Introduction
Bad Bunny has released his new album DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS and it’s filled with what are bound to be club bangers with nods to his culture and Puerto Rican heritage. One song, in particular, touched a lot of people’s hearts called “DtMF”. The part of the song that is currently being used as a trending audio is the lyrics “Debí tirar más fotos/ de cuando te tuve/ Debí darte más beso’ y abrazo’/ las vece’ que pude / Ey, ojalá que los mío’ nunca se muden / Y si hoy me emborracho / pues que me ayuden” which translates to “I should’ve taken more pictures when I had you
I should’ve given you more kisses and hugs whenever I could Ayy, I hope my people never move away And if I get drunk today, I hope they help me out”. Immigrants and children of immigrants are using this audio to show their compiled family photos from back home. It’s been a tear-jerker, to say the least, and it’s hit close to home for me as well.
Context/ a little bit about me
To add more context, my mom immigrated here from Algeria and my dad from Egypt, they met in the United States, got married, and had me! (and my other siblings I guess) I’ve only ever had the chance to visit both countries once; Egypt the summer before my senior year of high school and Algeria when I was 5 years old. There were various complications and setbacks that led us to only ever be able to visit at those times. Each time was a shock to the senses, to say the least, not because of cultural differences but because I didn’t know what having a big family was like.
I have only ever experienced playing pretend with my cousins, giving hugs to my aunts and uncles, and listening to late-night family stories once. It probably sounds sad and foreign to most people, but I didn’t take it for granted despite being 5. I guess you can’t miss something that you never really had, but I did always have this feeling I could never put a name to when my friends would say they were headed to their grandparent’s house or had cousin hangouts or just seeing the sheer amount of family that would show up to their celebrations. In those moments I was reminded of what I didn’t have.
This song read my mind
Once I saw this trend and the lyrics, I went looking for pictures from when I visited Algeria. They were all filled with me sun-tanned laughing and hugging family members. My favorite picture is actually where I’m sobbing (I don’t know why a girl was going through it I guess) and wearing a Disney princess hat while three hands console me. Anyways, compiling the photos made me pretty emotional besides the obvious. I felt a sense of guilt for maybe not hugging for a second longer, staying up a minute later to hear all the stories, or knowing my language more fluently to communicate with them. You may be saying right now “That’s a bit harsh girl, you were 5”, but that’s just the innate feeling of being away from family for so long. It’s like a limbo where regardless of if I go back, I’ll feel like a tourist in my own grandparents’ house.
But I also felt this wave of gratefulness to know that I have a group of people who love me regardless of the fact that they’ve met me in person only once. It’s warming to know I have a lot more people in my corner than I felt. The lyrics emphasized this feeling of bittersweetness of wishing to have been able to stay with them for longer and how grateful I am for the time I spent with them.
Conclusion
All that’s left is to hopefully visit soon. Here’s to hopefully more pictures, kisses, and hugs.