“Debí Tirar Más Fotos”, in French “I should have taken more photos”, is the title of the new album by Bad Bunny, Puerto Rican star of reggaeton and Latin trap style. Dedicated to his island which is losing its identity, the committed album has reached a record of almost a billion plays on streaming sites.
Bad Bunny, whose real name is Benito Antonio Martinez Ocasio, has placed Puerto Rico at the heart of his new album, “I should have taken more photos” (I should have taken more photos).
It’s his 6e disk. The 17 pieces, dedicated to his island, were recorded in Puerto Rico. Local guests accompany him on some tracks in traditional styles such as urbano, reggaeton, bomba and Latin trap. All songs are sung in Spanish with lots of Puerto Rican slang.
Without a doubt, it is the best project of my career, the most special, the most beautiful and the purest of feelings.
The title Debí Tirar Más Fotos is sung in the plena style, one of the oldest sounds in Puerto Rico. The song is an invitation to Puerto Ricans to enjoy the country.
I am Puerto Rican. I am Caribbean. My culture, the history of my country runs in my veins.
Bad Bunny in an interview with the New York Times
The album was released a few weeks before Donald Trump’s inauguration, on 45e president of the United States.
During his presidential campaign, American comedian Tony Hinchcliffe compared Puerto Rico to “a floating island of trash in the middle of the ocean.”
Bad Bunny publicly supported Kamala Harris’ campaign.
He does not understand why the Latino population in the United States voted overwhelmingly for Donald Trump. Through his album, he campaigns for Puerto Rican identity.
He denounces the gentrification of the island, the sale of beaches to American investors who benefit from tax advantages and who prohibit locals from accessing the coastal areas of their own country.
He also denounces the abandonment of roads, infrastructure, the obsolescence of the electricity distribution center, corruption and the exodus of Puerto Ricans to the United States in search of work.
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His activism began after the devastating passage of Hurricane Maria in 2017.
Bad Bunny criticized the lack of humanitarian aid for his island. President Donald Trump had accused local authorities of corruption. He therefore refused to rebuild Puerto Rico.
In Puerto Rico, he participated in demonstrations to demand the resignation of Governor Ricardo Rossello, accused of corruption.
He doesn’t want Puerto Rico to become 51e state of the United States.
It draws attention to the destruction of Puerto Rico’s environment.
In the eponymous music video of his album, the endemic frog, “Sapa Concho”, which is in danger of extinction, is the imaginary friend of the old man who notices the loss of Puerto Rican identity in a country where Spanish is being replaced through English.
Today, after the worldwide successes, Bad Bunny, aged 31, returned to Puerto Rico to organize 21 concerts around his new album.
Tickets for the first 9 concerts are reserved exclusively for Puerto Ricans.
All concerts are sold out with almost half a million tickets sold.
The tour is called, ““I don’t want to leave here” (I don’t want to leave here).
Bad Bunny has 46 million followers on his Instagram account and nearly 37 million on TikTok.
