Fit Check, Food Check: Milterí Tucker Concepción talks Bomba and Bad Bunny

As the world gears up for Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl Halftime Show, Milterí Tucker Concepción reminds us that Puerto Rico’s rhythms have deep roots. She wears many hats — children’s book author, founder of Bombazo Dance Co and Bombazo Wear, mother — but they share a common thread in bomba, a genre of Afro-Puerto Rican music and dance. Yes, Benito highlighted its unmistakable drums and maracas on his 2025 album DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS. And yes, bomba existed for centuries before its inclusion on a commercially successful project. 

Last week, Concepción took us to Barrio BX, where we sipped strong cafecito and chatted through bomba’s rich history, its traditional ruffled skirts, and her hopes for the Bunny Bowl. Once sufficiently caffeinated, we headed to the Bronx Academy of Arts and Dance for a bomba rehearsal, complete with drummers and an expert choreographer (Concepción’s five-year-old daughter, Naila).  

Read on for more about bomba, key figures in Caribbean dance, and where comida fits into Concepción’s community. 

Fit check: What’s the importance of the bomba skirt?

Bomba is a corporal movement. We have the body, but then we have that other additional layer of communication with the skirt. There were some efforts from within the bomba community to eliminate the skirt, but I define the skirt as an extension of the body. It gives us something else we can work with in creating our style of dance. Every Caribbean island has a form of moving with a skirt. In my upcoming documentary and book, we talk more about that through interviews with different dancers and seamstresses. Bomba skirts are not just for the stage. I always say they’re an expression of who we are. They represent the resiliency of our people. 

I founded Bombazo Wear because when I started giving bomba classes, people asked me: Where can I get that skirt? You can’t find it on dance costume websites, and I don’t consider it a costume. I consider it regalia. It’s a part of who we are in our expression of bomba. 

Food check: What role does comida play in your relationship to bomba?

Growing up, there was always music and food, and you’d always be dancing. Each aspect of our culture influences the other. It’s beautiful, and it’s community. At 17, I left Puerto Rico. When you leave home, you want to be around your people, your food, and your culture. As an undergrad at Hunter College, I saw an opportunity to fuse the modern dance I was learning with bomba. This came from a very important meeting I had with Katherine Dunham, the mother of Afro-Caribbean dance in the United States. I took a workshop with her at school, and when she looked at me, just through her look, she gave me this feeling of “You’ve gotta go back to your roots.” It felt like she was looking into my soul. From there, I started building a bomba community.

How would you describe bomba to someone who’s never heard of it?

Bomba comes from the amalgamation of the different nationalities that came from different parts of Africa and the Caribbean to Puerto Rico. After the indigenous culture of the Taínos, it’s the next musical genre. It really connects to our ancestors, and it definitely has a lot of indigenous influence because of the drums and the maracas. There are a lot of similarities with our Taíno people. Bomba is how people come together in a spiritual sense. It’s not a religion, but you have people from all walks of life practicing it, and that’s one of the beautiful things about bomba that I really love — a sense of community and unity, just sharing and one another when the dancers come up to dance. 

I’ve been dancing since I was in the womb. My grandfather, Abuelo Fabian, was an accomplished musician within the bomba community. Not too long ago, I found out he was a part of Don Rafael Cepeda’s group. Rafael Cepeda is considered the patriarch of bomba, and he and his family maintained this for generations. They really documented and archived a lot for us to know, as far as the importance of this Afro-based community in Puerto Rico. My grandfather played bomba and plena. I probably started [dancing bomba] at five years old. I wasn’t sure what it was. The rhythm just flowed through me. 

What would you tell people who are about to witness bomba for the first time, in Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl Halftime Show?

Bomba is not a fashion trend. It has been in existence for more than 500 years. Their exposure to our culture is amazing. I welcome it with open arms because it sparks a curiosity to learn more. Bomba is for anyone who has a respect for our culture and wants to carry on and uphold these traditions, but we have to pay homage to the people who hold it down. That needs to be respected. It needs to be treasured and protected. It’s not just filming a TikTok about how to dance bomba. There are fundamentals and history, and those come with the responsibility of having these traditions. 

Wherever there’s a Boricua, va a haber bomba y plena. What I love about Benito is that he’s highlighting people who may never have had this opportunity otherwise. I can’t wait to see the show and support everyone doing bomba on that stage. That’s what it’s about: Using your influence to highlight other people who have been doing the work. That’s how you inspire the next generation, so we don’t forget our roots and where we come from.