The Deep Cultural Effects of ‘DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS’ Two Months Later

Have you taken salsa dancing classes since DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS was released?

DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS Cover Art

If you’re like me, Bad Bunny’s album DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS has been on repeat since it was released in early January. There’s no doubt this will be my most-listened album of the year. More importantly, DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS has shed light on Puerto Rico, its people, and the colonization, gentrification, and erasure they have faced for over 400 years. Throughout the album, Bad Bunny incorporates traditional Puerto Rican music styles, such as reggaeton, bomba, plena, jíbaro and salsa.

Even if you don’t speak or understand Spanish, you can feel Benito’s diasporic rhythm and emotion through the traditional Puerto Rican instruments like the cuatro guitar, panderos, trumpet, saxophone, güiro, and more. He includes features by Chuwi, Omar Courtz, Los Pleneros de la Cresta, Dei V, RaiNao, and students from Escuela Libre de la Música in Puerto Rico.

PIToRRO DE COCO Music Video

For Bad Bunny, DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS feels like his first album—a natural evolution that feels closest to home. The rollout for the album alone paid homage to the island, bringing a parranda on the Jimmy Fallon stage while wearing a pava, singing his songs in the New York City subway with a live band, and partying at the iconic Toñitas (Caribbean Social Club) in Williamsburg.

Bad Bunny has not only illuminated his culture but also encouraged people to participate in and appreciate it. Salsa dancing has increased everywhere, even among those who have never attempted it—DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS has that organic effect to tempt you to move your hips. In New York City, where almost a quarter of the population is Caribbean, salsa and Latin dancing have always been prominent.

TURiSTA Music Video

However, many people who are and are not of the culture do not know how to dance salsa, which has caused a surge of salsa dancing classes to fill up throughout the city. Bad Bunny himself was not a salsa expert, but he soon became a salsa connoisseur for the album and his hit “BAILE INoLVIDABLE.”

Some popular salsa dancing studios in New York City include Baila Society, Lorenz Latin Dance Studio, and Joel Salsa. Nieves Latin Dance Studio, in particular, saw an increase in attendees in each class. With several locations across New York City, owner Wil Nieves told NBC News that his classes have almost doubled in attendance since DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS was released.

TURiSTA Music Video

In addition to dance, Bad Bunny aligns Puerto Rico’s colonization and gentrification with that of Hawai’i in “LO QUE LE PASÓ A HAWAii.” Both countries face similar struggles of cultural erasure, displacement, skyrocketing costs of living due to tourism, and resource desecration. In his video, “TURiSTA,” Bad Bunny portrays a house cleaner cleaning a popular San Juan Airbnb for the next tourists to vacation in. As he cleans the disheveled house, he dwells on his role as a Puerto Rico native who fell victim to the never-ending cycle of gentrification.

One of the album's central themes is to inform people of what’s actually on the island, including the concho, a frog native to Puerto Rico. The concho is one of the main characters of the album as well as the DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS short film. In the 13-minute film, an elderly Puerto Rican man and his friend, a talking concho, reminisce on the past, why they didn’t take more photos, and everything constantly changing around them. Whether it’s the lack of music blasting out of cars anymore or $30 quesitos and coffee popping up in gentrified cafes, they can’t shake the feeling of cultural shock in their own home.

DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS Short Film

The impact was so strong that National Geographic reported on the endangerment of the concho due to Puerto Rico's rapid change in infrastructure, ecosystem, and climate. After they noticed the crested toad as the mascot for DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS, they urged action to protect the island’s wildlife. It’s almost as if Puerto Rico’s people and animals are facing parallel struggles because of the same toxic cycles of imperialism.

This album not only confronts Puerto Rico’s issues but also shows how there are broader, worldwide systemic issues countries are struggling to combat. It proves that music and community are some of the strongest forces for resilience, change, and preservation. DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS has unified people within cultures, generations, and traditions. While it may be Bad Bunny’s most timeless and meaningful album, he will never stop speaking up about Puerto Rico, his identity, and the endless pride he and the Puerto Rican people have for their land.