Pride for Puerto Rico shines in newest album

“DeBí TiRAR MáS FOTos,” Bad Bunny’s sixth studio album, is an innovative fusion of past and present which produces an upbeat political statement of a love for his culture. 

Bad Bunny, whose name is Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, released the album Jan. 5, the beginning of a historical week for Puerto Rico. On January 6, 1868, Puerto Rican independence leaders founded the Comité Revolucionario de Puerto Rico, or the Revolutionary Committee of Puerto Rico, calling for immediate insurrection against the Spanish colonial system, beginning Grito de Lares (Cry of Lares).

Bad Bunny’s album aims to liberate and critique, as its release followed the Puerto Rican Independence Party’s loss in the 2024 election and Donald Trump’s victory. His country has strived for independence but remains a U.S. territory. Puerto Rico is not a state and Congress refuses to grant the country independence, so their citizens are denied voting rights.

Puerto Ricans have faced over 150 years of culture erasure and forced assimilation. Bad Bunny’s lyrics describe the internal struggle of watching Boricua culture be destroyed while he wants to celebrate it.

“DeBí TiRAR MáS FOTos” translates to “I should have taken more photos.” This title scrapes the surface of describing the pain he feels knowing the colors, dances, clothing and art of his culture is disappearing. He doesn’t want to lose those beautiful images in his mind and created a complex album combining generations of Puerto Rican rhythms as a way to celebrate, remember and preserve. 

His music fuses plena, salsa and jíbaro with reggaetón, dembow and house, writing a collective piece of love and loss for Puerto Rico.