A slew of TikTok users, from Puerto Rican to South Asian, have been posting photos of their families sitting on two white plastic chairs, similar to the one featured on the Puerto Rican album cover.
When Nicole Ortiz first saw the cover of Bad Bunny’s album “Debí Tirar Más Fotos,” the Florida resident recalled her time in Puerto Rico with her relatives. A large gathering of people playing dominoes around a table and a sense of love and togetherness.
Bad Bunny calls his new album (which stands for “I Should Take More Pictures”) “very Puerto Rican,” and many fans agree.
The cover features two white plastic chairs set in a garden filled with bright green grass, bringing smiles and tears to people’s eyes. Known as Monobloc chairs, the chairs are a unique and affordable type of chair that can be found all over the world and can be used both indoors and outdoors.
“When my grandmother passed away, these chairs represented a good time of Latin music, traditional food and dancing,” Ortiz said. “I’m sad that they’re gone, but I’m happy to have these memories.”
Bad Bunny’s demonic message and signature song “DtMF” resonated with Latinos and non-Latinos alike, landing him in the top 50 TikTok charts.
Puerto Ricans and other TikTok users posted photos of their families sitting on two white chairs and viewed the album as an ode to their upbringing.
One user uploaded a photo of himself as a child with his grandmother on his birthday and said the cover made him feel a little bit weird. Another user said that the couch is where many Latinos spend time with their families, gossiping and discussing current events. He attributed his success today to the conversations in the white couch.
Bad Bunny’s new album is a tribute and love letter to the island, as well as a call for Puerto Ricans to protect their culture. With its use of bomba and plena folk music and short films that depict the effects of gentrification in Puerto Rico, the album reflects both the beauty and struggles of the island.
Puerto Rican Alliance of the Island
DiNatalia Farina, 29, said the album made her rethink her idea of home. The album cover and the music on it made Farina, a 29-year-old Puerto Rican from New York City, realize that home doesn’t have to be a physical place, but rather an emotion filled with passion, sound and dance.
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When he saw the chairs on the album cover, he started thinking about his visits to Puerto Rico, from backyard parties to birthday parties to dinners his grandmother would cook on the patio.
The album reminded him that it’s nice to live outside of Puerto Rico and still maintain his Puerto Rican identity.
“All of our culture comes from the island of Puerto Rico, and this album makes me feel closer to it,” Ortiz said. “I think it’s inspiring for anyone who has connections to other cultures.”
Cultural exchange from Latin America to South Asia
Erika Pradilla is 32, Cuban and Spanish, and lives in Miami. When she’s not feeling well, my grandmother bathes in it. She sees the chairs on the album cover as a symbol of her roots. Sometimes she feels like she’s lost her culture, but this photo helps her remember to always see her way.
“To me, the empty chairs are a sign of how far Latinos are from their roots,” Pradilla said. “What connects so many of us to those roots are the people who sit on those chairs: our parents, our grandparents, our parents.”
Leila Hadji, 25, from Morocco, shares the same sentiment.
While much of the media coverage is from Latinos, members of the South Asian diaspora have also joined in the act, honoring the places and loved ones they left behind.
Although the songs on the album are in Spanish, the message resonates with first- and second-generation South Asians who are overcoming language barriers.
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