Days until I see Bad Bunny in concert: 28.

Debi Tirar Más Fotos has been my deepest dive into Bad Bunny’s music. I’ve enjoyed some of his earlier songs, but this album felt different. I’m drawn to songs that echo the music that filled the air at family parties growing up—like Fruko y Sus Tesos, Grupo Niche, and Elvis Crespo. Bad Bunny’s ability to blend fresh sounds with classic influences makes this album feel like a musical bridge between my childhood and my adulthood.

Benito wrapped up his PR residency in August. I listened to the “Bad Bunny Closes Out His Residency” episode of the Alt.Latino podcast to hear how it went. It’s an entertaining episode that includes short interviews of local PR residents discussing Bad Bunny’s huge cultural, political, and economic impact.

• It made me happy to hear that the Colombian flag was one of the top 3 flags a vendor had sold outside the venue during the residency (Top 3 flags in order: PR, Mexico, and Colombia).
• The podcast featured a Puerto Rican resident reflecting on the mixed emotions she felt when she saw a tourist wearing a pava, a traditional Puerto Rican hat. I’ve felt what she’s talking about when I see tourists in Colombia wearing a sombrero vueltiao at the airport as they head back to the U.S. On one hand, I feel pride seeing a piece of my culture recognized and appreciated. But it’s also layered with a feeling of “you don’t really get it”—a discomfort that comes from seeing a real piece of culture reduced to a souvenir that will probably end up wrinkled and dusty in the back of a closet somewhere in America.
• The Alt.Latino hosts felt an incredibly strong sense of community during the concert. That’s what I’m most excited for at the concert in January. I plan on losing my voice singing WELTiTA with 45,000 other fans at Estadio Atanasio Girardot in Medellín.

Mi Diccionario Entry: Petardo. Means firecrackers. I learned this word listening to Debi Tirar Mas Fotos, when Bad Bunny says, “no se si son petardos o si son tiros.”