Bad Bunny transformed the Super Bowl LX halftime show into a showcase of Puerto Rican culture and history, delivering a performance filled with symbolic references to his homeland’s struggles and identity.
The elaborate production began with an unusual agricultural setting at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara.
The artist turned the field into a replica sugar cane plantation while performing his hit song Tití Me Preguntó.
The choice of staging drew attention from observers who noted its historical significance.
Dr. Allison Wiltz commented on X about the deeper meaning behind the imagery.
“The history of sugar slavery runs deep throughout the Southern states, the Caribbean, and parts of South America,” Dr. Wiltz wrote.
“His performance was brilliant, thought provoking, well executed.”
The stage design incorporated additional elements reflecting Puerto Rico’s ongoing challenges. Imagery of exploding power grids appeared throughout the show, referencing the island’s persistent electrical infrastructure problems.
Puerto Rico has experienced frequent and prolonged blackouts in recent years. The territory’s electrical system faces ongoing reliability issues that worsen during hurricane season.
Bad Bunny has previously addressed these concerns in his work.
In 2022, he released a mini documentary titled El Apagón, which translates to “Power Outage” in English, focusing specifically on the island’s electricity crisis.
Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico’s power grid in 2017, leaving the territory without electricity for months.
Five years later, Hurricane Fiona knocked out 100 percent of the grid for weeks.
The artist, who performs exclusively in Spanish, holds the distinction of being the most-streamed artist globally according to Spotify.
He was born in Puerto Rico, a United States territory.
During the performance, Bad Bunny prominently displayed the Puerto Rican flag.
The flag he carried appeared to feature a lighter blue shade, a color frequently associated with the island’s pro-independence movement.
This was not the first time the artist has referenced the flag in his work.
In his song La Mudanza, he sings that he “brings it everywhere I want now,” a lyric that points to Puerto Rico’s historical gag law.
That law made it illegal to own the Puerto Rican flag from 1948 until 1957.
Bad Bunny has previously incorporated pro-independence imagery into his music videos and supported political candidates favoring Puerto Rican separation from the United States.
At one point during the show, the performer introduced himself using his full Spanish name, Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio.
He spoke entirely in Spanish while encouraging the crowd to “believe in yourself.”
A message flashed across the video screen declaring, “The only thing more powerful than hate is love.” The artist then proclaimed, “God Bless America!”
He proceeded to name countries across North, South and Latin America as performers carried those nations’ flags onto the field.
Most countries were listed in Spanish before he switched to English near the end of the sequence.
The United States and Canada were the final countries named.
He concluded with a tribute to his home, saying, “And my motherland, Puerto Rico.” He then displayed a football bearing the message, “Together we are America.”
Fellow Puerto Rican artist Ricky Martin joined the halftime show to perform the track Lo que le pasó a Hawaii.
Translated as “What happened to Hawaii” in English, the song includes the lyric, “I don’t want them to do to you what they did to Hawaii.”
Observers have interpreted these lyrics as commentary on America’s governance of Hawaii and discussions surrounding gentrification in Puerto Rico and potential statehood.
The artist notably avoided mentioning Immigration and Customs Enforcement directly during his performance.
This restraint contrasted with his Grammy Awards acceptance speech on February 1, where he won three awards.
“Before I say thanks to God, I’m going to say: ICE Out,” the Puerto Rican star stated while receiving his first award.
During the halftime show, Bad Bunny appeared to offer one of his Grammy Awards to a young boy watching television.
Some fans mistakenly believed the child was Liam Conejo Ramos, the five-year-old detained by ICE agents in Minnesota last month before being released.
President Donald Trump criticized the performance on Truth Social, calling it “absolutely terrible” and “one of the worst, EVER!”
He stated it “makes no sense, is an affront to the Greatness of America, and doesn’t represent our standards of Success, Creativity, or Excellence.”
Trump added, “Nobody understands a word this guy is saying, and the dancing is disgusting, especially for young children that are watching from throughout the U.S.A., and all over the World.”
Millions of NFL fans chose an alternative option on Sunday night. Turning Point USA offered an “All-American” Super Bowl halftime show that drew significant viewership.
The program began with a host honoring Turning Point USA’s late founder Charlie Kirk, who was murdered in September.
Kid Rock headlined the MAGA-aligned performance alongside Brantley Gilbert, Lee Brice and Gabby Barrett.
The TPUSA show attracted more than five million viewers at its peak viewership point, according to media reports.
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