When I left Puerto Rico as a kid I was old enough to understand what I was losing. My mom wanted me to have a chance at a better life, like most Boricua parents who move from the island to the mainland United States do. But I hated that I was leaving behind my casita, the montes I grew up in, the local food that filled my belly since I was a baby, and the very sound that can only be found in Puerto Rico.
Now in my ’30s, I still hunger to go back home. But I don’t think I realized how much I truly missed Puerto Rico until Bad Bunny’s latest album dropped. And being Latina and working as the Trending Editor at Remezcla, I’m very aware of who Bad Bunny is and have interviewed him before. But his previous albums never made me an avid fan. That changed with DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS, an album dedicated to Borikén to a home we share.
So I listened.
While people were crying all over TikTok over the edits being made to “DtMF” I was thinking about the fact that I only have memories of where I grew up. I have no photos or videos of that time. And when I fade, those memories will too. “BOKeTE” reminded me of long car rides across the island and making do when it came to the state of those twisting roads. And “LO QUE LE PASÓ A HAWAii” made me equal parts angry and sad at how those who live on the island today are treated.
Even the cover album of DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS had me in my feelings as it reminded me of big family gatherings, good food, and a sense of belonging only felt on the island.
Bad Bunny’s new album made me feel the closest to Puerto Rico I have felt in over two decades. And when the No Me Quiero Ir de Aquí residency in Puerto Rico was announced, I made peace with the fact that I was not fast enough to get tickets while also holding onto this new found feeling of home wrapped in nostalgia. Because my mom kept our traditions and food alive in the home in the US. But the longer we stayed, the more she assimilated, and the more the island faded from our home life. And I wasn’t going to let that happen again.
So I just watched the residency from a distance and made sure that whatever coverage I worked on at Remezcla spoke to supporting the locals in the same vein as Bad Bunny’s album while trying to be a little more intentional in supporting Puerto Ricans in my day to day life. And I did that all while falling in love with the looks my fellow Boricuas were wearing to Bad Bunny’s residency, ranging from wide and flowing red skirts with a white top and hair pinned with the flor de maga or our flag or motifs front and center in every part of their fit.
That’s when method stepped up.
As an official sponsor for the Bad Bunny residency in Puerto Rico, the personal care brand had redone every bathroom in El Choli. And instead of the usual concert going fair, the stall doors reminded me of the vibrant colors of Viejo San Juan, there were Puerto Rican flags with the OG celeste blue on the walls, and even the mirrors and sinks were decorated with things that made it feel like an intentional experience with Puerto Ricans in mind. They were the ones who offered me the opportunity to attend Bad Bunny’s residency. And of course I said yes.
At the moment of writing this, it’s been exactly one week since I saw Bad Bunny perform the songs from DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS.
I still vividly remember the shock that went through me on how intentional everything inside El Choli was. You had the montes taking center stage for the beginning and end of his set. But you also had an actual casita across from the montes that looked like the casitas I had grown up with. And it was all topped off with screens on the ceiling of El Choli that made the montes seem like they were against the setting sun or night sky. There was even a moment where it was just the Puerto Rican flag sailing above all the people of her island.
In El Choli, surrounded by people singing Bad Bunny’s songs from this album, I felt like it didn’t matter that distance had kept me from my home or that assimilation had stolen parts of Borikén from me.
In the there and now, I was home and no time had passed. I was Boricua. I was the product of her land, the ocean that surrounded her, and the people that were born there. And even more so, no matter where I go in life, or how far I go from this island, it’s music, food, and relentless spirit that continues to thrive despite the forces that continue to try to keep Borikén down, this land is within me. It always has been.
Now that I’m back in New York City with the memory of the Bad Bunny residency still close to my heart, I realize that I need to make more changes on how I think about my home. Because while I have been mourning Puerto Rico from a distance, she’s still going through it. And if I’m going to support her and honor her no matter where I go in life, I need to be a little bit more aware of what’s happening on the island while making sure that her traditions, people, and spirit stay alive.
That’s what Borikén deserves.
Travel and accommodations were provided to the author by method to attend the No Me Quiero Ir de Aquí residency in Puerto Rico.
