Official pics just came in, so here’s the obligatory Ph.Done post! ❤️ Joining the 1% of Latinos with a PhD, representing my beautiful Puerto Rico proudly. 🇵🇷 Thanks to each and every person who lifted me up along the way and believed in me when I wasn’t able to myself. This is for all the queer brown kids out there, and all the ones before me who didn’t get this chance. 🥺 Officially Dr. Derek Manuel García Almedina, PhD in Chemistry with a focus on Chemical Biology. Dissertation: Tyrosinase-enabled modular construction of bispecific antibodies.
Proud of the story told by my stretch marks; scars of a battle that started exactly two years ago. They're a constant reminder of how far I've come and how huge my transformation has been, but also of what I can accomplish when I set my sights on it. ❤️
Thanks @justinthaiphoto for an amazing shot 📷
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#gay #fit #fitness #fitnessmotivation #bodybuilding #transformation #gaymen #gayfit #gaymodel #hairychest #hairymuscle #pits
“Shhhh, cuida’o que nadie nos escuche”
Benito Bowl number for @princess.4evr 🐰👑
Dancing for Benito (@lavicky.pr ) as a bush 🌴 with @briagaia , an all-Puerto Rican ensemble 🇵🇷❤️
Had so much fun with this performance! 😍
@badbunnypr
Twenty nine. Kind of feels like when the music speeds up in Super Mario as time runs out on my twenties. This whole past week my mind has been on overdrive taking stock of everything I would still like to accomplish before moving on to the next decade of my life. Today I’m instead going to celebrate myself and all I HAVE accomplished by 29. Because when I sit down and think about that, I realize I’m pretty damn awesome! Happy birthday to me! 🎂 Photo 📸 credits and special thanks: @queeringbeauty
I’ve been sitting on these photos and videos from Bad Bunny’s residency for a while, struggling to find the right words. Today felt like the right moment - on the anniversary of the DTMF album, and on the same day I leave the island once again, heading back to California after a trip full of joy, love, and unforgettable moments with family and friends.
I leave with my heart full… and broken.
For weeks I was “disfrutando de todas esas cosas que extrañan los que se van”, knowing that I’m the one who left — the one destined to miss birthdays, everyday moments, and pieces of home. I sing “ojalá que los míos nunca se muden” and then remember that I’m the one who moved away, and the weight of it all hits me at once.
When DTMF came out last year, I couldn’t listen to it without crying. Benito knew exactly how to speak to the diaspora, how to pull at our heartstrings and at the quiet ache we carry. I knew I had to be at the concert and I knew I’d show up proudly dressed as a jibarito.
Then he announced the Residency. Historic, cultural, bigger than music. Somehow, my best friend secured a ticket purchase code, and I made the trip surrounded by people who understood exactly what this meant to me. Every part of it was magical. The residency itself was everything I dreamed of and more: the best concert I’ve ever experienced.
This wasn’t just a show. It was a cultural moment that began the second you landed at SJU and lived everywhere on the island. I had never seen Puerto Rican culture celebrated like this - by locals and visitors alike. I had never felt so proud to be Puerto Rican.
That pride has only grown, especially in the face of the racism and xenophobia Latinos continue to endure in the U.S. I chose to share small glimpses here, but what you can’t see is how deeply emotional this was for me.
Gracias, Benito. 🇵🇷
