Bad Bunny performs at Chase Center in San Francisco on March 1, 2024. Derek Fisher/STAFF.

SAN FRANCISCO — Puerto Rican megastar Bad Bunny focused on his trap and reggaeton roots—and rode a real-life horse onto the arena floor—during his Most Wanted tour stop Friday at Chase Center, on the first of two nights in the city.

Supporting his latest album, Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va a Pasar Mañana (“nobody knows what will happen tomorrow”), the cowboy-themed night included plenty of other fiery surprises.

Performing in the Bay Area for the first time since his 2022 show at RingCentral Coliseum, Benito Antonio Martinez Ocasio also revisited his past catalog in a satisfying way. Friday’s show completely reinvented his stage design. A floor general admission section was flanked by two half-circle-shaped stages on both ends of the floor. Above hung two curved screens, masking a catwalk hanging between two rows of lanterns.

Bad Bunny, clad in an all-black suit with white and black Adidas, rose from below on the far side of the arena and began rapping “Nadie Sabe,” from his latest album. Cowboy-boot-shaped lanyards passed out to attendees began lighting up, filling the room with an amber glow. The effect was visually spectacular.

Bad Bunny performs at Chase Center in San Francisco on March 1, 2024.

The Philharmonic Orchestra Project, which opened the show, performed the string intro to “MONACO.” A blast of colorful flames and smoke was timed with the bass drop to the popular song. Bad Bunny began working the stage. He went in close to the audience on the floor in front of him, giving them his complete energy and focus, dancing and bouncing to the beat.

He paused for a moment while the spotlight shined on him. The crowd shouted, “Be-ni-to! Be-ni-to!” urging him on. “Fina” was introduced with more plumes of smoke and pink flares. Bad Bunny was joined on stage by female dancers for a choreographed dance. The stage floor lit up in hot pink and blue hues. Ocasio rocked to the beat, shouting the lyrics. The women were joined by male dancers.

For the next song, “Hibiki,” the stage was surrounded by blue lasers. Bad Bunny sat at the lip of the stage and sang while the dancers did their thing. The room filled with red light, signaling the transition into “Mr. October.”

Bad Bunny continued to work the stage for “Mercedes Carota” and “Cybertruck,” before he concluded a segment of new songs with “Vou 787,” “Coco Chanel” and “Seda.” For “Baticano,” dancers joined him with ghoulish masks hiding their faces.

Bad Bunny performs at Chase Center in San Francisco on March 1, 2024.

A video of Ocasio on a horse signaled the start of part two. But then, he came back out on a living (PETA has already complained) chestnut-colored horse, which he rode across the arena floor.

For “Telefono Nuevo,” he sported a CNTRA-designed fringed royal blue suede suit, his head covered by a black ski mask. He went into “Tú No Metes Cabra” and pulled off his ski mask at the end, replaced it with shades and finished the song as pyrotechnics blasted off from the stage.

Now alone, he performed “Soy Peor” while thousands of fans sang along, word for word. The stage rose eight feet above the crowd and the catwalk came down. Ocasio stepped on and spent the next song performing on the catwalk as it rose high above the audience on the floor. It glowed white as he strutted back and forth. The lanterns lit up in blue, appearing like drops of water in the sky. At the end, they came down to make the shape of the Bay Bridge.

After crossing back to the other stage, where a grand piano emerged, Bad Bunny sat atop it and slowed things down, running through songs like “Gracias Por Nada” and “Baby Nueva.”

The last part of the show picked the energy back up as he closed out strong with trap reggaeton tracks like “Perro Negro,” “Jumpa,” “No Me Quiero Casar” and “Where She Goes.”

Prior to Bad Bunny (and about 90 minutes after the show was slated to begin), the Philharmonic Orchestra Project performed a 10-minute musical prelude, featuring three overtures inspired by the theme of a man pursued “dead or alive” in the old Western style.  The 24-member orchestra, led by composer and conductor Carlitos Lopez, is based in Miami, provided a captivating intro as smoke filled both stages.

Follow Mel Bowman at Twitter.com/melmichel and Instagram.com/coco_michel_coco. Follow photographer Derek Fisher at Instagram.com/dfishswish.