SAN FRANCISCO – What started as a Bad Bunny look-alike contest at a local San Francisco restaurant quickly transformed into a lively street celebration. The event drew hundreds of fans eager to support the impersonators and belt out the global superstar’s hits in anticipation of his performance at the upcoming Super Bowl halftime show.

Over 30 participants from the Bay Area took part, showcasing their best Bad Bunny impressions. The contestants included a diverse group from men sporting tight curls to women wearing wigs and faux facial hair, and even a young kindergartener dressed in a fedora, white tank top, and bow tie. The venue, a bustling Mexican restaurant in the Mission district, offered a $100 prize for the best impersonator.

Entrants embraced the fashion of the 31-year-old Puerto Rican icon, sporting some of his well-known styles. These included the “pava,” a straw hat traditionally worn by Puerto Rican farmers, and shearling aviator hats reminiscent of those seen in his 2025 album, “Debi Tirar Mas Fotos,” which translates to “I should have taken more photos.” This album recently earned the title of Album of the Year at the Grammys.

Among the crowd were Adam Fox, 24, and his friend Alejandro Kurt, 23, who journeyed from Belmont, located roughly 25 miles south of San Francisco. Both sported dark curly hair and facial hair, traits that have led many to say they resemble Bad Bunny.

Fox, who aspires to an acting career, arrived in a sharp suit, bowtie, and dark sunglasses. Despite not speaking Spanish, he expressed a deep appreciation for Bad Bunny’s music.

“His music is like art,” Fox stated. “Even if you don’t fully understand the language, you can still appreciate its beauty.”

The contestants imitated Bad Bunny’s “perreo,” or twerking, and repeated his criticism of the Trump administration’s mass deportation campaign with one wnnabe-Bad Bunny in a wig and a black tuxedo holding an “ICE Out” sign as she danced through the packed Tacolicious restaurant to roaring cheers from the crowd.

But the artist’s music remained the focus of the lookalike contest organized by Mission Loteria, a group that promotes Latino businesses, with people spilling out to the street where a DJ played Bad Bunny’s most-loved tracks and some in costumes resembling the Puerto Rican crested toad, an endangered species that is featured in one of his music videos, danced with contestants.

Pamela Guo, 33, traveled from San Jose to compete in the contest dressed in an aviator hat, shorts and an athletic jacket. Guo, who had a painted-on beard, said she is such a fan of the singer that she traveled to Mexico City to see him in concert.

“I love to perrear and dance, so I do love that aspect of his music,” she said, adding that his last album has deeper lyrics that speak to her because they talk about our shared humanity.

The grand prize went to Abdul Ramirez Arroyave, a professional Bad Bunny impersonator from Colombia, who was dressed in a red shirt and straw hat on top a tight curly hair wig.

When asked to say a few words after his win, he said “thanks for everything” then broke into song with the crowd singing along Bad Bunny’s “Debi tirar mas fotos.”

Ramirez Arroyave then joined the party outside and took photos with his new adoring fans.