DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS by Bad Bunny
Benito takes us home with him
“Sometimes when you’re far from something, you can see it better.” says Benito Martínez Ocasio aka Bad Bunny in the beginning of an interview with Zayn Lowe talking about his newest album DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS, the album that is taking the world by storm. The Spanish title that translates to I should’ve taken more photos captures the nostalgic energy and stories that the album is expressing drawing focus towards the longing to go back home and the nationalistic pride and celebration of Puerto Rican music and culture.
Unless you’ve lived under a rock the past ten years, you have definitely heard a song or a few from Bad Bunny who is a Puerto Rican (PR) outspoken rapper and singer. In the span of his career, he has been one of the biggest artists in the world; at some point becoming the number 1 most streamed artist on Spotify landing on number 3 this last year with Taylor Swift being his competition while settling once again as the number 1 most streamed Latin artist worldwide. His album Un Verano Sin Ti has been named one of the top 100 albums of all time by Apple Music. It is evident that Bad Bunny is no stranger to success or the consequences of it. In fact, that was the whole narrative of his 2023 album nadie sabie lo que va a pasar mañana literally meaning no one knows what will happen tomorrow where he returns to his musical roots: trap music.
As Benito turned 30 years old, he started reflecting and getting existential asking the big question of purpose: what am I meant to do? Although Benito has been a rights advocate and philanthropist leading his foundation Good Bunny, he still wonders if he can do more. In his recent interviews, he shared that he began thinking about his position in the world and what his worldwide stardom meant for him, for others and for his people. Benito reveals that throughout his journey that no matter where he goes in the world, he always yearns to go back home and this album was that.
A few days before releasing the album, Benito released a self directed short film with the help of Arí Maniel Cruz Suárez on his YouTube channel starring 91 year old Jacobo Morales, the most influential director and actor in Puerto Rican history. A poet, writer, playwright, filmmaker, and author; in this short film Jacobo represents an old man experiencing his nostalgia of how Puerto Rico was and shows how it is now. Most interesting about this film is that Jacobo is acting alongside a fictional character called Concho voiced by Kenneth Canales, that is presented as a native Puerto Rican frog El Sapo Concho that is now endangered due to habitat loss among other reasons. Concho is all over the album even when you listen to it on Spotify as you go through the songs where you can find him doing a number of things like dancing salsa, playing the guitar and reading books.
The album starts with NUEVAYoL, a song about New York written and pronounced in the Puerto Rican dialect. Benito expresses that in many ways, in order to write a PR album he had to start with the city where the Puerto Rican flag was born in out of resistance and independence. The song celebrates the city that was a refuge to Latinos from everywhere and especially the Puerto Ricans widely known as Boricuas. This song cleverly utilizes a 1975 classic called Un Verano en NY by El Gram Combo de Puerto Rico. Through the album, Benito makes an effort to celebrate and commemorate the rich history and music that PR has by using samples and unique PR music styles such as plena, bomba and salsa. With that, he tries to bridge the gap between the old and young generation and enticing conversations about culture and history through music.
As you move on in the album, you will hear BAILE INoLVIDABLE (An Unforgettable Dance) that currently holds the number 1 spot in the world in Apple Music and is slowly climbing the Spotify Top 50 - Global charts being beaten by his own song DtMF, the title track currently at number two. BAILE INoLVIDABLE is a love and loss song using dance as a metaphor for a relationship. Although it's a salsa song, it might be one of the only times we see Bad Bunny this emotionally vulnerable. He starts by confessing that he thought he would grow old with a previous lover and that he is unable to forget the past with her calling her his unforgettable dance. He sings:
Si me ven solo y triste, no me hablen
Si me ven solo y triste, soy culpable
La vida es una fiesta que un día termina
Y fuiste tú mi baile inolvidable
No, no te puedo olvidar
No, no te puedo borrar
Tú me enseñaste a querer
Me enseñaste a bailar
Literally translating to:
If you see me alone and sad, don't talk to me
If you see me alone and sad, it's my fault
Life is a party that one day ends
And you were my unforgettable dance
No, I can't forget you
No, I can't erase you
You taught me how to love
You taught me how to dance
This song is particularly special in that it is full of collaborations. Benito brings on young upcoming artists from a local music school called Libre de Música San Juan to help him add a flare to the song while in the music video, he brings along one of the best salsa dancers in the world Flavia Tamara Livolsi to be his salsa teacher in the narrative of the video.
With his short film and this album, Benito in some way captures his dissatisfaction of the political scene in Puerto Rico wanting to make things better and shine a light on the reality of the effects of tourism and tax evasion that foreigners abuse in PR. In the numerous reels that have been showing up in my Instagram since the release the album, one of them specifically by a travel and culture journalist called Victoria Leandra really stayed with me where she explains that it is estimated that there are more boricuas living in the US than in PR and that is a result of economic crisis, limited career opportunities and natural disasters. In fact, about 673 public schools have been closed since 2007 due to the drastic increase of emigration. She ends the reel by saying that Bad Bunny’s music is more than just a soundtrack, it is a call to action to advocate for the beautiful PR island.
At some point in the album, you'll hear this heartbreaking bolero, a type of Latin love song which became one of my favorite songs in the album, if not the one. Here, in a play of words using a romantic analogy Bad Bunny expresses a sort of melancholic distaste for blissful tourists that have no idea of the struggles and problems that the Puerto Ricans suffer from by drawing a narrative of a relationship unexplored and unveiled showing only the best parts of each. This song, in particular, touched my heart in ways I still cannot explain.
In LO QUÉ LE PASÓ DE HAWAII, Bad Bunny sings about his fear of the ongoing colonization of his island by the US hoping that what happened to Hawaii won't happen to PR. The song addresses the privatization of resources and the displacement of Boricuas serving as a rally cry to his people to protect their land.
More and more of this album reveals the harsh realities and beautiful history that Puerto Rico has. Through these 17 songs, listeners from all over the world are able to view Puerto Rico from Benito’s eyes. Furthermore, it creates space for Boricuas to celebrate their culture and sounds with the entire world.
On a pilgrimage of my own back to my home city that sounds much like San Juan, I couldn’t help but find some solace and pride in these songs especially in DtMF (Debí Tirar Más Fotos), the title track. It is not just an expression of loss, rediscovery and gratitude but it also serves as a reminder to appreciate community, enjoy the moments and to simply take a photo.
In a world obsessed with sharing photos, we lack a balance between enjoying ourselves and documenting each second and people edge from one extreme to another but two things can be true. As old man Jacobo says in the short film, at a certain point in life you start forgetting things and photos are a way to keep remembering and for the sake of protecting and preserving our own history and culture, it is necessary to remember and pass on these stories.
As I end today’s post, I keep DtMF on repeat and listen to Benito singing with his people enjoying themselves in which you can practically hear the smiles on their faces and that in of itself, gives me so much joy. What a beautiful and moving album in every sense!
I thank you for sharing your kind time and attention.
It would make me smile if you subscribe so please do! And share this with your friends!