Bad Bunny 101: ABC13 learns about superstar's very real college course as he performs in Houston

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- The City of Houston has Bad Bunny fever right now.

The artist is playing his second of two nights at Minute Maid Park on Friday, his fourth overall performance in the city in 2022.

More than 40,000 fans flocked to the ballpark to see the reggaetón star on Thursday, and lines of people waited outside in the rain on Friday to see him perform again.

"This is my first time to see him," Brenda, a fan attending the concert, said. "I'm excited."

Bad Bunny, whose real name is Benito Antonio Martinez Ocasio, was sacking groceries six years ago. Now he's selling out stadiums, winning Grammys, and was just named artist of the year at the MTV Video Music Awards.

The music superstar's drawing power not only compelled fans to wait in the rain to go into his concert Friday. There's also a very thoughtful college course on him.

Dr. Petra Rivera-Rideau teaches a class on Bad Bunny at Wellesley College in Massachusetts.

"The Latin music market is really big, and very lucrative, and drives streaming platforms. He has dominated all of those charts," said Rivera-Rideau, who wrote the book "Remixing Reggaeton: The Cultural Politics of Race in Puerto Rico."

He was Spotify's most streamed artist the last two years, but his class at Wellesley is really a springboard to discuss bigger issues.

Bad Bunny is also outspoken about LGBTQ+ rights, breaking gender stereotypes, and frequently brings light to issues in his native Puerto Rico.

Which is why, as fans waited outside of the ballpark to see one of the world's biggest artists perform, they weren't only talking about his award-winning music.

"I think it's great," a fan named Fernando said. "It puts Puerto Rico on the map, basically, and it helps put that stuff into a wider view."

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