PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Reggaeton superstar Bad Bunny is back with a new album that packs serious political power, addressing the United States’ colonial relationship with his home island of Puerto Rico.
Vanessa Maria Graber, of the local grassroots organization Philly Boricuas, said the organization has spent years holding events to educate Philadelphia’s Puerto Rican community and others about the island’s status as a colony under U.S. rule.
“And to be honest, not a lot of people come,” she said.
It wasn’t until Bad Bunny dropped his latest album — “Debí Tirar Más Fotos,” which translates to, “I should have taken more photos” — that more people started tuning into the message. At least 40 people filled the room at Boricua Restaurant 2 in Port Richmond for an album listening party.
Sure, the songs and choruses are catchy, but each track also carries a message about Puerto Rico, whether it’s the island’s history of resistance to colonial powers like Spain and the U.S., the fight for its flag, or simply the love of its culture.
Jose said the album brought it all home to him. “Everything came back to my mind, like where I was born and raised — the culture, the warmth we have, growing up on the island,” he said.
Luis, one of five members of Philly Boricuas, chose to discuss the track “Baile Inolvidable” (“The Unforgettable Dance”).
“It’s an unforgettable dance — a dance with death, a dance with revolution, a dance with your own identity,” he said. “To me, this song registers as a love song to the island, and to those of us who are on the mainland that wish or just fantasize about what life could have been like had they stayed on the island.”
To Luis, “Baile” recognizes the 20 years after WWII when Puerto Rico fought hard for its independence from the U.S. Its acts of resistance made global headlines. Graber said learning that history is key to maintaining that resistance.
“It’s a way to resist colonization,” she said. “It has given us the ability to reach more people because he has presented it in a way that people can understand.”
Having Bad Bunny on their side now is a big boon.
“We’re just gonna continue riding the Bad Bunny wave and Bad Bunny mania, and hopefully that will culminate in a larger group of people who have been activated,” she said.
Philly Boricuas plans to hold another Bad Bunny album listening party in February, along with an event about the history of Philadelphia’s Puerto Rican community. For more information, visit phillyboricuas.wixsite.com/phillyboricuas.