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How Bad Bunny Revives Jíbara, Plena, and Salsa in His New Album
Bad Bunny’s latest album, Debí Tirar Más Fotos, released on January 5, is a heartfelt journey into Puerto Rico’s musical heritage. Throughout 17 tracks, the artist fuses modern reggaetón and trap with traditional Afro-Caribbean genres like jíbara, plena, boleros, and salsa. This project is deeply connected to the island, not just in its sound but also in its production—every musician, producer, and collaborator involved is Puerto Rican.
“I’m Puerto Rican, I’m Caribbean, and my music, my culture, my history, and that of my homeland are in my blood, from plena to reggaetón,” said Benito. “At the peak of my career and the height of my popularity, I want to show the world who I am, who BENITO ANTONIO is, who PUERTO RICO is. The best is yet to come.”
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Jíbara: The Sound of Puerto Rico
One of the standout features of the album is its embrace of jíbara music, a genre rooted in Puerto Rico’s countryside. Jíbara, often linked to the rural working class, is influenced by Spanish and European traditions. It highlights string instruments like the cuatro, a small ten-stringed guitar, and percussion tools like the güiro. Traditionally, jíbara includes styles like seis and aguinaldos, where singers improvise rhymes to tell stories or convey messages.
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Bad Bunny uses jíbara as a foundation in the track “Pitorro de Coco,” named after a traditional coconut-flavored moonshine. The song takes inspiration from “Música Jíbara Para Las Navidades” by Chuíto el de Bayamón, blending jíbara’s distinctive string melodies with contemporary reggaetón beats. Benito explains:
“Sometimes young people might think – and I used to think this way when I was a kid – that this kind of music is for older folks, music for my grandma or grandpa. I just want to show them that you can do it in a cool way, you don’t have to stick to what older artists did. You can bring a fresh vibe, use new slang; there are no rules for this!” he told The New York Times.
Plena: The People’s Rhythm
Plena, another key genre featured on the album, is often called “the singing newspaper” because it traditionally tells stories about everyday life, spanning everything from love and celebration to political struggles. With its roots in La Joya del Castillo and San Antón in Ponce from the early 20th century, plena is performed with instruments like guitars, panderos, the cuatro, the sans, and the güiro.
In Debí Tirar Más Fotos, plena takes the spotlight in tracks like “El Clúb,” where Benito blends modern pop with a traditional Puerto Rican folk style. The song merges the rhythmic patterns of plena with house and electronic production, thanks to collaborators like MAG, Saox, and La Paciencia.
Bad Bunny explained that plena, the island rhythm he prominently features throughout his new album, “is a very old rhythm, and it only sounds fresh and different because I’m doing it.”
Salsa: A Worldwide Connection with Puerto Rican Roots
Salsa, with its rich blend of Cuban and Puerto Rican influences, is also a major player in this album. While salsa’s roots trace back to New York in the mid-20th century, Puerto Rican artists like Héctor Lavoe, El Gran Combo, and Frankie Ruiz were instrumental in crafting its global identity.
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The album kicks off with “NuevaYol,” a fresh take on El Gran Combo’s classic “Un Verano en Nueva York.” By mixing in dembow and house beats with the iconic salsa melody, Benito connects generations of Puerto Rican music and mirrors the stories of many Puerto Ricans who have moved from the island to places like New York in search of new opportunities.
The lyrics reflect on the diaspora’s experience: “Un shot de cañita en casa de Toñita, P.R. se siente cerquita,” Benito raps, referencing a beloved bar in Brooklyn run by María Antonia Cay, affectionately known as Doña Toñita, a key figure in the Puerto Rican community.
Other salsa-infused tracks, like “Baile Inolvidable” and “La Mudanza” show Benito’s ability to adapt traditional dance rhythms into his storytelling. “Salsa is part of our identity,” he said. “It’s the sound of family parties, of celebrations. It’s joy, but it’s also memory.”
Debí Tirar Más Fotos : A Fully Puerto Rican Creation
Beyond the genres, Debí Tirar Más Fotos is a celebration of Puerto Rican talent. Every aspect of the album—from the production to the collaborations—was managed by Puerto Rican artists. Producers like Tainy, MAG, and Big Jay contributed to the album’s sound, while featured artists like Chuwi, a band that blends tropical sounds with jazz or indie rock, RaiNao, Omar Courtz, and Los Pleneros de la Cresta, who are known for playing plena, brought their unique voices. Even the recording sessions were held right on the island.
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“I’ve been thinking about this project for a long time. Everything was recorded in Puerto Rico. All the musicians are Puerto Rican, all the rhythms are Puerto Rican, like plena,” he told The New York Times.
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