Benito Bowl: The political undertones of the Super-Bowl

Benito Antonio Martinez Ocasio, also known as Bad Bunny, was announced as the Apple Music Super Bowl LX Halftime Show headliner on Sept. 28, 2025. Bad Bunny became the first Spanish-language solo artist to headline the Super Bowl and hit the stage on Feb. 8 at Levi’s Stadium. 

Following the announcement in September came a lot of criticism from conservatives, the president, and Fox News commenters. This led to Turning Point USA creating their own alternative “All American” halftime show. 

This criticism stemmed from comments made about Bad Bunny singing all Spanish songs, calling it “language exclusivity” and “too woke”  for being politically vocal about his opposition of the U.S. immigration policies. 

However, this criticism did not stop Bad Bunny from becoming the fourth most watched Super Bowl Halftime Performance, behind Kendrick Lamar (2025), Michael Jackson (1993) and Usher (2024). NBC’s official data for the Feb. 8, 2026 game confirms an averaged 128.2 million figure of viewers. 

Bad Bunny fans and viewers were anticipating this show for the political statement they expected Bad Bunny to demonstrate, porque la musica es mucha mas, es politica, es para la communidad. 

The performance began with the football field being completely transformed into a Puerto Rico sugarcane field, paying homage to Bad Bunny’s roots. From the fields emerge people dressed as 19th century laborers known as “jíbaros” while wearing their signature “pava” straw hats. 

Bad Bunny started with his hit song, “Tití Me Preguntó,” walking through sets of carts de “CoCo Frio” and colorful Piragua (shaved ice) carts, to highlight island street culture.

Leaving the fields he then enters a new but familiar set, “La Casita”, that has been featured in his No Me Quiero Ir De Aquí residency and Debí Tirar Más Fotos World Tour. “La Casita” represents Puerto Rican homes, paying homage to the social tradition of marquesinas, house parties that often take place in the garage or car port of a person’s home. The scene featured a bunch of celebrities dancing around during Bad Bunny’s reggaeton hits, from Karol G, Cardi B, Jessica Alba, David Grutman, Pedro Pascal, and Young Miko.

Following the singer’s lively mashup of “Yo Perreo Sola” and “Voy a Llevarte Pa’ PR,” he played a short snippet of Puerto Rican reggaeton rapper Daddy Yankee’s iconic 2004 hit “Gasolina.”

“You’re listening to music from Puerto Rico,” Bad Bunny said in Spanish. “From the barrios and the projects.”

A dance montage then breaks out, as he performs his song, “EoO” on top of a vintage green and white 1970 Ford F-250 pickup truck that he uses as a stage. 

Después de eso, the camera panels towards an animated Sapo Concho (Puerto Rican crested toad), dressed-up mascot representing the endangered species native to his home island. It appeared on screen as a character from his “Debí Tirar Más Fotos” album era, serving as a symbol of Puerto Rican culture, nostalgia and environmental advocacy. 

Straight after we enter back into the sugar canes, with dozens of violins playing “Monaco” as Bad Bunny delivers a message in Spanish, that reads in English, 

“My name is Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio and if I’m here today at Super Bowl 60, it’s because I never stopped believing in myself,” the singer said. “You should believe in yourself too. You’re worth more than you think. Trust me.”

Some featured artists included Lady Gaga, who performed a salsa version of her hit song, “Die With A Smile”, while wearing a custom baby-blue Luar gown designed by Raul Lopez as a direct, symbolic homage to Puerto Rican pride. The light blue color, along with red accessories, honored the 1895 Puerto Rican flag and culture.

Bad Bunny then continued his homage to salsa by performing “Baile Inolvidable” and “NUEVA YoL,” a song that samples the iconic salsa song “Un Verano en Nueva York“ by El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico, before falling off the roof of “La Marqueta”. For “NUEVA YoL,” Bad Bunny brought a set of bodegas from New York City and a cameo from the famous “Toñita,” who runs the last Puerto Rican social club in Brooklyn. 

Straight after the song finishes the camera pans over to a family watching Bad Bunny win his grammy on the TV, Bad Bunny then hands over his grammy to a little boy, a touching highlight to inspire our brown youth.

Ricky Martin then sang Bad Bunny’s heartbreaking hit “Lo Que Le Pasó a Hawaii,” a song from Bad Bunny’s 2025 album “Debí Tirar Más Fotos”, which serves as a cautionary tale that addresses the rapid gentrification and displacement of local communities in Puerto Rico, drawing direct parallels to the historical experience of Hawaii. 

Bad Bunny then starts to wrap up the performance by climbing up a malfunctioning electric pole to sing “El Apagón,” a song about recurrent power outages in Puerto Rico following Hurricane Maria in 2017. 

The halftime show ends with the tune of “CAFé CON RON” and “DtMF,” sharing a message of unity, while shouting out all the countries across North, Central and South America while dancers waved various flags behind him. 

A huge bulletin sign behind him shared “El Conejo Malo’s” last message and much needed takeaway, “The only thing more powerful than hate is love”.