Bad Bunny’s album is a love letter to the iconic white plastic chair at family gatherings
When Bad Bunny dropped his latest album on 6 January, DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOTos, the world didn’t just tune into his music, they also got the opportunity to revisit a piece of furniture considered by many as a global symbol of community and culture. I’m of course talking about the iconic plastic white chair. Nostalgia plays a crucial role in Bad Bunny’s music, so it’s no surprise that placing two instantly recognisable chairs on the front of his album cover art sparked widespread online conversation about the power of connection and family.
Let’s start with the obvious. Bad Bunny’s album is unapologetically Puerto Rican, with each track communicating a different aspect of his relationship with his homeland. It speaks to generations of Latinos who can feel the weight of migration, the longing for home, and the raw beauty of remembering where you came from. And right there, in the middle of all the heartfelt verses about his heritage and struggles, there’s a set of two plastic white chairs front and centre.
Bad Bunny has created an album that resonates with those in the diaspora even though many of us don’t speak or understand Spanish.
These white plastic chairs are like cups of tea or coffee. They are often where the most wholesome and deepest conversations are had pic.twitter.com/oNKAL5ZEKz
— Loujane لوجين (@loujanealasi) January 16, 2025
Now, for those of us with roots in any Mediterranean, Asian, African or Latin culture, the plastic white chair isn’t exactly a new phenomenon. If you grew up in Italy, the Dominican Republic, or Puerto Rico, this chair might as well be a family member. It’s the go-to seat for every backyard party, every summer gathering, birthday party, every conversation with the old uncles or aunts gossiping about the past, and probably the seat of choice for the more inebriated relatives who still think it’s a good idea to argue politics after finishing off three cases of beer.
bad bunny’s new album proved that, no matter what language you speak, no matter what your culture your from – we’re all connected by plastic white chairs
— 🌬️ (@rizaocean) January 12, 2025
But let’s explain why Bad Bunny’s recent shout-out to the humble plastic chair has prompted such a powerful and sentimental response.
Bad Bunny’s use of the white plastic chair is uniting fans out of nostalgia
I’m Italian. Yes, the place where people have summer lunches under an umbrella (an ombrellone, as we call it) on the beach, trying to escape the sweltering heat. And guess what? The plastic white chair was right there, with all of us. As a kid, it was where I spent my time watching random men drinking Birra Moretti and arguing over chess games. And then there were the grandmothers, carefully braiding our hair with the grace only a mother could offer, using these plastic chairs as their base of operations. Meanwhile, us kids were running around, dodging and weaving between the chairs, playing games, doing our summer homework—or just avoiding it altogether.
But it wasn’t just about the chair, was it? It was about what that chair represented. It’s a symbol of home. The symbol of family gatherings, the symbol of summers that never quite ended, the symbol of something deeply ingrained in the fabric of our lives. This is where we come from. This is where we find ourselves.
And here comes Bad Bunny, throwing that chair into the spotlight, reminding us of the little things we take for granted:
@ben_jamin_witu So many layers to this album. From the lyrics to the cover. @Bad Bunny is speaking to so many of us who are seeing our memories slowly be gentrified. #dtmf #landback #everywhere
♬ sonido original - 𝙅
@thidanakok How stunning is it that something as simple as a plastic chair hold so many memories for so many of us💗 #dtmf #badbunnypr #monoblock #fyp
♬ sonido original - 𝙅
The chair is a literal icon of nostalgia, connecting the dots between generations and nationalities. I’m Italian, you’re Puerto Rican, they’re Dominican, but we’re all sitting in the same white plastic chair, sipping whatever drink we’ve got in hand, reflecting on our roots.
In a time of political turbulence and hate, the white plastic chair becomes a symbol of unity
We’re living in a time when the world feels more divided than ever, politically and socially. And in response, Bad Bunny has done something that not only unites Latinx culture but in a way, globalises it. In a moment when far-right politics are on the rise when we’re witnessing a resurgence of nationalism and ostracisation, Bad Bunny is bringing us back to a space of unity. The singer is reminding us of our heritage in the most organic and unpretentious way possible.
@screenshothq Can we take a moment to talk about Bad Bunny’s new album? Debi Tirar Mas Fotos is an absolute banger! Everyone’s raving about it, which feels like a love letter to Puerto Rico. The song DtMf has sparked a wave of nostalgia, inspiring an emotional trend where people reflect on not taking enough photos with their loved ones. 🥹 We went around London with the iconic plastic chair featured in the album’s cover, to ask people exactly that. #badbunny #streetinterview #voxpop #DtMf #debitirarmasfoto
♬ original sound - SCREENSHOT
@ida_rmh Sitting in one of these means being surrounded by family, friends and having the most funny or deep conversations. @Bad Bunny #badbunny #badbunnypr
♬ original sound - user57196996843
And it’s not just older generations reflecting on their roots—Gen Z is leading the charge this time. All over social media, young people are sharing their own experiences, posting videos with the iconic plastic white chair, or even crying as they listen to the album’s raw, emotional lyrics.
@sweatconsteff Who else 😭😭😭 #badbunny #puertorico
♬ original sound - Steff
@valerielozada Mi abuelas reactio to “NUEVAYoL” by Bad Bunny. 🇵🇷🇵🇷🇵🇷#puertorico #PR #fyp #abuela #grandma #reaction
♬ original sound - Valerie Lozada ᝰღᝰ
Why is the monoblock white plastic chair so popular?
Let’s be real for a second—the Monobloc chair is hardly a thing of beauty. You won’t find it gracing the pages of design magazines or on the cover of Architectural Digest. It’s cheap, flimsy, and, honestly, kind of hideous. But that’s exactly why it works. This white plastic chair isn’t here to be fancy, it’s here to represent real life and most importantly, be reliable.
The Monobloc chair is a lightweight, stackable polypropylene seat, typically white, and arguably the most widely used piece of furniture in the world. Its name comes from “mono” (one) and “bloc” (block), referring to the fact that it’s moulded from a single piece of plastic. Found in gardens across Europe, cafés in Africa, and street-side restaurants in Asia, it’s the go-to for cheap, durable seating.
@iamtancia I love the MONOBLOC ♥️ Some of these images were taken from the MONOBLOC book I have at home. Also thank you @Bad Bunny for making such a powerful and liberating album ✨🤟🏾💪🏾♥️ #fyp #badbunnypr #interiordesign
♬ sonido original - 𝙅
Bad Bunny took something as basic and as ubiquitous as the plastic white chair to tell us that our history, our heritage, and the things that seem insignificant are the very things that make us who we are.
In today’s world, where mainstream media and pop culture often try to commodify everything, Bad Bunny is unapologetically raw. The artist is rejecting conformity, and in doing so, he’s connecting people—all people—through the universal experience of identity and nostalgia. And hey, for once, we’re not hearing him shout “Bad Bunnnyyyyy” at the beginning of every song, which, let’s be real, is a strong indicator that this album is going to be something special.
As the singer continues to break down barriers in the reggaetón world—rejecting machismo and homophobia, blending genres, and sticking to his roots—he’s giving us something to hold on to.
As Bad Bunny has made clear in the past, he’s all about doing things his way. That means celebrating his culture while also pushing back against the misogyny and homophobia that often plague reggaetón and the Latin trap.
