Bad Bunny is very powerful in the Middle East

09 Feb Bad Bunny is very powerful in the Middle East

The song “DtMF” (“Debí tirar más fotos”), from the artist’s latest album of the same name, which was released in early January, is being used by people in Gaza and Lebanon to accompany social media videos showing iconic scenes of their hometowns before the latest conflict with Israel began.

“DtMF” contains lyrics referring to the fact that the artist didn’t take enough pictures of a love, which could very well be his own birthplace island.

“I should’ve taken more pictures when I had you. I should’ve given you more kisses and hugs whenever I could. I hope my loved ones never move away,” says one of the verses of “DtMF.”

But Azzi has not only seen videos with this song but also with tracks like “Lo que le pasó a Hawái,” in which Bad Bunny takes a stance in favor of Puerto Rico’s independence, a U.S. territory since 1898, when it was ceded to the power after the Spanish-American War.

And in Lebanon, Bad Bunny’s music is also played in restaurants and clubs, Azzi says.

“Yesterday, I heard the song ‘Baile Inolvidable’ in a pizzeria. The political messages in the album and ‘DtMF’ are very powerful. People in the Middle East have identified with Puerto Rico,” he states.

“It struck me because, generally, people here don’t speak Spanish. In the case of ‘DtMF,’ someone made a translation on TikTok, and it became known,” he adds in an interview with BBC Mundo.

The latest confrontation in the Palestinian territories began on October 7, 2023, after a Hamas incursion into southern Israel left around 1,200 dead and resulted in the capture of 251 hostages.

The subsequent response from the Israeli army caused more than 46,000 deaths and left a trail of destruction in Gaza.

The same happened in southern Lebanon, where clashes took place between Hezbollah, an ally of Hamas, and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).

On January 15, Israel and Hamas reached a ceasefire agreement, and thousands of people attempted to return to their homes, often finding only piles of rubble.

After the return began, videos featuring Benito Martínez Ocasio’s song, the artist’s real name, started to appear.

“Debí tirar más fotos” is full of Puerto Rican symbols.

In the album, which is in its second week at the top of the Billboard 200 and leads the most-streamed lists on Spotify and Apple Music, Bad Bunny denounces colonialism, the economic crisis, and displacement in Puerto Rico.

For Azzi, although the Caribbean territory is not a conflict zone and the situation in the two regions is not comparable, its difficult socioeconomic reality connects it with Gaza and Lebanon.