DTMF: How Bad Bunny Reignited My Love For Latin Music

Bad Bunny got me into Latin music again. I grew up in Lake Worth, Florida, where Latin music was rampant. It was everywhere you went; restaurants, radios, and of course, school dances. I grew up in a predominantly Latino community. While I’m Puerto Rican, most Latinos in West Palm are either Cuban, Venezuelan or Central American. I always say the Latinos who raised me were Mexicans and Cubans, because my dad wasn’t really in my life. 

Lake Worth Beach, FL. | Photo source: Lake Worth Beach

I have always loved music, I am a musician—I sing and play a couple of instruments. I used to tell people I liked all kinds of music, except I wasn’t a big fan of reggae or Latin music—unless it was Shakira.

I grew up thinking that all Latin music sounded the same. I was never fluent in Spanish, so I couldn’t connect to the lyrics beyond the production, and there wasn’t much else there for me.

Fast forward to when I moved to Miami for college. It was so different from where I grew up—but somehow the same. There were way more genres of Latin music, and I met so many more South Americans. I’d never met so many Brazilians or Colombians till I moved to North Miami. In Miami, a majority of the population doesn’t speak English, so I had to learn more just to communicate in the community.

FIU Biscayne Bay Campus in North Miami, FL. | Photo source: Florida International University

For reference, I only took two years of Spanish in elementary school, so the basics that I know are SUPER BASIC. And my Puerto Rican family didn’t speak Spanish at home or find it important to teach me. They were all Nuyoricans, and it wasn’t as necessary to learn the language in New York versus Miami. 

When I moved to Miami in 2018, Cardi B was the hottest artist out. I remember going out with my friends and hearing her music everywhere. The most popular song at the time was “I Like It,” featuring Bad Bunny and J Balvin.

"I Like It" Music Video | Photo source: Billboard

From the first time I heard it, I was like, Oh my God, this is so fun. This makes me want to dance. And finally, I can sing along to a Latin song that wasn’t Shakira. This was the first time I ever heard of Bad Bunny. I was really intrigued by his feature. Even though I didn’t know what he was saying, it was his unique voice and flair that he brought to each verse. His verse was my favorite to sing because I felt like such a badass. Of course it was thrilling to hear that he was Puerto Rican as well, so there was an extra layer of connection.

This was the start of something magical. Bad Bunny was opening my mind to reggaeton. Since moving to Miami, I’d made friends with the other Latinas in my classes, and we’d listen to some of the songs I grew up hearing at all my old school dances. It was so nostalgic and fun to jam in the car to Casa de Leones, Elvis Crespo, and Marc Anthony. 

Fast forward a few years—after reigniting a love for Latin music and living in the Latino capital of the U.S.—I felt more comfortable reclaiming parts of my identity that I had been ashamed of. Not speaking Spanish, worried to wear hoops in front of people, and enjoying my hometown's Latin cuisine. I even co-founded a community for Latina content creators with my friends to connect with my community on a more intimate level. And then comes Summer 2022, when Benito releases Un Verano Sin Ti. When I tell you this album CHANGED MY LIFE—I mean it.

"Un Verano Sini Ti" Album Cover | Photo source: Wikipedia

It didn’t matter that I almost knew a handful more of Spanish, these songs were IT. This was a NO-SKIPS ALBUM. He put his foot in that music because it was so catchy to anyone who heard it. It quite literally became a global sensation for Latinos y gringos alike. Me and my friends played it all year long, sending each other screenshots of our new favorite every week. I started creating a playlist called Fuego Gworl Summer. I created a whole Instagram series around it, with summer outfits to match, and me and the Latina group chats were on fire! I got my mom into the album. I always say my mom was a Latina in a past life, she’s Irish and grew up as a dancer, so she loves shaking it to Latin music. Hell, that's how she met my dad!

This New Year when Benito released DTMF. That was a mic drop. After learning so much about where my family comes from over these last couple of years and seeing him name drop Puerta De Tierra as an endangered, gentrified place in his music video El Apagón. All of this meant so much more. I haven’t been to the island yet, but I know whenever I end up there—I will feel the magic. I don’t know how to explain it but I know I will feel my ancestors' presence. Bad Bunny showed all of us, even non-Puerto Ricans, how important it is to speak up and protect the ones you love. Even if it's an island or a people. Latinos of all kinds can connect with this notion of “I wish I took more photos.” So many of our families came to the U.S. for a better life, or more opportunity, but in turn sacrificed their loved ones, their islands and for some, their deep-rooted culture.

"DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS" Album Cover | Photo Source: Genius

He wrote songs about the gentrification of the island saying “I hope they don’t do to you, what they did to Hawaii” making us ask questions like “Will Puerto Ricans ever get their freedom? Their independence?” It’s such a complicated issue. People feel one way or the other, but one thing I love that Benito said in a recent interview with Zane Lowe: “No matter what happens to Puerto Rico… we will ALWAYS be tied to the U.S.” Our families are there— in New York, Florida and Illinois. Our cousins and aunties and grandparents may be an ocean away, but it will not keep us apart. We will always be visiting back and forth and sharing our love not just in cuisine or chisme, but of course in music.