Have you ever had a conversation with someone who doesn’t speak the same language as you? All you wanted was to be able to understand each other. Language barriers are a bit difficult to get past, but we are all connected through one language: music. Music is something that transcends all languages. You could listen to a song, and not understand a single word uttered, but you could still understand the overall vibe and message of the song based on what you hear. A prime example of this is Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl halftime show. Even though so many people watching did not understand what he was saying, they understood the impact of his performance.
Bad Bunny started his show in the sugar cane fields of Puerto Rico. Throughout his entire performance, he showcases Puerto Rican culture as well as Latin representation as a whole. He has dancers of all skin colors and sizes, truly making everyone feel seen. During the part where he talks to the camera directly during the Double Dolly shot, even though my friends and I could not understand his lyrics, we knew that what he was saying was important for everyone to hear. We were right. He stated that he got to where he was because he never stopped believing in himself, and those listening should not either.Â
After the wedding portion of the show (where he was joined by Lady Gaga and her Latin rendition of “Die With A Smile”, we see him fall from the roof into the crowd, which cues the start to “NUEVAYoL.” This part represents the Great Migration (circa 1945-1960s), where millions of Puerto Ricans migrated to mainly NYC. Afterwards, we see Bad Bunny give a little boy his Grammy, who seems to represent his younger self, to show how far he has come in his career. Then we got an appearance from Ricky Martin, a famed Puerto Rican singer.
The next portion of the show is Bad Bunny with the original Puerto Rican flag. This part of the show was important to many Puerto Ricans because the flag was banned in 1948 under the Ley de la Mordaza (Gag Law), as it was seen as a form of rebellion. The ban was lifted in 1957. We also see him and his dancers on powerlines, which represents when Puerto Rico was left without power for almost a year post Hurricane Maria, and the continuous struggle of maintaining their power grid.Â
Bad Bunny ends the show with all of his dancers, as he leads them. We see the flags of all the countries in the Americas, as he shouts out every single one. Behind them is a billboard which states, “The only thing more powerful than hate is love.” He showed the camera a football and written on it was, “Together, we are America.”
His message is very important, especially in our current political climate. Now more than ever, we need to be united. With the current ICE raids happening across our country, his performance was very meaningful to those affected who are looking for moments of hope. Even those who are not a part of the Latin community felt very empowered by his halftime show. People flooded to X to show their love and support for the performance, one even saying, “Everybody Sorta Rican for the next 24 hours.” His show did exactly what he intended for it to do. Bad Bunny was able to bring together and uplift his community, as well as unite all of us.Â
Bad Bunny showed us that even with language barriers, we can still connect through music. While uplifting his community, he also showed hope to everyone across the Americas. His message was important now more than ever. Bad Bunny gave an amazing halftime show while showcasing his culture with pride, something that can be scary to do given the times we are in now. His music was a light in the dark times we currently live in. Whatever language you speak, you were able to understand the message he was trying to project. Bad Bunny is a perfect representation of connecting through music despite not being able to understand the words.