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Bad Bunny headlines Super Bowl with Puerto Rico at the forefront
Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny, born Benito Martínez Ocasio, delivered a 14-minute halftime show at the Super Bowl on Sunday, performing almost entirely in Spanish for a global audience of 125 million. The set paid homage to the island's culture, history, and struggles, blending reggaeton with salsa, bomba, and plena while featuring guest appearances from Lady Gaga, Ricky Martin, and cameos by Pedro Pascal, Cardi B, and Jessica Alba.
A shared Puerto Rican upbringing
For many Puerto Ricans, Bad Bunny's rise resonates deeply due to shared experiences. Like the artist, countless islanders have worked entry-level jobs-including packing groceries in supermarkets-under the Caribbean sun. Martínez Ocasio grew up in Vega Baja, a small town in northern Puerto Rico, where his mother was a schoolteacher and his father a truck driver. His childhood, he once told The New York Times Magazine, felt isolated from the capital, San Juan, despite its proximity.
This sense of distance mirrors the lives of many Puerto Ricans, including the author, who grew up in San Lorenzo in the island's southeast. Trips to San Juan were rare events, often centered around Plaza Las Américas, the island's largest mall, where, as Martínez Ocasio put it, "you didn't even know where you were standing."
Language, identity, and economic struggles
Bad Bunny's music also reflects the linguistic and economic realities of Puerto Rico. Despite being U.S. citizens, only 22% of the island's population reports speaking English "very well," according to U.S. census data. Many, like the artist and the author, learned English as adults and speak it with non-native accents. The island's public education system has faced cuts amid a prolonged debt crisis, exacerbating inequalities.
In his 2018 song Ser Bichote, Martínez Ocasio highlighted the island's contradictions: "Schools are closing while puntos open. So what do I do? Tell me, I'm asking you." The term "punto" refers to illegal drug sale spots, a reference many Puerto Ricans understood instantly. His lyrics often critique the island's deteriorating infrastructure, political repression, and economic hardship, resonating with those who've lived through similar challenges.
Cultural pride and global representation
During the Super Bowl halftime show, Bad Bunny celebrated Puerto Rican heritage through symbols like the pava (a traditional farmer's hat) and the endangered Puerto Rican crested toad. His performance of El Apagón visually criticized the island's unreliable electrical grid, a persistent issue after hurricanes and austerity measures. In LA MuDANZA, he referenced historical violence against independence advocates, singing, "People were killed here for waving the flag, that's why I carry it everywhere"-including on the Super Bowl stage.
Scholars Vanessa Díaz and Petra R. Rivera Rideau argue in P FKN R: How Bad Bunny Became the Global Voice of Puerto Rican Resistance that his success stems from his "intimate connection" with the island. While not all Puerto Ricans relate to him, many see his music as a reflection of their identity, shaped by the island's complex relationship with the U.S. As a territory, Puerto Rico lacks voting representation in Congress and cannot participate in presidential elections, leaving culture as one of its most powerful tools for global visibility.
Reggaeton's global ascent and linguistic defiance
Bad Bunny's Super Bowl performance marked a milestone for reggaeton, a genre born in Panama and New York but popularized by Puerto Rican artists. Once marginalized and policed on the island, reggaeton was historically associated with Afro-Caribbean and working-class communities. Artists like Daddy Yankee, Tego Calderón, and Don Omar-whom Martínez Ocasio honored during the show-helped mainstream the genre.
Bad Bunny has expanded reggaeton's reach by blending it with salsa, merengue, and other Latin American rhythms. Professor Albert Laguna of Yale University told BBC Mundo that his music creates "an opportunity for conversation across generations." His Grammy-winning album Un Verano Sin Ti (2022) and Debí Tirar Más Fotos (2023) have further cemented his influence, with the latter sparking what producer MAG called a "cultural movement."
Critics, including former U.S. President Donald Trump, have mocked Bad Bunny's Spanish as unintelligible. Yet his music has also inspired non-Spanish speakers to engage with Puerto Rican slang, learning words like pichear (to ignore) or janguear (to hang out). For many Puerto Ricans, his refusal to dilute his language or identity is a point of pride.
A new era for Puerto Rican visibility
Bad Bunny's Super Bowl halftime show was more than a performance-it was a declaration of Puerto Rican resilience. From sugarcane fields to El Morro, his set visually and sonically anchored the island's history and struggles. As the first artist to perform primarily in Spanish at the Super Bowl, he opened a door for Latin music and culture on one of the world's biggest stages.
For Puerto Ricans, his success is a reminder that their stories, language, and identity matter. As the island grapples with economic instability, political disenfranchisement, and climate vulnerability, Bad Bunny's music offers a rare moment of global recognition-and a celebration of what it means to be Puerto Rican.
