Buscabulla

Buscabulla consists of an experimental Puerto Rican duo whose inventive, polished sound merges indie dance-pop and catchy electro tracks with polished funk alongside relaxed post-chill textures, all laced with abundant Boricua rhythms spanning bachata, reggaeton, merengue, bomba, plena, and salsa. Crowds have responded with enthusiasm to their sets in Brooklyn clubs, along Aguadilla’s white sands, and on the Coachella stage. Beginning with their self-titled debut EP issued by Kitsuné in 2014, continuing through the 2017 club hit “Tártaro” from their independently released second EP, and extending to the striking visual single “Vámono” in 2019, the pair deliberately erases lines separating popular and elite culture via creativity, activism, flair, and wit.

Raquel Berrios and Luis Alfredo Del Valle, two Puerto Rican émigrés residing in Brooklyn, New York, established the project. The pair first encountered each other in 2011 when Del Valle caught a house show featuring Berrios’ casual acoustic duo En Teta. They quickly connected, entered a romantic relationship, and, drawing on their shared creative leanings—she as a designer, songwriter, DJ, and music producer; he as a multi-instrumentalist—started collaborating musically. Adopting the Puerto Rican term Buscabulla, meaning “Troublemaker,” they soon sought platforms for their work.

A contest victory sponsored by Guitar Center and Converse granted them studio access and the involvement of producer Dev Hynes, resulting in their first EP. The four-track self-titled release appeared on Kitsuné Music in 2014 and received favorable notices. One track, “Métele,” featured in the award-winning documentary Mala Mala, which explores Puerto Rico’s transgender community. Producer Roberto Carlos Lange became an admirer, inviting the duo to open dates for his Helado Negro project and later contributing vocals to the song “Frio” on their second EP, aptly titled EP II. That release again drew strong reviews, as did the video for “Tártaro,” filmed inside a dilapidated love motel in Puerto Rico.

Following the devastation wrought by hurricanes Irma and Maria across Puerto Rico in summer 2017, more than 160,000 residents departed the island. Berrios and Del Valle chose the reverse path, relocating their base from New York back home to aid recovery efforts. Upon their return, Berrios launched the nonprofit PRIMA to support local artists facing hardship and encourage them to stay.

In late summer 2019 the duo released the single and video “Vámono,” a tribute to renewal and resistance. Employing organic drumline percussion and sweeping synths, they fused sharp club pulses with Puerto Rican cultural history and musical traditions. Directed by Claudia Calderon, the clip shows the pair departing the city and awakening on a beach; its vivid hot-pink scenes of costumed participants marching and performing through the streets of Arecibo and Hatillo revive the Festival de las Máscaras, which originated in 1823. The visual served as the first official preview of Regresa, the group’s debut full-length album, slated for spring 2020. Patrick Wimberly, known for work with Chairlift, Solange, and Blood Orange, handled additional production and mixing. In an interview Berrios stated that “Regresa is about self-acceptance of oneself with all our imperfections, and the acceptance of being back in Puerto Rico, with all its flaws.”