Coinciding with his newest album, Bad Bunny returns behind the camera for another striking short film.
This is not the reggaetoñero’s first time in the director’s chair. His 2022 debut, El Apagón, is about the housing crisis in Puerto Rico that Hurricane Fiona and Hurricane Maria exacerbated, but was primarily caused by the United States’ investment and influence.
This poignant vignette from a few years past demonstrated Bad Bunny is not just a musical artist, but a social activist and a talented filmmaker who holds a lot of power with his platform.
The gentrification of Puerto Rico and the housing crisis it has created has not only been a rising issue, but has been equally as devastating as the natural disasters in the area. Because of tax incentives and housing prices, many wealthy Americans are moving to Puerto Rico. The housing prices have gone up while locals’ spending power has plateaued. It is completely changing the social landscape of Puerto Rico from a rich island of Indigenous culture and connection to one of not only colonization but estrangement from one another. While American people enjoy their tax breaks and sprawling, soulless gray houses, the ghosts of lively, stained stucco are still in the sky’s memory. Bad Bunny brilliantly extrapolates this dystopia into an 11-minute glimpse titled DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS (I should have taken more pictures).
Legendary actor Jacobo Morales plays a Puerto Rican man who has lived on the island all his life. As he ventures out into his neighborhood, he realizes what was once a flourishing and welcoming community full of multiple generations, is now a colder, quieter neighborhood with new people constantly moving in. The familiar sounds of reggaeton blasting have turned into muted stereos playing country and rock. The quesitos at the panadería are vegan now; The cashiers speak English. However, a young man reminds him “seguimos aqui,” (We are still here). The heart, the people, and the culture are still here in Puerto Rico, despite everything.
Bad Bunny uses his global platform to advocate for his homeland and helps gain visibility across the world to the struggles Puerto Ricans have endured for hundreds of years and continue to. His voice, through music and film-making, has helped garner worldwide attention to the issues of gentrification that many Hispanic countries face. He has also educated tourists and people with financial privilege who might not realize the harm in moving to Puerto Rico or even traveling there.
Being a more conscientious global citizen or tourist means realizing the impact of what may seem like a nice tax break or a beautiful vacation, could really mean exploiting a population and even uprooting a generation.