Bad Bunny, a Puerto Rican legend, and United States citizen (regardless of what President Donald Trump says) was announced to be the 2026 Super Bowl Halftime performer. This announcement came following Bad Bunny’s 31 show residency in Puerto Rico. Why is this announcement political? How does this impact the Latino community in the United States and extensively, all people of color?
Bad Bunny went on record early this September stating that he understands “ICE could be outside [his concert]”. The current tensions and political violence spearheaded by Donald Trump resulted in him not including continental US concerts to his tour. Bad Bunny recognizes that many of his listeners are Latino. ICE is not only targeting undocumented individuals, but people of color in general, as the news has shown in the past months.
Now, what does the Super Bowl have to do with this?
The Super Bowl is a global broadcast. Many people watch the game for the football itself, some for sports betting, others for the unique commercials, but many watch the game for the iconic halftime show.
The NFL is an interesting organization for lack of better words. Last year Kendrick Lamar was the Super Bowl halftime show giving the world a look into hip hop culture and Black struggles in America. However, the NFL has a history of censoring players from making political statements of solidarity with minority groups. Bad Bunny being the halftime performer this year amplifies Latinx voices during a tumultuous time. Super Bowl tickets are extremely expensive and hard to get resulting in a predominantly white audience in physical presence. Bad Bunny is capitalizing on this; he knows that he is not putting his supporters at risk of attending in person, because tickets for most are unattainable, and he is highlighting Latin music.
Bad Bunny is amplifying Latinx experiences on a global, and predominantly white, stage. Bad Bunny’s music highlights the struggles the island of Puerto Rico experience and Latinx struggles. These experiences relate to many people of color who live in a White dominated country. Bad Bunny’s music explores belonging, family, economic struggles, and colonization. Bad Bunny’s performance will most likely have political tones highlighting these experiences listed. It will be interesting to see the responses of conservative football fans and the Trump administration to the Super Bowl halftime show being in Spanish.