While the Internet Debates Jay-Z, Let’s Remember Bad Bunny’s Halftime Moment

By Giselle Quinatana

SINCE football season is here, football fans and music lovers alike have come together to have an important discussion about who the Super Bowl LXI’s halftime show artist for February 2027.

Recently, the NFL confirmed that their next headliner is Jay-Z, parking plenty of discussion online. Individuals on the internet expressed their disappointment and shared the artists they would rather see take the stage, including the rapper’s wife, Beyoncé, as well as Miley Cyrus,

Alicia Keys, Taylor Swift, and Sabrina Carpenter, to name a few.

Much of the criticism surrounding Jay-Z stems from his talent and entertainment company, Roc Nation, and its long-term partnership with the NFL. Roc Nation has played a major role in selecting the half-time show performer/s for several years; many have questioned his choice and felt it was unfair that the rapper is taking the spotlight himself, arguing that he essentially chose himself.

While the internet continues to debate who should headline next year’s show, I want to take a moment to look back at this year’s halftime performance by the Puerto Rican rapper, Bad Bunny – a performance that shook the nation for its music, political, and cultural controversy.

Bad Bunny made a political statement and represented his island's complex history while celebrating the resilience of his people

Bad Bunny’s performance started off strong; his opening song “Titi Me Pregunto” showed Puerto Ricans working in a sugarcane field before transitioning to the football field, where the stage had been transformed into a field. The sugarcane fields became a central visual theme throughout the performance and set the tone that this show was intentionally deeply rooted and inspired by Puerto Rico’s culture and history.

The sugarcane fields represented an important part of Puerto Rico’s history, as for several centuries the Europeans and American’s relied heavily on Puerto Rico’s sugarcane industry which depended heavily on enslaved African labor and future generations of working-class laborers. By incorporating sugarcane and performers dressed as

workers wearing pavas (straw hats), Bad Bunny made a political statement and represented his island's complex history while celebrating the resilience of his people.

As his performance continues, his set reveals several things associated with his Puerto Rican culture or things from his upbringing, like tios (uncles) drinking and playing dominoes, los salones de unas (the nail salons), the piragua cart selling shaved ice, a taco vendor, two

boxers—one from Puerto Rico and the other from Mexico—and a jewelry vendor. These details celebrate not only Puerto Rico’s history but also the people, places, and cultural traditions that made his Latino upbringing unique. Important details of this were relatable to Puerto Ricans as well as other Latinos like me.

He then transitions to being on top of his famous casita (house) as he sings “Yo Perreo Sola.” His dancers all perform perreo, a popular dance style for reggaeton and dembow music. Perreo also has a complex history since in the early 1990s-2000s it was considered too “vulgar,” "ghetto," and "sexual," to the point where even authorities were trying to censor the dance. But now it is considered empowering, and it is an important style of dance associated with Puerto Rican

music.

Bad Bunny also did a brief remix using Daddy Yankee’s " Gasolina " as a way to pay homage to another very popular PR artist who paved the way for him before once again transitioning to a very sentimental speech as he prepared to perform "MONACO."

He praises himself, he mentions “Nunca deje creer en mi," which translates to “I never stopped believing in me." And "tú también deberías creer en ti, vales más de lo que pienzas," which

translates to “you should believe in yourself too; you’re worth more than you think." It leaves an important message for his viewers, reminding them that anything is possible if they believe.

Along with a heartfelt performance of a salsa remix of Lady Gaga’s " Die with a Smile.” Bad Bunny continued to show love for his roots once again as he sang "NUEV AYoL" (New York). His background this time represents New York bodegas, specifically in the Bronx, where a large

population of Puerto Ricans lives. He then concludes the performance by handing his Grammy to a young child watching him on TV , symbolizing the passing of the torch to the next generation of artists.

Ricky Martin also made an important cameo, singing “Lo Que Le Paso a Hawaii” (What Happened to Hawaii) while sitting in a white plastic chair—a classic, well-known piece of furniture across many cultures that holds stories and memories. Ricky Martin sang a protest song

about outside forces threatening Puerto Rican culture and pushing local communities out of their own neighborhoods, and also referencing the issue of gentrification and tourism in the island,

which is stripping Puerto Rico’s culture away.

Ricky Martin sang, "Quieren quitarme el rio, y tambien la playa. Quieren el barrio mio y que abuelita se vaya," which translates to “They want to take my river and the beach. They want my neighborhood and for grandma to leave.” And “No suelten la bandera, ni olviden el lelolai que no quiero que hagan contigo lo que le paso a Hawaii," which translates to “Don’t let the flag go, don’t forget the lelolai [a famous PR phrase] because I don’t want them to do to you what they did to Hawaii.” The lyrics warn Puerto Ricans to protect their culture, the land, and its tradition so that they also do not lose their island and its control like Hawaii.

Bad Bunny continued this message with “El Apagón” (the blackout), a very upbeat yet equally controversial song. His dancers were performing atop damaged utility poles to protest Puerto Rico's severe energy crisis and chronic blackouts. The lyrics praise his love for Puerto Rico, singing about how great the country is, while also dissing greedy politicians in the nation who did not care about his people.

He had a large screen that had his motto, “The only thing more powerful than hate is love."

His most controversial lyric in this song is, “ahora todos quieren

ser Latinos pero les falta sazon, bateria y reggaeton,” which translates to "everyone wants to be Latino, but they lack flavor, drums, and reggaeton." The line can be understood as a criticism of people who embrace Latino culture without understanding or respecting its roots, or for certain politicians who express their dislike for Latino communities, yet want the culture but not the people.

The song also addresses tourism, displacement, and outside investors, emphasizing that Puerto Rico belongs to its people. While not all of the song was performed, there is a line towards the end where he refers to tourists/colonizers, says that PR belongs to him, and demands they leave because the beach belongs to him and he’s not leaving.

And as his night came to an end, Bad Bunny ended even stronger than he started, paying a powerful homage to all the Latino countries as he listed them, with performers waving the countries' flags proudly alongside the Palestinian flag. And in the back of his final performance,

he had a large screen that had his motto, “The only thing more powerful than hate is love."

This final moment brought the performance’s message together, celebrating Latino identity and showing solidarity with other communities, as Bad Bunny made history as the first artist to

perform entirely in Spanish at the Super Bowl.