Do I wish I took more photos?
Bad Bunny’s newest album, DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS, released Jan. 5, has been moving people within the Hispanic and, likewise, English-speaking communities.
The album encompasses conversations surrounding love and the loss of people and familiar places. He speaks on the death of his grandfather in “DtMF” which is also the title of the album, translating to “I should have taken more photos,” which begs the question: should we live in the moment and put our phones away, or capture as much as we can before it’s too late. This album is accompanied by a short film, also created by Bad Bunny, which evokes similar emotional reactions as songs like “DtmF” and “LO QUE LE PASÓ A HAWAii.” The film follows an elderly Puerto Rican man talking to an animated coquí frog. This endangered frog happens to be an iconic figure for Puerto Ricans. There are many layers to this album, so I will break it down according to the manner in which I consumed it.
As a non-Spanish speaker, Bad Bunny was never a prominent artist for me simply because I could never connect with his work. I do enjoy Spanish music, but he never made any big impact on me. Around the week of this album being released was my first time ever visiting the U.S. I went to Sacramento, Calif. I know it is a bit strange, but it was for a friend’s wedding. This was the first time in my life that I had been surrounded by so many Latinos and Spanish-speaking people. When this album came out, Bad Bunny posted a video on his TikTok, crying to his song “DtMF” due to the way people were interacting with this song. People were layering photos and videos of loved ones and pets they’ve lost over the lyrics: “I should’ve taken more pictures when I had you/ I should’ve given you more kisses and hugs whenever I could.”
As I lay in my Airbnb bed with my friends in the other rooms, my friend Annabell (the bride-to-be) sent me the short film by Bad Bunny with the message:, “crying over this short film right now.” And so, I prepared myself to cry and pressed play.
In the short film we see a Puerto Rican grandpa going into a restaurant to order “quesitos” for him and his frog. A convoluted conversation takes place at the register where the white cashier asks if he wants a “regular quesito” and he says “I want a traditional quesito.” It comes down to a whopping 30 dollars for a simple meal which he cannot even pay for since he only has cash and they only accept card. The man asks if he could pay another time, since he is a loyal customer and the cashier says no since it goes against policy. A young Puerto Rican man comes to pay for him and tells him “we are still here” in spanish. Signifying that the youngins won’t leave Puerto Rico.
As an Arab person I see a lot of similarities between Arab and Hispanic culture. Of course the Puerto Rican grandpa thought it would be appropriate to pay another time as a regular. I’ve done that before. There’s trust in our communities that make it unique compared to Western society. “Why would I trust you, I don’t know you.” Whereas we trust each other because we were never given a reason not to and plus at the end of the day we are kind for the sake of God. If they chose to break the trust then at least I did something out of kindness. This is where I feel this similarity between both cultures. The feeling of community and devotion to God.
Side note: old people make me really sad.
Every old person I see, I always think of my mom. Arab society is a collectivist society, unlike here in the West, so when I see old people walking in the freezing cold, it makes me sad. Like, where’s your family?
While watching the film I was hit with the realization that oppression of marginalized communities is all the same. Although I am not Palestinian I don’t view myself as different from them but essentially the same, as someone who’s Syrian. The Syrian and Palestinian cause is all cut from the same tree, the same blood falls. So, when I see foreigners occupying spaces that are not theirs, gentrifying it and making it difficult for the natives of the land, I can’t help but think of the occupation of Palestine. You might think, “you’re not Palestinian, why do you care?” It’s not a far-fetched fear that neighboring countries won’t be next, as that goal has been made apparent even with the occupation of the Golden Heights, Syria since 1967. With white Americans moving to Puerto Rico, Bad Bunny speaks on the issues that come with that and says don’t do to Puerto Rico what you did to Hawaii. Hawaii and Puerto Rico are not just vacation destinations for the upper class, these lands are significant to the Indigenous people living there. And these vacation spots are being disrespected and white-ifed for the comfort of the tourists by the tourists.
The change in Puerto Rico being shown through that restaurant scene made me think of occupation and gentrification, which is more often than not seen heavily in Palestine. Israelis have stolen traditional Arab foods and called them their own for years now. In my opinion, disrespecting the food by making it poorly and making renditions like “chocolate hummus?” Please stop, I’m officially offended. If you’re eating Sabra hummus, I feel bad for your taste buds and know you are funding ethnic cleansing. So, maybe I don’t feel bad.
The first song that impacted me was “BAILE INoLVIDABLE”. As a bilingual, I understand that sometimes the full meaning is hard to translate. Arabic is like that. Like, I would call someone “Omri, Hayati,” etc., and when translated it loses so much in translation. This song was the most played for me for a while because it’s super catchy.
To English ears, this song is dressed like a standard RnB song. It just feels like a song to dance to,which is fitting, as the title translates to “unforgettable dance.” This song is actually very sad though. He yearns for his ex-lover who taught him how to dance and how to love. The verses that hurts me the most are:
“No, I can’t forget you
No, I can’t erase you
You taught me how to love
You taught me how to dance
No, I can’t forget you
No, I can’t erase you
You taught me how to love
You taught me how to dance”
This album is filled with unity and community. He includes the old with the new, and the voices are not just his own. The feeling of losing someone you loved is not foreign to many, and this song struck a chord for me.
The next song I really started to enjoy was “DtMF,” especially on my trip to California. I first saw it on TikTok in Bad Bunny’s video crying due to how fans were interacting with the song. Once again, as a non-Spanish speaker, I was confused, so I asked my friend to translate the song for me. I got her to read the lyrics to me, line by line as one of the TikToks played. She told me, “I should’ve taken more pictures when I had you, I should’ve given you more kisses and hugs whenever I could.” I thought it was a sweet song, and I loved how people were using it. I kept it in the back of my mind to use it for the end of my trip.
The end of my trip was emotional. There was a lot of crying in those last few days. One of my best friends got married!
The rest of the trip was a lot of airport drop-offs and saying bye to people who were filled with love as a result of the union of these two people. There were lots of family and friends who came a long way to be able to attend this wedding. It made me think about all the people we love, and how saying goodbye is so bittersweet. Because, of course, when you go back, there are people you love that you leave behind. In a perfect world, we would be around all the people we loved, all of the time, and goodbyes wouldn’t be a thing. It was my turn to head to the airport. I was more anxious than sad, until I hugged Annebell goodbye as she started crying. Of course, that made me cry too. I went to my gate and made a TikTok with that song DtMF, reminiscing about the trip and all the amazing people I met while there. “DtMF” was the perfect song to commemorate this trip, and I ultimately felt grateful for the amount of photos and videos taken. I really couldn’t say, “I wish I took more photos”, because I had taken so many.
Photo by Eve Aboualy
Wow so cool bruv