Thanks to Bad Bunny, Puerto Rico’s Iconic Pastry Is Now a Whole Trend
Puerto Rican artist Bad Bunny released a new hit album this year that has transcended generations. The record is gaining fans of abuelitos, tias, and young Latinos alike. With four No. 1 albums and a recently announced 30-show residency sold out in four hours, Benito isn’t just selling out music venues. His profound impact has changed music, culture, and even food. According to Despierta America, what they’ve dubbed the ‘Bad Bunny Effect’ is reportedly causing bakeries across the island to run out of quesitos, a beloved flaky cheese-filled pastry prominently featured in the film short for “DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS.”
What are quesitos anyway?
In Puerto Rico, quesitos are a common sight in traditional panaderias de pueblo (local Puerto Rican bakeries). People usually eat them alongside a cafecito or enjoy them on their own as a sweet treat. The name quesito translates to “little cheese,” a reference to its main ingredient. Bakers make this traditional salty-sweet pastry with hojaldre (puff pastry) and often stuff them with cream cheese and sometimes vanilla. It is then coated with egg to give it a crispy golden crust after baking. Toppings include a gooey sugar or honey glaze.
Quesitos Gone Viral Thanks to Bad Bunny
Beyond an increase in bakery sales on the island, Benito’s reference to quesitos also made Puerto Rican businesses throughout the diaspora in the United States highlight them. Now, it’s a trend on platforms like TikTok, as well as in the news. How-to videos with recipes to make quesitos like this one from Marie Garcia popped up all over social media. Boricua content creator Ivan Emilio made a video explaining what quesitos were. And even Astrid Rivera of Despierta America made some, inviting Bad Bunny to the station to taste them.
The appearance of quesitos in the film short elicits a powerful nostalgia for boricuas living on or outside the island. Here, actor Jacobo Morales walks into a bakery where the owner offers a cheese-less quesito. The gesture then becomes a powerful metaphor for the effects of gentrification. And how it causes a place to lose its very essence. Loaded with symbolism, the scene presents a distorted Americanized bakery experience. The cashier doesn’t speak Spanish, and erases cultural authenticity.
Von Diaz, food historian and author of Islas: A Celebration of Tropical Cooking and Coconuts & Collards, explains, “Puerto Rico is changing, has been changing. Our elders have experienced a lot of shifts and transitions. They are difficult to navigate on an island that struggles to ensure adequate resources for all its citizens. Jacobo Morales represents the experiences of Puerto Ricans on the island. Many watch traditions disappear or get replaced by fancier or more polished versions of classics like quesitos that are supposed to be simple. It’s very hard for us to adapt our palates because taste memory gets embedded at a very young age.”
Tracing Quesito’s Origins: European and American Influences
Despite its popularity, recipes for quesitos do not appear in quintessential Puerto Rican cookbooks like Carmen Aboy Valldej́uli’s Cocina Criolla because people rarely make quesitos at home. While documentation on its origins is scarce, they likely resulted from European influence in the Caribbean.
Illyanna Maisonet’s 2022 cookbook Diasporican includes a quesitos de queso y guayaba recipe. Maisonet wrote, “Quesitos and pastelillos (the dessert kind, not the savory kind) are exemplary examples of European pastry making and are one of the few good things that colonization brought to the island.”
Milena Pagan, owner of Puerto Rican cafe Little Sister in Providence, Rhode Island, speculates that we can trace quesitos to Mallorca in Spain. “All wheat pastries in Puerto Rico come from the Spanish since wheat is not indigenous to Puerto Rico. I understand many immigrants from Mallorca set up bakeries in Puerto Rico in the late 1800s, and Mallorca has a rich tradition of lard-based puff pastry treats. That would be my best guess!” she explains.
Meanwhile, Von Diaz suggests a Cuban influence. “This is not an ancestral food. Cidrines Bakery claims their [quesitos] started the trend on the island. Still, they likely evolved from Cuban pastelitos de queso, which made their way to Miami following the Cuban revolution and were an instant hit.”
Let’s Break Down the Ingredients
Hojaldre (puff pastry) originated in Spain in the 1600s, influenced by Arabic cooking. It was first included in “Libro del arte de cozina,” a Spanish cookbook by Domingo Hernández de Maceras, published in 1607. During Spanish colonial rule, it later made its way to Puerto Rico.
Cream cheese is a distinctly American invention. It derives from French Neufchâtel cheese, a soft French cheese from the Neufchâtel-en-Bray region of Normandy. Cream cheese was officially invented in New York in the 1870s. Back then, dairyman William Lawrence added more cream to his recipe. However, it wasn’t until the 1900s that Kraft purchased the Philadelphia cream cheese brand from Lawrence. The company then developed a pasteurized version of the product, and the now shelf-stable product was popularized in the US. This is likely when quesitos would have been created, blending Spanish hojaldre with American cream cheese.
In 1986, as Von Diaz points out, Cidrines bakery in Arecibo opened its first manufacturing plant to produce quesitos wholesale, and they are often credited for commercializing and expanding access to the beloved pastry, which now appears in supermarkets and even gas stations on the island.
For Many, Removing the Cheese From a Quesito Means Losing Its Identity
“Quesitos have been a staple of Puerto Rican cuisine for as long as I can remember. I grew up in the town of Bayamon, where there is a bakery famous for its quesitos, They have a lot of cheese and are not overpowered by the sugar on top. A classic quesito could never be vegan, in my opinion. This is coming from someone who doesn’t eat meat. It is one of those cultural foods that has to remain traditional. I’m all for Puerto Rican fusion of cuisines. Still, I think quesitos are so special and perfect as they are that we would be doing a disservice by adding or switching ingredients to cater to others,” Puerto Rican journalist Victoria Leandra said.
Quesitos continue to evolve, from an oversized version at HornoFino to variations with other ingredients like Nutella or vegan adaptations. One thing is clear: they’re here to stay.
“Like so many of the best dishes in Puerto Rico, I’m confident this one represents a blend of cultural influences and makes use of what’s consistently available on the island,” shared Von Diaz.
Beyond the Catchy Tunes, Bad Bunny’s Album Is a Love Letter to Puerto Rico
My mom has always had a sweet tooth, and quesitos were her weakness.
While growing up, I often visited Plaza de Mercado in San Germán, home to Mi Postre, our favorite panadería, to get quesitos. I now frequently sit outside on the outdoor benches by the bakery, a coffee and a quesito in hand, savoring those memories.
Across from me, older gentlemen play dominoes—a scene that brings back images of my grandfather at family gatherings. Like many Puerto Rican traditions, quesitos emerged from a blend of influences, yet they evolve and endure as a symbol of our history, heritage, and resilience.
Seguimos aquí.
