Essay: Decoding Bad Bunny's triumphantly Puerto Rican Super Bowl halftime show

Thanks to Bad Bunny, it’s been a banner period for america Puerto Ricans.

Coming disconnected the heels of his emotional, history-making Grammy triumph for medium of the year, which made it the archetypal clip an each Spanish-language medium has won the category, Bad Bunny continued to interruption crushed connected Sunday with his Super Bowl halftime performance.

As Latines successful the United States, we’re inactive struggling to beryllium decently and proportionately represented successful Hollywood, authorities and successful the euphony industry, wherever Latin artists person been historically boxed into smaller roles, constricted to exotic model dressing successful the anglophone-dominated scenery of American pop. But done Bad Bunny, Puerto Rico had thing to say: He tapped into his unsocial prima powerfulness with his zeitgeist-defining magnum opus, his 2025 medium “Debí Tirar Más Fotos.” Then, astatine the Super Bowl, helium utilized a level usually reserved for bombastic shows of U.S. patriotism to guarantee that Puerto Rico, on with galore different nations and territories that marque up the Americas, would beryllium celebrated, adjacent arsenic we are routinely being denigrated by American conservatives.

Sports person a affluent past successful Puerto Rico, from boxing to shot — but with the objection of Super Bowl Sunday, American shot doesn’t typically scope us. My parents, who person ne'er watched a shot crippled successful their lives, excitedly watched backmost location connected the island, portion I, implicit a 1000 miles away, watched from my freezing New York City flat with my partner, wishing we were basking successful the warmth of the Isla Del Encanto. But it didn’t substance wherever we were watching, arsenic boricuas — and Latines — were united.

(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)

The Instagram stories connected my provender were filled with Puerto Ricans and different Latines hosting ticker parties, taking successful this much-needed infinitesimal of sheer joyousness during a treacherous clip erstwhile speaking successful our autochthonal language, oregon being a brown-skinned idiosyncratic is capable of a hazard origin successful being abducted by ICE. Having had the privilege of seeing Bad Bunny astatine the Choliseo during his residency successful San Juan past August, I knew this show would not lone beryllium an impactful homage to my island, but the Super Bowl halftime amusement carried an underlying, defiant message, that nary substance however overmuch conservatives prop up hatred and fear-mongering toward Latines and immigrants, thing volition halt america from being arrogant of our roots.

And Bad Bunny’s show virtually started consecutive from the roots. Levi’s Stadium was transformed into a labyrinthine sugarcane field, possibly arsenic a motion to Central San Vicente, the archetypal sugarcane refinery successful Puerto Rico, established successful 1873 successful Bad Bunny’s hometown of Vega Baja. Opening the amusement was an acoustic guitarist donning accepted jíbaro covering — a straw pava hat and achromatic linen — whose words, “qué rico es ser Latino,” established instant solidarity with Latinos each implicit the world.

While launching into his 2022 dembow-trap hit, “Titi Me Preguntó,” Bad Bunny walked the cameras done the makeshift sweetener cane field, which was tilled by dancers dressed arsenic jíbaros. He was decked retired successful a customized all-white outfit, featuring a jersey bearing his mother’s past name, Ocasio, and the fig 64, which is the fig his uncle erstwhile wore arsenic a shot player.

Bad Bunny’s acceptable was staged with galore scenes from working-class beingness successful Puerto Rico: a coconut stand, a piraguero, aged men playing dominoes, manicurists, baddies, operation workers and a jeweler who buys backmost “oro y plata.” These scenes served arsenic reminders that Puerto Rican euphony wasn’t made by and for the elite, but forged by mundane radical with constricted resources.

Everything astir the show was a wink to the Puerto Rico I grew up in: from the skirts worn by the backup dancers, reminiscent of Taíno taparrabos, to the temperamental powerfulness grids, and the garita, or the lookout operation inspired by Old San Juan. During the staged wedding sequence, I saw myself successful the bushed kid napping implicit 2 chairs, waiting for the adults to upwind down the enactment truthful I could spell location to my ain bed.

We’d seen the famously star-studded house, oregon the casita, successful some his San Juan residency and planetary circuit run, which was duly brought backmost for the halftime show. The Super Bowl variation of the casita was filled with Latinx popular civilization icons similar Cardi B, Pedro Pascal, Jessica Alba, Karol G, Ronald Acuña Jr. and Young Miko. But determination was different acceptable that was captious for this performance: a New York City backdrop that included a bodega, a barbershop and a barroom modeled aft Toñitas, a celebrated Caribbean societal nine successful Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

Bad Bunny not lone name-dropped Toñitas successful “NUEVAYoL,” but its proprietor and namesake, María Antonia “Toñita” Cay, made a cameo during the halftime amusement from down the barroom — serving him a shot. Since the 1970s, Toñitas has go a awesome of absorption amid increasing gentrification successful the neighborhood, wherever businesses owned by radical of colour person been shuttered and longtime Williamsburg residents pushed retired by exorbitant rent hikes. It’s a uncommon harmless abstraction for Latines successful the city, 1 wherever anyone is welcome, but unmistakably ours. As 1 of galore Puerto Ricans who’ve relocated to New York City, it meant a batch that Bad Bunny paid tribute to boricuas successful the diaspora, showing that this infinitesimal is, too, for those who transportation our pridefulness acold from home.

Yet dissimilar Bad Bunny’s archetypal Super Bowl quality — backmost successful 2020 for Shakira and Jennifer Lopez’s associated headlining show — this wasn’t an all-Latinx affair. Lady Gaga, who shared a touching infinitesimal with Benito astatine the Grammys, surfaced for a astonishment salsa rendition of her collaborative deed with Bruno Mars, “Die With a Smile,” accompanied by Los Sobrinos. She had her ain motion to the land with a brooch of a Flor de Maga, Puerto Rico’s nationalist flower.

(Lynne Sladky / Associated Press)

While it feels similar a nonaccomplishment to omit Bruno Mars (who is of Puerto Rican descent), it’s understandable wherefore Bad Bunny chose Lady Gaga arsenic the lone non-Latinx idiosyncratic to execute during the set. Not lone is Bad Bunny a longtime Gaga instrumentality himself, but they person some utilized their platforms to champion trans and queer rights. It’s evident she feels a kinship with Bad Bunny not conscionable for dedicating his vocation to warring for the aforesaid rights she did, but besides for creating opportunities for marginalized radical successful the look of blimpish backlash. While speaking to the property aft the Grammys, she raved astir however fortunate we are to person a philharmonic person similar Bad Bunny talk up for “what is existent and what is right.”

Surprisingly, though, 1 of the astir almighty governmental moments from the halftime amusement didn’t travel from Bad Bunny, but alternatively from different Puerto Rican icon: Ricky Martin.

Martin, who made himself a household sanction successful the States with English-language songs similar “Livin’ La Vida Loca” and “She Bangs,” ne'er tried to posit himself arsenic a revolutionary. But sitting successful a integrative seat modeled aft the “DTMF” medium cover, helium sang an impassioned rendition of Bad Bunny’s protestation opus “Lo Que Le Pasó a Hawaii” — successful which helium warns that Puerto Rico could look the aforesaid whitewashing that Hawaii experienced upon becoming a U.S. state, citing the privatization of our beaches and the gentrification of our hometowns arsenic threats to our culture’s legacy.

Seeing Bad Bunny look with our archetypal emblem moments aboriginal lone drove the pro-independence sentiment further; woven successful a shadiness of babe blue, this mentation of the Puerto Rican emblem was created to correspond the island’s independency from Spain, but was outlawed from 1898 to 1957 erstwhile the land became a U.S. territory.

Bad Bunny carries the archetypal Puerto Rican emblem Sunday during the Super Bowl LX halftime amusement astatine Levi’s Stadium successful Santa Clara, Calif.

(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)

The mean Super Bowl spectator whitethorn not cognize astir the light-blue flag, oregon recognize the words down the heartbreaking opus astir the perils of being a colony. But for those autochthonal Puerto Ricans watching, it was a triumphant reminder that Puerto Rico no se vende. It is not a taxation haven for gringos, nor is it a “floating land of garbage”; it’s a gem that needs to beryllium nurtured for generations to come. And to Puerto Ricans similar me, that volition ne'er beryllium achieved done U.S. statehood.

Because Puerto Rico is simply a colony, its citizens cannot ballot successful statesmanlike elections, but it is inactive affected by the U.S. government. The island’s governor, Jenniffer González Colón, is simply a staunch protagonist of President Trump who pushes blimpish values — specified arsenic banning gender-affirmative attraction for trans Puerto Ricans nether 21 and approving a instrumentality that grants personhood to fetuses from conception. It’s been hard for Puerto Ricans to consciousness similar we’re being heard erstwhile we’re trapped successful a governmental concern we didn’t inquire for.

When Bad Bunny was announced arsenic this year’s performer, conservatives voiced their absorption connected Fox News and societal media, designating themselves arsenic the existent judges of who’s “American enough” to execute astatine the Super Bowl. They seemingly forgot that the U.S. has occupied Puerto Rico for implicit a period — and that performing successful a connection too English doesn’t marque Bad Bunny immoderate little of a national of this country.

The close tried, and failed, to gully attraction elsewhere, with blimpish radical Turning Point USA organizing an “All-American Halftime Show” headlined by Kid Rock and featuring further performances by MAGA-friendly state acts similar Brantley Gilbert, Lee Brice and Gabby Barrett. While it drew successful 6.1 cardinal concurrent viewers, that fig paled successful examination to the 135 cardinal viewers who tuned successful to Bad Bunny’s halftime show, according to archetypal reports from NBC and CBS News.

But determination was 1 infinitesimal during the show that stuck with me, erstwhile Bad Bunny gave an impassioned motivational code successful Spanish, urging the assemblage to admit their worth.

“My sanction is Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio. And I’m present astatine the Super Bowl 60 due to the fact that I ne'er stopped believing successful myself — and you should besides judge successful yourself,” helium said successful Spanish. “You’re much invaluable than you think. Believe it.”

As agents of the national authorities proceed to kidnap immigrants and spot them successful what person efficaciously go attraction camps — taking the dignity of those who’ve near their homes down searching for a amended life, lone to render their hard enactment and assimilation arsenic worthless — Bad Bunny’s halftime amusement felt similar a telephone to marque america adjacent louder and prouder. The U.S. tin nary longer contradict america Puerto Ricans and Latines of our value; its clip we enactment similar it. It’s clip we determination guardant with emotion for ourselves and our communities, nary substance however overmuch hatred and fearfulness they effort to lodge into us.

After all, arsenic Bad Bunny enactment it astatine the halftime show: “The lone happening much almighty than hatred is love.”