Album Review
March 13, 2025
Album cover of DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS
In early 2025, Bad Bunny released his 7th studio album, DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS, in which he shocked audiences by deviating from his commercially successful urban reggaeton roots, and infusing the project with salsa, dembow, and other traditional rhythms that pay homage to his Puerto Rican identity. He explores the beauty of the culture while also being critical and open about flaws and greater issues, which ultimately culminate in a project that is much more than another collection of songs, but rather, an album that celebrates, mourns, and fights for the island.
The album opens with “NUEVAYoL,” which starts with a sample of the 1975 salsa single, “Un Verano en Nueva York” by Puerto Rican artists Andy Montañez and El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico. Halfway through the sample, the smooth salsa is replaced by reggaeton rhythms that, much like a red carpet, escort the listener right into the verse and directly towards Bad Bunny’s characteristic voice.
Despite it being a song about a city thousands of miles away from Bad Bunny’s natal Puerto Rico, opening with it is like an invitation, not only to his Latin American audience, but much like New York’s cultural melting pot, to his listeners around the world. As he starts weaving in particular Puerto Rican references, like a nod to Puerto Rican Salsa artist Willie Colon, and Toñita’s, a Puerto Rican bar in Brooklyn, he gives listeners a ticket for a journey to Puerto Rico with him.
He does this literally, by titling the next song “VOY A LLeVARTE PA PR,” opening the view of Puerto Rico as one of sand, beach, and party, and quickly buttressing it by spotlighting some of the best talent on the island. For the salsa rhythms of “BAILE INoLVIDABLE,” he worked with students at the Escuela Libre de Música in San Juan, showcasing the young national talent, as well as featuring up and coming Puerto Rican artists, RaiNao (PERFuMITO NUEVO), Chuwi (WELITiTA), and, Omar Courtz & Dei V (VeLDA), in powerful reggaeton performances.
The tone of the album shifts in its 11th track: “TURiSTA,” in which Bad Bunny starts to more openly showcase the problems of the island. He sings of a relationship that, like a tourist trip, is brief and relatively superficial. The song can be taken to metaphorize a foreigner's relationship with the island, as those who come to visit, or stay for short periods, revere the party and reggaeton he flaunts in most of his music, but are blind to the hardships and challenges that being Puerto Rican includes:
“Tú sólo viste lo mejor de mí y no lo que yo sufría
Te fuiste sin saber el porqué, el porqué de mis herida'”
“You only saw the best of me and not what I suffered through
You left without knowing the reason, the reason for my wounds”
Subtle nods like this one are present throughout the entire album. In “BOKeTE,” he compares his romantic interest to the boquetes (potholes) scattered across the island, a reflection of government neglect and failing infrastructure. Similarly, in "PIToRRO DE COCO," he likens his lover’s departure to the island’s recurring power outages, a reminder of natural disasters—most notably Hurricane Maria—and the ongoing failure to rebuild resilient systems.
To avoid becoming too negative, he pivots back to the positives. This time around, he leaves behind reggaeton tunes and leans even further into the traditional Puerto Rican rhythms of plena – an Afro-Puerto Rican musical genre known for its heavy percussion and traditional sound, and bomba in “CAFe CON RON,” which features Los Pleneros de la Cresta. The song is a creative original that at one point makes reference to a well known plena, and juxtaposes the hardships against the joys on the island that have existed for decades before Bad Bunny brought them to a greater audience.
“Ven subiendo, ven subiendo, que no le vamo' a bajar
Sube tú pa' la montaña, hoy yo me quedo acá
Ven subiendo, ven subiendo, que no le vamo' a bajar
Sube tú pa' la montaña, hoy yo me quedo acá (Dile, dile, dile algo)”
“Keep coming up, keep coming up, we’re not turning it down
Come up the mountain, tonight I stay here
Keep coming up, keep coming up, we’re not turning it down
Come up the mountain, tonight I stay here”
He echoes this idea in an interview with the New York Times. When asked about the differences in music of the past and the present, he says that although rhythms can be different, “when you listen to the lyrics, to the stories, it's the same.” Using this momentum, he changes what used to be subtle nods at issues in Puerto Rico, to the thematic crux of the album. In “LO QUE LE PASO A HAWAii,” Bad Bunny directly critiques exploitation, gentrification, and corruption that strip Puerto Ricans of their land, history, and culture.
Drawing parallels to Hawaii, a former U.S. colony that, despite achieving statehood, experienced displacement and cultural erosion, Bad Bunny delivers his message over stripped-back production, with guitars and traditional percussion inspiring listeners across the world to listen to his pleas.
“Quieren quitarme el río y también la playa
Quieren el barrio mío y que abuelita se vaya
No, no suelte' la bandera ni olvide' el lelolai
Que no quiero que hagan contigo lo que le pasó a Hawái”
“Thеy want to take the river and the beach too
They want my neighborhood and for my grandma to leave
No, don't let go of the flag nor forget the lelolai
'Cause I don't want them to do to you what happened to Hawaii”
Keeping the song slower serves as a vehicle for message delivery, and the focus on traditional rhythms highlights that apart from being a call to action, the song is a form of resistance. His lyrics also make reference to the empty Montblanc chairs of the cover, as he sings about those who had to leave Puerto Rico in search of a better life, who left metaphorical and physical chairs empty, and who dream of coming back.
“Aquí nadie quiso irse, y quien se fue, sueña con volver
Si algún día me tocara, qué mucho me va a doler”
"No one here wanted to leave, and those who left dream of returning
If my turn comes, I know it's going to hurt"
The short film Bad Bunny released alongside the album strengthens the message. In it, Jacobo Morales, a prominent Puerto Rican poet and actor, plays a Puerto Rican man living in a gentrified neighborhood. His traditional bakery has been replaced by a modern café, where they don’t speak Spanish, prices have increased, and cash is no longer accepted. He is accompanied by Concho, a Puerto Rican crested toad that, like much of the cultural heritage on the island, is at risk of extinction.
This reflection on cultural loss and resilience culminates in “DtMF” or “Debí Tirar Más Fotos,” the penultimate track and emotional core of the album. As both a celebration of Puerto Rican identity and a meditation on nostalgia, the song captures Bad Bunny’s longing to preserve what time and external forces threaten to erase. He regrets not taking more photos, but the sentiment runs deeper. He wishes he had loved more openly, been more present, asked more questions, and learned more about both his family and cultural history.
“Debí tirar más fotos de cuando te tuve
Debí darte más beso' y abrazo' las vece' que pude
Ey, ojalá que los mío' nunca se muden”
“I should've taken more pictures of when I had you
I should've given you more kisses and hugs when I could
Ayy, I hope my people never move away”
Just like in other songs in the album, on the surface the song can be interpreted as one about a relationship, but as it progresses – coupled with the rest of the album – it unveils messages of loss, not only for those who have passed, but also those who are no longer in Puerto Rico. Bad Bunny contemplates the passage of time, noting that his brother and friend are now fathers, and expresses regret for not having been more attuned to his culture and the people around him in his youth. On the subject of growing up, he also reflects on the fact that with age, he and those he grew up around value their heritage and culture far more than the glitz and glamour that they yearned for when they were younger.
“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
Ey, pa'l perreo, la salsa, la bomba y la plena”
“Now Bernie has a boy, and Jan has a girl
We no longer care about the flashy stuff and chains
We're here for the things that are truly worth it
Hey, for reggaeton, salsa, bomba, and plena”
The song is also consistent with the short film, which ends with Jacobo Morales’ character and Sapo Concho going to look at Jacobo’s photos from his youth, as well as taking photos of their own. This once again reinforces the central theme of the need for both tangible documentation and a sentimental appreciation of all that is now.
This commitment to honoring Puerto Rico doesn’t end with the album. In the summer of 2025, Bad Bunny is set to perform a 30-date residency in Puerto Rico titled “No Me Quiero Ir de Aquí,” a tribute to the thousands of Puerto Ricans who have left the island in search of a better life despite their deep connection to home. Aligning with the album’s commentary on gentrification, the first nine dates were reserved exclusively for Puerto Rican residents, ensuring locals could experience the show firsthand. The residency’s remaining dates are expected to generate an estimated $100 million in tourism revenue, further highlighting the artist’s impact on both cultural and economic fronts.
Fittingly, Bad Bunny ends the album with the same party he started it with, but this time, instead of it being in “NUEVAYoL,” “LA MuDANZA” bleeds Puerto Rico. The song includes a story about how his parents met, as well as details about the Puerto Rican flag, including its prohibition in 1948 and its darkening of shade of blue to be more in line with the U.S flag. If the rest of the album left any doubt about his love for Puerto Rico, the swelling salsa outro leaves none. And as the music crescendos, from a drum and piano interlude, to an explosion of trumpet filled salsa, his message is clear—his love for the island is more than just a memory; it’s a battle cry.
“De aquí nadie me saca, de aquí yo no me muevo
Dile que esta es mi casa donde nació mi abuelo
De aquí nadie me saca, de aquí yo no me muevo
Dile que esta es mi casa donde nació mi abuelo
Yo soy de P fuckin' R (Ah, oh; dile, Diego, dile)
Yo soy de P fuckin' R (Ay, vamo' a ver, dale, que venga pa'cá, ey, ey, ey, ey)
Yo soy de P fuckin' R (Uy, dale, dale, dale)
Yo soy de P fuckin' R (¡Viva!)”
"From here, no one kicks me out of here, from here I don’t go
Tell them that this is my home where my grandfather was born"
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