Why are people tagging Bad Bunny in videos of them crying? The DtMF TikTok trend explained
On 5 January 2025, Bad Bunny released his new album DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS and the internet hasn’t quite been the same since. The title roughly translates to “I should have taken more pictures,” and explores the artist’s love and nostalgia for his home Puerto Rico. And one of the tracks, ‘DtMF,’ which is an acronym for the album’s Spanish title, has gone viral over the past week with viewers filming themselves crying to it and tagging the artist in their clip. So, here is the internet’s hysteria over a Spanish song explained.
The song’s chorus goes: “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” and 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.”
The lyrics, while simple, struck a chord with many netizens, who felt similarly nostalgic about their childhood and hometowns.
Thus, the track offered the perfect ventil to let these feelings out in the form of tears while looking at old photographs:
@hill_clarke__ Just take more pictures. #dtmf #fyp #badbunny
♬ sonido original - 𝙅
@kimberlymunzz tiktok makes me cry everyday at this point #dtmf #badbunny #cry #lovedones #dtmfbadbunny
♬ sonido original - 𝙅
@vazquezjordan Benito got Latinos crying in the club again
♬ original sound - user57196996843
But considering how upbeat the melody is and that most videos don’t feature a detailed translation of the track, the trend led to some confusion around the app. Why are random creators crying to a Spanish song? What is ‘DtMF’ really about?
Luckily, the Spanish-speaking part of the app was happy to step up and enlighten people to the song’s deeper meaning.
“DtMF is the name of a song that just came out,” TikToker Jordan Vazquez explained in a clip where he showed himself crying. “It’s in Spanish and I’m still Latino. It started trending yesterday with people posting pictures of family or memories of family members that they’ve lost, so I fell down that rabbit hole.
“This has also been the coldest week I’ve ever had in New York, and my warmest coat is this one that my grandmother gave me, so just thinking about her a lot lately,” he continued.
@livbaron ♬ sonido original - Michi
The feelings of bittersweetness the song permeates are something that netizens could universally relate to, giving ‘DtMF’ a unique viral moment, as users started to share beautiful memories that are now laced with pain, grief, or regret.
@gob1ingirl #CapCut #fyp #greece #balkantiktok #greektiktok #trendingvideo #dtmf
♬ original sound - user57196996843
@mcamsssss Un beso al cielo. Defintivamnete DtMF de mi abuelo #bogota #CapCut #dtmf #badbunny #griefjourney #granpa #fyppppppppppppppppppppppp #video
♬ sonido original - Jhey :)
Still, some Spanish speaking creators felt the need to call out what they identified as the trivialisation of a highly political song and album.
“Imagine listening to Bad Bunny, specifically his new album, which talks about the gentrification of the island, being proud of where you come from, and always staying in touch with your roots, and then turning around and voting for somebody like Donald Trump,” Latin creator Jen argued.
@eres_rara #badbunny #dtmf #baileinolvidable #latinos
♬ original sound - Jen🍉
The influencer’s critique brings to mind disparaging remarks about Puerto Rico by a comedian at a rally for President-elect Trump in October 2024.
The comic, Tony Hinchcliffe, sparked outrage from Democrats and Republicans alike after referring to the US territory as a “floating island of garbage.”
Back then, Bad Bunny responded by releasing a video from his 2021 sold-out stadium concert in San Juan on Instagram. The eight minute video highlights, in Spanish, the pride he feels for the island, and was provocatively titled “garbage.”
The artist also posted an Instagram story in which he responded to the comments directly.
View this post on Instagram
“How are you not embarrassed if you’re telling me that you can listen to an album like this which specifically talks about people not wanting to leave their home countries but have to because of economic purposes, but always wishing that they could go back home,” Jen continued.
“Yet through all of that you remain incredibly proud of your culture and where you come from. Make it make sense. Because honestly, I feel like if you’re Latino and you voted for Donald Trump, you don’t have a right to listen to Benito’s music.”
People’s reaction to ‘DtMF’ shows how feelings of shared nostalgia and grief transcend language. Yet, the comments by some Spanish-speaking creators also reveal a desire for people to engage more deeply with their culture and the persons who created it, if they really desire a world of shared community and empathy with one another’s plights.
