Fuente de la imagen, Getty Images
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- Autor, Redacción
- Título del autor, BBC News Mundo
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Tiempo de lectura: 7 min
A Latin party and a love letter to his native Puerto Rico.
That’s how Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl halftime reveal unfolded on Sunday, one of the most coveted stages for performers. The performance, which featured surprise appearances from Lady Gaga and Ricky Martin, underscored the artist’s massive cultural impact.
The show, lasting just over 13 minutes, was packed with messages and symbolism, and featured unexpected performances by Lady Gaga and Puerto Rican icon Ricky Martin.
Cameos also included actor Pedro Pascal (of Chilean descent), rapper Cardi B (of Dominican family), and Colombian singer Karol G, all seen dancing on the porch of the artist’s famous “casita,” a traditional Puerto Rican house that’s a staple of his performances.
Transporting viewers through sets evoking Latin American history and culture—including a sugarcane plantation, a barbershop, and his iconic pair of plastic chairs under a banana tree—Bad Bunny performed a medley of his biggest hits, including “Tití me preguntó,” “El apagón,” and “NUEVAYoL.”
There was significant anticipation about whether his performance would include messages against the Trump administration and its immigration policies, given the artist’s outspokenness on the issue in the past.
At the Super Bowl, however, he opted for a message of unity and celebration, delivering it entirely in Spanish and reiterating that America is a continent, not a country.
1. “Nunca dejé de creer en mí”
Fuente de la imagen, NFL/Apple Music
“My name is Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio and if I’m here at Super Bowl LX today, it’s because I never stopped believing in myself,” he said during his performance.
“You should also believe in yourself. You are worth more than you think, believe me,” he added.
The 31-year-old musician, born in the humble coastal town of Vega Baja in northern Puerto Rico, began his career uploading songs to SoundCloud while working as a packer in a supermarket.
Since then, he has achieved numerous awards and records, including recognition as the world’s most-streamed artist on Spotify in 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2025.
He is also the only artist to win the Grammy Award for Album of the Year with a Spanish-language album for his successful “DtMF.”
That young man who grew up in Puerto Rico and never gave up reappeared later in a touching moment of the show, when Bad Bunny gave one of his Grammy awards to a young fan.
Fuente de la imagen, Getty Images
2. The Cultural Value of the Everyday
As is often the case with his performances, the concert was full of symbols evoking his native Puerto Rico, with scenes highlighting the value of everyday experiences.
There were no shortages of *piragua* (shaved ice) carts, the *cuatro* (Puerto Rico’s national instrument), dancers dressed as *jíbaros* (traditional farmers), domino games, barbershops, salons with women getting their nails done, and, of course, the pink “casita” that’s part of the scenery of his current world tour.
Fuente de la imagen, Getty Images
3. The Blackouts on the Island
A moment of great symbolic weight came when Bad Bunny performed the song “El apagón” while standing on one of the typical light posts in Puerto Rico.
The song denounces the power outages that are commonplace on the island, which has an outdated power grid, especially since Hurricane Maria in 2017.
Reports even attribute the number 64 on the jersey he wore to the official death toll reported after the hurricane, which subsequently rose to nearly 3,000.
Fuente de la imagen, Getty Images
From that same pole, he sang the provocative lyrics: “Now everyone wants to be Latino’ / But they lack flavor, battery and reggaeton.”
4. America is a Continent, Not a Country
Bad Bunny uttered a message in English: “God bless America.”
However, he then began naming countries and territories throughout the American continent, leading a parade of flags.
Fuente de la imagen, Getty Images
And before finishing with the football with nails—with the inscription in English “Together, We Are America”—he commented in Spanish: “We are still here.”
5. Refused to Speak in English
As mentioned earlier, the only phrase the Puerto Rican musician uttered in English was “God bless America”.
In October, just a few days after accepting the assignment to perform at the show, Bad Bunny said on the iconic comedy program “Saturday Night Live” on NBC (the network that holds the rights to the Super Bowl) that there were four months left until his concert.
His words caused a stir, but he later retracted them.
6. A Celebration of Puerto Rico and Latin Culture
In addition to being an ode to his native Puerto Rico, the show at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, also referenced Latin American culture in general.
Fuente de la imagen, Getty Images
That was reflected through fleeting moments, such as the scene of a child sleeping in chairs in the middle of a wedding, a classic postcard of Latin American weddings where the party can proceed on endlessly into the night.
Latin culture was also faithfully represented through the vibe of the concert itself, where political and social criticism came with dancing, sensuality, and smiles.
Following the performance, President Trump wrote on Truth Social that it was “one of the worst halftime shows in Super Bowl history.”
He added: “Nobody even understands a word this guy is saying.”
Perhaps not everyone understands his words, but his music, as demonstrated by the numerous awards he continues to accumulate throughout his career, has reached the hearts of many.
