Photo: Screenshot from NFL YouTube Video of Bad Bunny Performance
Bad Bunny performed at the Super Bowl halftime show, showcasing Puerto Rican culture while emphasizing unity and love. People immediately took to social media to express their pride in watching the show, and even if they did not speak Spanish, they still loved it.
Dr. Nora Cisneros, an assistant professor at California State University, Bakersfield (CSUB), said the performance was a history lesson for the viewers.
“I do not have the lexicon to describe the art, learning, joy, resistance, and healing offered by Bad Bunny’s performance last night,” said Cisneros. “His show was a history lesson on Puerto Rico and the Americas. As a parent and educator, I am always thinking about our youth and what these historic cultural moments mean for them.”
Dr. Ivy Cargile, an associate professor at CSUB, echoed those feelings, adding that the performance was an opportunity to experience joy and pride, no matter where you are from, even as the political climate is currently not as welcoming to the immigrant community.
“As a hyphenated American who identifies as Guatemalan-American, I felt proud that on both the national and global stage, he shone a bright spotlight on Puerto Rico and also incorporated the Latinx community here in the U.S,” said Cargile. “His creativity and performance comes to us at a time when immigrants, particularly Latinx immigrants, are under continuous attacks by ICE and the Trump administration, and in the midst of it, he gave us an opportunity to experience joy, to dance, and he reminded us that we belong. I mean, he started the show with ‘Qué rico es ser Latino!”
During the performance, Bad Bunny handed his Grammy to a little boy, and many viewers believe it represented him giving it to his youngerself. Cisneros stated this felt like part of a love letter to Latina, Latino, and Latinx children.
“The moment Bad Bunny hands a Grammy to a young boy who we can speculate is a younger version of himself,” said Cisneros. “Our inner Latina/o/x children deserve to dream and see themselves achieving those dreams! Latina/o/x children deserve to be celebrated and cared for and not exist in perpetual fear of ICE raids and police violence as they do now in this presidential administration.”
She added that his opening was also very relatable.
“The part where Bad Bunny looks directly at the camera and introduces himself using all his names, very relatable for Latina/o/xs, and reminds viewers that we are worth more than we think,” said Cisneros before quoting Bad Bunny. “Si hoy estoy aqui en el Super Bowl 60 es porque nunca deje de creer en mi. Tú también debes creer en ti. Vales mucho más de lo que piensas. Creeme.”
Cargile noted that, both this year and last, the halftime performers made important political and cultural statements.
“At last year’s Super Bowl, Grammy-winning artist Kendrick Lamar reminded us that this country is built on the backs of Black Americans,” said Cargile. “This year, Grammy-winning artist Bad Bunny reminded all of us that we all make this country better and that we belong. The two messages are important and work together to highlight why so many from all over the world have come here. While the show was unapologetically Puerto Rican and in Spanish, his message shone through.”
Seeing Bad Bunny shout out all of the different cultures that make up the Americas was an important moment for Cargile.
“How he called out all of the countries (with flags) that make up the Americas made me tear up because while here in the U.S. we are understood as being one community under the Latinx label the reality is that there is complexity to us as a community, we are not a monolith, but we make it work and the end product is part of the beauty and value that we bring to the U.S.,” said Cargile.
Cisneros also spoke to the diversity in the performance.
“There were so many elements of his production that celebrated the racial diversity and contributions of Afro-Latina/os in the U.S. His performance nurtures a timely and delicious resistance, both artistic and political, to the ongoing colonial xenophobic violence from the U.S. government within and beyond these borders,” said Cisneros.
Cargile added that Bad Bunny’s focus on unity and love was intentional.
“It was intentional, and despite his detractors, he got the message across. He demonstrated last night that indeed, ‘The only thing more powerful than hate is love.’ He displayed his love for Puerto Rico, for Puerto Ricans, and for the larger Latinx community loudly and proudly,” said Cargile.
