Every year, millions of tourists flock to Puerto Rico, but at the same time, millions of Puerto Ricans leave. It is a pattern not unique to the island, but common across many developing countries, where places become destinations for outsiders rather than stable, livable homes for the people who actually live there. For Bad Bunny, the globally recognized Puerto Rican rapper and singer whose real name is Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, this tension is front and center in his latest album DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS (I Should’ve Taken More Photos, 2025). Throughout the album, he raises the question: how can a country’s people meaningfully reconnect with their cultural identity, beyond nostalgia and the image crafted for outsiders? When we talk about cultural impact, the assumption is often that culture is used merely as a tool to build bridges between countries. But Bad Bunny is not playing that role. What he represents instead is a new wave of artists who are more interested in confronting the histories of their homelands before translating them to a global audience. It is a reminder that an artist can put their country on the…
