“I can’t forget you, I can’t erase you,” sings Bad Bunny –Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio – in his song “BAILE INoLVIDABLE”.

That’s how I feel about my little island, which isn’t so “little” to me. Puerto Rico has never felt like the small piece of land people describe it as; I’ve always seen it as the biggest and most authentic experience one can live in.

I spent my 23 years on the Island of Enchantment, never taking for granted the privilege of living in Puerto Rico.

Since I was a child, I was taught that being Puerto Rican is something to be proud of, and that I should defend my country wherever I go.

From violin summer camps representing Puerto Rico in the United States to pursuing a master’s degree in Chicago, I always make sure to let everyone know how proud I am to be Puerto Rican and represent my island.

Since Jan. 5, 2025, the eve of Three Kings Day, the only thing I’ve been listening to is Bad Bunny’s latest album “DTmF” (“Debí Tirar Más Fotos”, I Should’ve Taken More Pictures), because there’s nothing more Puerto Rican than this wonderful album released by Bad Bunny.

I won’t lie, I listened to this album on my flight back to Chicago after a well-deserved vacation. 

I cried. 

I cried a lot, thinking about my island, my family and the way Benito captured the feeling of being Puerto Rican in this album.

Now that I had moved to Chicago, it hurt a lot to think that I wouldn’t be on the island to enjoy this album the way I would’ve wanted, but I carry my island with me wherever I go, and that’s enough—for now.

Benito not only expresses what it means to be Puerto Rican, but he also highlights the complicated history we carry.

Jorell Meléndez Badillo, a Puerto Rican historian and professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, collaborated with Bad Bunny in creating visual capsules of history featured in the YouTube visualizers for all the tracks on DTmF.

Among the topics covered by Meléndez Badillo are the Puerto Rican flag, the U.S. invasion of 1898, the military government in Puerto Rico and the Concho toad–a species of toad only found in Puerto Rico, which plays an important role in the album’s narrative.

“For me, it was super important that someone with such a broad and global platform wanted to amplify the history of Puerto Rico,” said Meléndez Badillo.  “What Benito wanted was to reach the people from the neighborhoods, the caseríos (public housing projects), the people from Puerto Rico.” 

The 1948 Gag Law, enacted by the U.S. military government Puerto Rico, criminalized the possession, display and use of the Puerto Rican flag, as well as the promotion of independence. This law was in effect until 1957 and was repealed because it violated the freedom of speech.

“The flag wasn’t politically recognized during the first half of the 20th century. It wasn’t until 1952 that the flag was officially recognized,” said  Meléndez Badillo.“It was created in New York, not in Manatí, although it was created by someone from Manatí, a city in northern Puerto Rico. This highlights the diasporic dimension of Puerto Rican-ness.”

“Here, they killed people for taking out the flag. That’s why now I carry it wherever I go,” sings Benito in the final track of DTmF, “La MuDANZA”. La MuDANZA.

This lyric from the first verse resonated with me deeply.  The first thing I did when I started packing for my “MuDANZA” to Chicago was pack my light blue flag. I made sure I wouldn’t forget it, so I would have a piece of my little island, not so little, in Chicago.

Around the world, Puerto Rico is known as the birthplace of reggaeton and certain influential musical artists like Daddy Yankee, Wisin and Yandel, Tego Calderon– but with this album, Benito also made space for Puerto Rican plena and salsa.

In his song “DTmF” (Debí Tirar Más Fotos), Bad Bunny gives a modern twist to traditional Puerto Rican plena music without overshadowing the essence of Puerto Rican identity that plena represents. It became the first plena song to reach the top spot on the Apple Music charts.

Even though it’s a nostalgic song about a partner, the theme of Puerto Rican migration remains ever-present.

The chorus sings, “I should have given you more kisses and hugs the times I could. I hope mine (loved ones) never move away.”

I hope mine never move away, though I’m the one who moved. Even in the cold of Chicago, hearing the traditional Puerto Rican rhythms, I feel at home.

Lo Que Le Pasó A Hawaii (What Happened to Hawaii) is one of his saddest songs, due to the reality we live in.

With a sad tone, Benito sings, “Here, no one wanted to leave. Whoever left, dreams of coming back.”

If I didn’t cry the first time Bad Bunny sang the chorus, I definitely cried listening to the beginning of Puerto Rico’s national anthem, played on the Puerto Rican cuatro.

The national anthem of Puerto Rico is an ode to Christopher Columbus, thanking him for “discovering” the island, but that’s not why it moves me.

The national anthem has another version. The revolutionary anthem, written by Puerto Rican poet Lola Rodríguez de Tió, is a call for Puerto Rico’s liberation.

Meléndez Badillo, a native of Aguadilla, said that DTmF is not an album about independence.

“It’s a political album…It’s a statement of national affirmation,” he said.

 As Bad Bunny said, “Un aplauso pa’ mami y papi, porque en verdad rompieron.” (A round of applause for mom and dad, you nailed it.)

With love, Laura from Chicago but always Puerto Rican.