than an achievement — it’s like a dream come true.
What was your favorite song to perform in El Ultimo Tour del Mundo? “Safaera.” The energy is always high, the euphoria is incredible and the audience feels at the top.
What was your go-to tour outfit? The red one we wore during “Yo Perreo Sola.”
What was your most memorable moment on the tour? When Benito realized that I can do a handstand and walk on my hands. Seeing his astonished reaction was incredible.
Irasema “Senai” Ivis Santana, 22, from San Juan
What does being part of Bad Bunny’s team mean to you? To be part of an immense change within the artistic environment and outside as well. It is an honor to be part of that and of all the beauty that this work teaches you.
What was your favorite song to perform in El Ultimo Tour del Mundo? “Yo Perreo Sola,” “La Dificil,” and “La Zona”
What was your go-to tour outfit? I really like the outfit we wore during “La Dificil.”
What was your most memorable moment on the tour? For me, the most memorable moment of the entire tour was the last show.
Jose Ricardo Cora, 29, from Patillas
What does being part of Bad Bunny’s team mean to you? It represents everything that I am, how I dress, and how I see myself as a person and the LGBTQ+ community.
What was your favorite song to perform in El Ultimo Tour del Mundo? “La Dificil.”
What was your go-to tour outfit? Obviously, “Yo Perreo Sola.” Girl, that red latex had me feeling myself in all senses.
What was your most memorable moment on the tour? At one show, my in-ear monitors got damaged, so they gave me generic ones that kept falling off. The first time I used them they fell off while I was dancing to “Yo Perreo Sola,” and as soon as I heard the roar of the audience, it was the moment I said, “This is what I was born for.” Since then, I took off my headphones during that song to be able to enjoy the audience’s euphoria.
Karianisse Camillie, 19, from Ponce
What does being part of Bad Bunny’s team mean to you? It signified perseverance. We all have something different that sets us apart but with the same goal.
What was your favorite song to perform in El Ultimo Tour del Mundo? “Safaera” and “La Zona.”
What was your go-to tour outfit? The classic red outfit from “Yo Perreo Sola.”
What was your most memorable moment on the tour? After the last show of the tour in Miami, because we were all happy with what we had just accomplished.
Karina Ortiz, 29, from Bayamon
What does being part of Bad Bunny’s team mean to you? Hope. This industry hasn’t been easy for me, but being here is proof of believing in myself and using this as an opportunity to open my own doors.
What was your favorite song to perform in El Ultimo Tour del Mundo? I really liked “La Noche de Anoche,” because visually it was another vibe, but “La Zona” is my favorite.
What was your go-to tour outfit? The red one from “Yo Perreo Sola.” Gender didn’t matter with that outfit. We’re all the same at the end of the day. It was more about the message.
What was your most memorable moment on the tour? Dancing in Los Angeles, because I lived there for five years chasing my dreams. Back then, I thought my goal was to dance with artists from the U.S. I had the opportunity to dance in one of Jennifer Lopez’s videos, but it didn’t make me feel accomplished. In that show, dancing with Bad Bunny, I realized that my dream was never outside of Puerto Rico.
Kiara Yamilette Rodriguez Saldivar, 22, from Humacao
What does being part of Bad Bunny’s team mean to you? For me, it is the definition of persistence and evolution, since I have had the joy of being part of his team from the beginning, and I have seen great growth in all areas.
What was your favorite song to perform in El Ultimo Tour del Mundo? “Sorry Papi.”
What was your go-to tour outfit? The iconic outfit from “Yo Perreo Sola.”
What was your most memorable moment on the tour? Everything that we were able to share and connect with the public, especially seeing the audience doing all the choreographies with us.
Melanie Avilés, 24, from Mayaguez
What does being part of Bad Bunny’s team mean to you? Being part of the change and progress in breaking stereotypes in the industry. It shows other petite dancers to fight for their dreams, and it is an honor that my first experience as an official dancer has been with an artist and a work team that I admire so much.
What was your favorite song to perform in El Ultimo Tour del Mundo? “Yo Perreo Sola,” because of the reaction and the energy of the audience in each show.
What was your go-to tour outfit? Aside from the “Yo Perreo Sola” outfit for being so iconic, my favorite outfit was where we were all dressed differently, because it showed off our different styles.
What was your most memorable moment on the tour? There were two: One was to dance at the Amway Center because three years ago I saw Bad Bunny’s X100pre concert there, and manifested that I [would] one day dance with him. And the other moment was when Bad Bunny congratulated us and thanked us for our work in front of the entire audience at the end of “Yo Perreo Sola.”
Nigel O’Brian Hernandez Torres, 24 from Arecibo
What does being part of Bad Bunny’s team mean to you? Union, hope, and consistency are the words that best describe what being in this great team means to me. Now, thanks to this team, no dancer is afraid of being who they are, or [having] to worry about stereotypes. What’s important here is talent and discipline above all. Now, there’s hope.
What was your favorite song to perform in El Ultimo Tour del Mundo? Since the rehearsals, “La Zona” always left me with a lot of adrenaline, and dancing it on stage raised met all my expectations. I also loved “Yo Perreo Sola” and “Safaera.”
What was your go-to tour outfit? The red leather outfit of “Yo Perreo Sola” is simply everything that is not “normal” for society in terms of masculinity, at least in my case. It breaks all ideology and manages to get me out of my comfort zone.
What was your most memorable moment on the tour? Without a doubt, to see how the public reacted in a positive and exciting way to our dancing, because they understand that we are also artists. Obviously, along the same lines, it was moving when Bad Bunny said we are the best dancers he has seen in his entire life. This is where you realize that you are not here to fill in a show, but that we are his show — and not all artists understand that.
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