{"id":194056,"date":"2025-02-04T00:31:14","date_gmt":"2025-02-04T05:31:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pittnews.com\/?p=194056"},"modified":"2025-02-04T00:31:14","modified_gmt":"2025-02-04T05:31:14","slug":"opinion-the-importance-of-bad-bunnys-new-album","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pittnews.com\/article\/194056\/opinions\/opinion-the-importance-of-bad-bunnys-new-album\/","title":{"rendered":"Opinion | The importance of Bad Bunny\u2019s new album"},"content":{"rendered":"
Since he first came on the scene, <\/span>Bad Bunny<\/span><\/a> has been topping the charts in Latin America and around the entire world. I still remember the first time I heard him. He was releasing songs on SoundCloud, and a friend had sent me a link to listen to a new up-and-coming artist.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Everyone who knows me knows that if I\u2019m ever asked who my favorite artist is, I\u2019ll name a couple of people, but Bad Bunny will always make that list. I was so excited to listen to his <\/span>new album<\/span><\/a>, so when I boarded the train back to Pittsburgh from Philadelphia, I figured it was the perfect time to plug in with no distractions.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n I\u2019m not sure what I was expecting. His early releases like \u201c<\/span>PIToRRO DE COCO<\/span><\/a>\u201d were certainly indicative of classic <\/span>J\u00edbaro songs<\/span><\/a> of Puerto Rico. However, I was absolutely floored when I hit play and was immediately thrown into the sound of <\/span>El Gran Combo De Puerto Rico<\/span><\/a>, a world-famous Puerto Rican salsa orchestra, on the track \u201c<\/span>NUEVAYoL<\/span><\/a>.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n I can say with certainty that I have never listened to an album over and over so many times. I was expecting to get lit on the train, and while I certainly did, I was also left with a melancholic feeling of pride and heartbreak mixed into one complete emotion. Being Puerto Rican, I always feel pride listening to Bad Bunny \u2014 and any Puerto Rican artist for that matter \u2014 but this new album is unequivocally for Puerto Rico.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n And it\u2019s not just pride that I feel listening to the album, but fear too. There is a warning mixed into many of the lyrics. A warning that Puerto Ricans have been aware of for a while but that some people might be hearing for the first time.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The name of the album itself, \u201c<\/span>Deb\u00ed Tirar m\u00e1s Fotos<\/span><\/a>\u201d \u2014 \u201cI should have taken more pictures\u201d \u2014 describes the many emotions that one feels reminiscing about the people and events that might one day be forgotten. You had something and didn\u2019t know that you wouldn\u2019t have it forever, so you didn\u2019t bother to take pictures. In a way, you no longer have any proof that it belonged to you \u2014 that the island was once yours.<\/span><\/p>\n It is clear that Bad Bunny doesn\u2019t just want you to listen to the album, but to know the history of the island and its people, lest it be forgotten. On <\/span>YouTube<\/span><\/a>, the song visualizers are accompanied by historical anecdotes about Puerto Rico that you can read while the song plays in the background.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The album also includes a <\/span>short film<\/span><\/a>, which shares its name. In it, renowned Puerto Rican filmmaker and poet <\/span>Jacobo Morales<\/span><\/a> plays a future version of Bad Bunny and walks through his barrio \u2014 neighborhood \u2014 lamenting what once was. It offers a stark look at what a Puerto Rico without any Puerto Ricans would look like.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n It might sound bizarre to those who don\u2019t know what\u2019s happening on the island, but it is an all too real fear that many share. In recent years, especially since Hurricane Maria, there has been a <\/span>mass exodus<\/span><\/a> from the island. Jobs are scarce, prices are rising and it is cheaper to relocate to the mainland. People don\u2019t want to leave, but there doesn\u2019t seem to be much of a choice.<\/span><\/p>\n Additionally, with <\/span>Puerto Rico Act 22<\/span><\/a>, the island has become a tax haven for wealthy Americans who move onto it, which raises prices for everyone else. There is also the big issue of Americans, both <\/span>tourists<\/span><\/a> and people who have <\/span>moved onto the island<\/span><\/a>, not respecting the land or the people.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n No song on the album is as clear about the situation as \u201c<\/span>LO QUE LE PAS\u00d3 A HAWAii<\/span><\/a>,\u201d which translates to \u201cwhat happened to Hawaii.\u201d The song serves as a love letter of sorts, but mostly a warning to all who will listen about the grim future that is in store for Puerto Rico if we are not able to fight against the continued colonization of the island.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n In the song, he sings \u201cQuieren quitarme el r\u00edo y tambi\u00e9n la playa\u201d \u2014 \u201cthey want to take the river and the beach from me.\u201d <\/span>All beaches in Puerto Rico are public<\/span><\/a>, but recently hotels and millionaires with beachfront properties have been trying to find ways to exclude people from accessing the public beaches in front of their properties.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Puerto Rico is an incredibly beautiful island. It is visually stunning, yes, but there is a vast amount of history and culture within its beaches and mountains. Many visitors and tourists fail to see what lies beyond its physical beauty. The song \u201c<\/span>TURiSTA<\/span><\/a>\u201d compares a broken, superficial relationship between two people to that of tourists and the island. On the track, Bad Bunny sings \u201cEn mi vida fuistes turista \/ T\u00fa solo vistes lo mejor de m\u00ed \/ Y no lo que yo sufr\u00eda\u201d \u2014 \u201cIn my life you were a tourist \/ You only saw the best of me \/ And not what I suffered.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n While incredibly fun to listen to, with tracks like \u201c<\/span>EoO<\/span><\/a>\u201d and \u201c<\/span>VOY A LLeVARTE PA PR<\/span><\/a>,\u201d all of the songs speak of a history, a culture that will not be forgotten. By including songs like \u201c<\/span>CAF\u00e9 CON RON<\/span><\/a>\u201d that feature the traditional Puerto Rican music of plena, Bad Bunny is assuring the memory of our culture that it will not be forgotten.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n