“Debí tirar más fotos” says Señor, played by Jacobo Morales, to his friend Concho in Bad Bunny’s new short film. Jacobo Morales is among many things a playwright, poet, and one of Puerto Rico’s most influential directors. His friend Concho is a coquí- a small frog native to Puerto Rico whose croak is synonymous with the island. The film, which bears the phrase as a title, accompanies an album by the same name.
Most known for his album “Un Verano Sin Ti”, which contains worldwide hits like “Titi Me Pregunto”, Puerto Rican rapper and singer Benito Martínez Ocasio, recognized by his stage name Bad Bunny, released “DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS” on Jan. 5, the day before Three Kings Day. Then, it was called an early gift. Now, less than a week later, many have dubbed it the album of the year. The album and film, which titles translate to “I should’ve taken more pictures”, have been received as not only a love letter to Puerto Rico but also a cry for action laden with nostalgia.
Despite the heavy Puerto Rican influence in the album, most Latinos, regardless of where they come from, feel deeply touched by many facets of it. The cover of the album features two empty plastic white chairs in the foreground of a plantain plant. This cover might seem simple or even arbitrary to some, but those who have sat in a space just like it understand the significance of the image. A place that unites millions across Latin America, a small reference to the family gatherings, birthday parties, and celebrations that took place in someone’s backyard. Something, that at the time when it occurred, was so commonplace it didn’t seem notable but unknowingly became a place of sentimentality when left behind. Samai Portilla Morera is from Costa Rica, and she said that she felt surprised by how relatable that simple image was. “I’ve seen that place so many times, been there with my family so often,” she said. “It’s kind of crazy because that’s exactly what my grandfather’s backyard looked like and I didn’t expect it.”
The empty chairs symbolize more than just a place to be together; they symbolize the space vacated by those who have had to leave their homes behind. This feeling is further developed in the song “LO QUE LE PASÓ A HAWAii”, a song that touches on the fact that people often don’t want to leave their home country, and those who have to, typically long to return home.
This song is one of the most notable ones in the album, as it also speaks on themes of gentrification and cultural loss. There are many divided opinions relating to the possibility of Puerto Rico becoming the fifty-first US state, but regardless of whether or not it does, there is no doubt that some changes are occurring in the island nation. English is becoming ever-more present, turning Spanish into “Spanglish” when not fully replacing it. Cultural foods and music diverge further from their traditional predecessors to the point of almost becoming unrecognizable. Beaches are taken away from the public and given to hotels, and the locals feel driven out. Bad Bunny makes reference to this phenomenon in the aforementioned short film, where the title character, Señor, tells his friend Concho about his confusion at being offered a cheeseless quesito.
At the beginning of the film, Señor tells Concho that he wishes Concho could see what Puerto Rico had been like back when he was younger. In wishing he had taken more pictures back then so he could show him, Señor gives the film, and presumably the album, its name. Here, Señor tells Concho that if he could go back in time, he would live more, love more, and take more pictures to remember doing so.
The album’s title song, “DtMF” also expresses regret at not doing enough to appreciate and preserve a memory of something or someone that is now gone. Although a romantic interpretation is not objectionable, most people seem to connect to the song through a different angle, with thousands of social media videos that use the sound as a backdrop to reminisce on anything from their old school to their lost pets. “The first time I heard the song, I honestly didn’t interpret it as romantic at all. It made me think of Puerto Rico and that, yes, I wish I had more pictures to look back on” said Sherrie Torres, who shares a homeland with the singer. At the end of the short film, Señor and Concho go to take a picture, so as to remember that day and not repeat past mistakes. When the credits of the film roll by they do so accompanied by the sounds of the Puerto Rican rainforest and, of course, the croaking of coquís.
