In the Lower East Side, a Puerto Rican social club breathes life into Broome Street. Café Colmado entertains a diverse clientele. Reggaeton, salsa, bomba, and plena mixed with club beats fill the space as Bad Bunny’s newest album, DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS (DTMF), booms through the speakers. It’s easy to feel like you’re back home in Puerto Rico at a family gathering as everyone simultaneously bops their heads to the beat, whether they understand the lyrics or not. 

For When Your Body is Far From the Land of Your Heart

After I moved to New York, finding those sacred third spaces that breathe the Caribbean back into my daily life took a couple of years. I’d looked in restaurants trying to find my grandmother’s holy touch in others’ cooking–which is impossible. And I set out to find the calmness of Puerto Rico’s coastal shores in Brooklyn and Long Island’s own, leaving much to be desired. The relief was usually only temporary. You can’t replicate home. Along the way, my friends were kind enough to make me a playlist on Spotify to combat this homesickness. Titled “Pa’ cuando tu cuerpa esté lejos de la tierra de tu corazón,” which translates to for when your body is far from the land of your heart, it ranged from Residente to Los Panchos and even our revolutionary national anthem, “La borinqueña revolucionaria.” If I closed my eyes, I was back.

The same phenomenon seemed to apply to Benito A. Martínez Ocasio, commonly known as Bad Bunny. Recently, during an interview with Apple Music, the Puerto Rican rapper sat down with New Zealand radio DJ Zane Lowe about DTMF. Sporting socks and sandals at a trendy coffee shop in Puerto Rico, Martínez Ocasio reminisced about a few years that had forced him to travel far from the island due to his expansive multi-faceted career. Seamlessly blending English and Spanish throughout the conversation, Martínez Ocasio admitted, “Sometimes when you’re far from something you can see it better.” What brought him back home when he was traveling was the music he’d listen to. This helped him put everything into perspective. Those same artists that filled his headphones then are now featured on the album. From indie quartet Chuwi to 13-piece salsa group El Gran Combo Puertorriqueño, it was easy to feel connected with Puerto Rico despite the distance. 

Bad Bunny Songs Are the Gateway

This sentiment of music and language pulling us back to the land we grew up in is universal. Beyond my own experience and that of the award-winning artist, much like food and tradition, music and the language that gives way to self-expression are an intricate part of culture. For me, Bad Bunny was the gateway to accepting Spanish-language music into my life. Growing up in Puerto Rico, due to its colonial status, it’s easy to be swept up in the Americanization that filters its way into our lifestyle and cultural habits. While there were instances where I’d listen to Kany García, Jarabe de Palo, and Maná, I essentially grew up listening to Disney starlets, male artists in pop, and oldies from artists like Queen and Fleetwood Mac that my mother would play for me in the car from her wide collection of CDs. 

As an adult, once I set the distance between Puerto Rico and myself for grad school, I missed my culture. Most importantly I missed hearing the Spanish I’d grown up with. It was the first thing I’d heard when I was born. It would lull me to sleep on a bad night as a child. Puerto Rican Spanish wasn’t just my first language, it was a lifeline. The shift was deafening. It felt like half of me was missing as I couldn’t communicate myself fully with those around me. They would never come to understand my humor, my values, and my interests–at least not in their entirety. Even now, there are times when I’m commuting on the subway, listening to DTMF. I’m brought back to New York City when I take my headphones off. That magic is indescribable and hard to replicate even if it’s only for a brief moment.  

Not just Music, but a Spotlight: Documenting the Sociopolitical State of Puerto Rico Through Art

Born in Vega Baja, Puerto Rico, Bad Bunny comes from Almirante Sur, a small town with a population of over three thousand people. His father was a truck driver, and his mother was a school teacher. His musical influences included listening to “Pa’ que retozen” by Tego Calderon during the early morning drive on his way to school. After he quit his school’s choir, he got into Daddy Yankee and Héctor Lavoe. Now, how does a Catholic choir dropout turned reggaeton-lover become an artist who would help usher in and cement Spanish-language music as part of the mainstream for a new generation? 

Beyond making music that is great to listen to and wonderful to move your body to, as Bad Bunny documents the sociopolitical state of Puerto Rico through art, he’s making sure outsiders are no longer oblivious to it all. This was first fueled by Donald Trump’s lack of aid after Hurricane María left destruction in its path. From that moment on, Martínez Ocasio made sure his music would go hand-in-hand with Puerto Rico’s culture and history.  

Following a heated election year, Bad Bunny was a key part of Puerto Rico’s independent party’s campaign trail in 2024. The trap artist showed his support for the alliance that formed between the two parties that opposed the bipartisanship. They sought independence for the island of Puerto Rico in hopes of taking down the prevailing corrupt parties that have had power over the government since the United States granted the U.S. colony their right to their own governing body. While Bad Bunny stated that the album had been in the works for over two years, there’s no doubt that the past year specifically led to its outspoken criticism of the gentrification of the island. 

Answering "Where is Bad Bunny from?" Is Deeper than Territory: It's Place, Politics, and Memory.  

“DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS,” translating to “I should have taken more photos,” is a wonderful example of his influence. The album has quickly become the artist’s most culturally impactful disc to date. This is high praise considering Un Verano Sin Ti had already set the bar at an all-time high for the artist that many would often question during casual hangouts amongst beers and laughter if Bad Bunny would ever be able to make anything as good ever again. Would he be able to replicate that kind of success? With this new addition to his discography, the thirty-year-old success story looks back on his past, all the accomplishments that have brought him to this point in time, to appreciate the present even more. 

During the first days following its release, Puerto Ricans began to camp out in front of the island’s largest music venue because two white lawn chairs resembling the ones from the album cover appeared overnight in front of the main entrance. No official announcement had happened yet, but people weren’t going to take any chances. Now he’s preparing for a historic residency at the same venue this summer. The first few weekends are exclusively for Puerto Rican residents. 

The reason for the fanfare is that this album is wholeheartedly Puerto Rican. To say this about an artist known for putting his homeland into everything he makes may seem redundant. However, beyond DTMF as a mix of precise tunes that convert the day-to-day of the island’s rhythm and lifestyle through musical alchemy, it specifically envelopes our colloquialisms specific to Puerto Rico and the Caribbean.

The Specificity & Musicality of Bad Bunny Lyrics--English translation fails to capture. 

Many are often quick to believe the false notion that all Spanish is the same the way many look at Latin America as a monolith. Puerto Rico’s sociopolitical landscape heavily influences the way it communicates. Reminiscent of my experience being influenced by Americanized English within my Spanish despite being born and raised on the island, Spanglish prevails in the metropolitan area. But when you travel far beyond the tourist traps, there’s a diversity of expression. Bad Bunny was born from this. We thrive through a mix of Spanish brought onto us by Spain’s colonization of the Caribbean, but we retain the language used by the island’s natives that resided on the island which was known to them as Boriken. We also preserve not only the language brought into our culture by African slaves, but also the rhythm they brought with them which is heavily influential in the music featured in Bad Bunny’s album. The best way I can describe it is that when many hear our Spanish, they describe it as if we’re singing when we speak. The musicality of our tone rolls off the tongue like a melody.

Upon the release of the album, Bad Bunny tried his hand at co-directing a short film with Puerto Rican director Ari Maniel Cruz. Sharing the same title as his new album, the narrative short features performances by one of the most distinguished Puerto Rican filmmakers Jacobo Morales as Señor. He’s also accompanied by the voice performance of Kenneth Canales as Concho, an animated Puerto Rican crested toad. As Morales’s character looks at photographs, he states that while it’s better to live in the moment, when a person reaches a certain age, the mind isn’t what it once was. Memories won’t be as clear anymore. Photos give way to making sure that what is important in the present will not be forgotten later on. 

We then follow him as he ventures into town to the panadería. Along the way, there are different styles of music played from houses throughout his walk. There’s a foreign family that looks at him like he doesn’t belong there. Once he reaches the establishment, it’s clear what Bad Bunny’s message is. The conversation is a back-and-forth of domineering communication. The woman at the register doesn’t speak Spanish which eventually forces Jacobo Morales’s character to speak English. But the miscommunication isn’t lost in the translation. Instead, it’s in the difference in cultural values. When she insists the bakery only accepts electronic payments when he attempts to pay with cash, he mentions he knew the previous owner. Puerto Ricans are humble and caring people. It’s custom for places where the owner knows you to know that your money is good and if you can’t pay it now, you’ll pay it later. There’s a similar hospitality that you may find in small towns across the United States and even in the bodega around the corner in the city. This woman doesn’t understand it, letting policy prevail instead. A man steps in to the rescue as the hero of the narrative, simply stating: Seguimos aquí. We’re still here.

Nostalgia, Memory, and Yearning: “DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS” is an Album That Reflects on Memory

Puerto Ricans are currently being forced out of their island due to a lack of socioeconomic opportunity. Displacement. Foreign investors are taking advantage of present tax credits. There’s an AIRBNB crisis turning homes that have been in families for generations into luxury spaces for tourists. In addition to this, Senator Thomas Rivera Schatz has recently proposed Senate Bill 273 which threatens to eliminate the Institute of Puerto Rican Culture which serves as an institution whose primary purpose is to preserve the island’s essence.

Nostalgia, memory, and yearning are fickle mistresses. Above all else, “DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS” is an album that reflects on memory. Specifically, it celebrates a Puerto Rico that still has its citizens enjoying their right to live where they were born. There’s a moment of pause when we arrive at the titular track where Martínez Ocasio reflects upon entering his thirties. He sings:

Ya Bernie tiene el nene y Jan la nena'

Ya no estamo' pa' la movie' y las cadena'

'Tamos pa' las cosa' que valgan la pena.

It’s time to start investing in moments that truly matter and people that truly matter. To him life is precious, and he’s realized this with age. It’s important to cherish the opportunities and the days we get because we don’t know how long we have. With this, it’s also important to appreciate where we come from. In “La Mudanza” he thanks his mother for giving birth to him in Puerto Rico. While it is met with humor due to the context of the opening lines of the track, it is a relatable sentiment all the same. 

A Dream of Puerto Rico

There’s currently an effort to create a Puerto Rico without Puerto Ricans. Now many take a stand by documenting their ancestry, those we have loved and lost, and those who stay despite the difficult conditions. This album has become a new anthem like so many before. This is why Bad Bunny prevails. He’s come up in a generation that is tired of false promises and a government that seems to work against its people instead of ensuring them a brighter future. Through DTMF not only are we preserving our essence, but we are also spreading our language, nuestra jerga, and communicating that we are proud of where we come from and we refuse to leave. And for those who have had to leave that dream of going back, we carry it firmly in our hearts. 

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