According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, gentrification is a process in which a poor area experiences an influx of middle-class or wealthy people who renovate and rebuild homes and businesses, which often results in an increase in property values and the displacement of earlier, usually poorer residents. In areas such as Puerto Rico, gentrification is happening more than ever, and it is displacing lifelong residents, reshaping cultural landscapes, and prioritizing wealthy outsiders over the needs of local communities, making it harder for them to thrive.
For example, Bad Bunny’s short film “DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS,” shows the changes of Puerto Rico, showing how an older man went through the photos that he took, wishing he took more to cherish. He then goes to the store with cash to help provide for himself and his friend Concho. However, due to the modern technology, they introduced to stores, such as tap-to-pay, he was told that they did not accept cash. Without a payment, he could not get his food, until a younger man paid for him and told him, “We are still here,” implying the people that originated there are still with him.
This short film also includes tourism and the loss of cultural identity, while it also encourages listeners to cherish their heritage and fight for their homelands. Accompanied by the album “DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS” which translates to “I should have taken more photos,” this content is a reminder to appreciate the present and the individuals that surround us, as well as to preserve memories.
Bad Bunny touches base with people on the nostalgia and love he has for the place where he used to live, where he now sees a completely different country.
“You see things differently when you’ve spent time away from them,” Bad Bunny said in a New York Times interview about the process for developing his album. “When you’re looking at them from afar, you appreciate them more.”
He wants to inform listeners that time is limited, and memories should not be taken for granted, as individuals’ cultural identity as well as their hometowns are more prone to modernized changes. After witnessing gentrification in his own country, he realized how much local communities were affected by the technological changes over time.
