Document Type

Thesis

Abstract

This study explores the intersections of colonial history, cultural identity, and musical resistance through a rhetorical analysis of Bad Bunny’s 2025 album, Debí Tirar Más Fotos. Grounded in the context of Puerto Rico’s colonial relationship with the United States, I examine how reggaetón — a genre historically rooted in resistance — continues to serve as a platform for political expression and cultural reclamation. As reggaetón moves into the global mainstream, questions arise around the tension between commercial success and cultural authenticity. Focusing on Bad Bunny as both a cultural icon and political figure, this thesis considers how Debí Tirar Más Fotos functions as a means of pushing back against oppressive systems while highlighting and celebrating Puerto Rican identity and expression. Through the employment of rhetorical analysis using Karlyn Kohrs Campbells (1996) descriptive analysis approach, the album’s lyrical content, musical choices, and cultural context are examined to understand how the album functions as a form of counter-hegemonic discourse. At its core, the album engages with Puerto Rican identity shaped by colonialism and the Puerto Rican diaspora, confronting the impacts of political corruption, gentrification, and tourism on the island while simultaneously asserting a bold sense of place and belonging as a form of resistance to forces attempting to drive out the indigenous people of the island. Ultimately, Debí Tirar Más Fotos reclaims the origins of reggaetón by blending storytelling with political critique, positioning music as an influential space for cultural affirmation and anti-colonial expression.

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