How Bad Bunny’s Recent Album, Debí Tirar Más Fotos, Pays Homage to the Island of Puerto Rico

From Music Videos with Concho el Sapo to Highlighting the Negative Impact that Tourism gives the Island, Bad Bunny’s Eight Studio Album Shares a Message about Appreciating Culture and the Future of Música Urbana.

In between Bad Bunny’s album releases and artistry break, his beloved homeland of Puerto Rico, was being targeted and called a “floating Island of garbage” by Republican comedian Tony Hinchcliffe. The Island’s name was a hot commodity in topics that were talked about in the recent Presidential candidacy and after the let down in which the Puerto Rican Independence party lost in 2024 with the contributions Republicans made to that loss, the Puerto Rican Reggaeton artist did not only reveal his endorsement towards Kamala Harris but also released his eighth studio album Debí Tirar Más Fotos [DBTF], an album that pays homage to the beauty of Puerto Rico and brings in a message about appreciating culture and the future of música urbana. 

Producing one of his earnest statements yet in his discography, DBTF explores the beauty that the Island provides through the eyes of a Puerto Rican native who’s become a worldwide sensation. Benito Antonio Martinez Ocasio removes the layers that the industry has given him throughout his years as an artist, becoming himself once again and embracing the culture that his music is inspired by. His album not only reflects the importance of the Island itself but you can also listen to the compelling words that describe Puerto Rico’s struggles for sovereignty from both the Spanish and American colonization. 

The album consists of 17 tracks which tells a story of culture in which he uses some song samples of different Latin artists. In his first track,  titled “NUEVAYol”, Ocasio samples the 1975 song “Un Verano en Nueva York” by El Gran Combo De Puerto Rico, which brought back memories to older folks who loved dancing salsa. During the album’s release week his singles “NUEVAYol”, “DBTF” [The album title track] and “EeO” had their breakthrough on social media apps like TikTok and Instagram. People recorded their parents and grandparents dancing to the infamous song [NUEVAYol] that reminded them of their youth while others made short video montages about memories with one of their family members or pets that have passed away and even got into depth about their own homeland that don't look the same. In that same time that these videos were going viral, Ocasio’s connection with his fans was through reposting these videos and doing some of his own that made him as relatable as everyone else: just a latino sharing his memories to the world.

Ocasio’s way in portraying significance to his Island is not only seen through his music and lyricism but also through a visual way in which he made storytelling come to life through his album’s promotion. Aside from the connection that the album brought to his fans, Ocasio also used powerful meanings through his music videos and tour set up. In the music videos, Concho el Sapo and Jacobo Morales, a Puerto Rican filmmaker, are in different sites of Puerto Rico either ordering food in a gentrified restaurant that only takes card payments and sells vegan versions of a quesito, a Puerto Rican pastry and a salsa dance studio remembering how to bailar. The connection between the two characters refers to the older generation of Puerto Ricans or the wider community's care and concern for this endangered toad, similar to how a grandfather might care for a precious part of his family. 

But with a new album comes a new tour and although this new era of Bad Bunny has become everyone’s newest obsession, Ocasio has decided to only hold a residency in Puerto Rico for U.S. tour dates and doing some international dates as well.

“I’m in Puerto Rico, I’m home, having fun and, to be honest, I don’t want to leave”, Ocasio said when he shared the initial news of the tour via an Instagram post. His residency tour titled “No Me Quiero Ir de Aquí” [“I don’t want to leave”] is not only a historic moment, but is political and brings in his own stance on the support Puerto Rico needs.

 In an interview with Rolling Stone, Bad Bunny reflects on his career and explains that his success in the current times we live in is “to show the world who I am and what my culture is, where I grew up.”

For many artists and album tells a story or brings us into a world that we could never imagine, but for Bad Bunny it is more than advocating the trouble that Puerto Rico is dealing with, it is about bringing the right public and tourism into the Island and through the constructive narrative that he’s provided about the culture, music, passion, and his people, Puerto Rico is set to have a positive impact.