Nearly three weeks have passed since Bad Bunny’s highly anticipated performance in the 2026 Super Bowl Halftime Show. Bad Bunny used his thirteen minutes on what’s often referred to as “the World’s Biggest Stage” to deliver a performance rich in symbolism, highlighting not only what it means to be Puerto Rican, but also what it means to be Latin American, and even American.
The Sugarcane Fields
Bad Bunny’s Halftime Show performance begins in sugarcane fields—a nod to the dark history behind what was once a highly profitable commodity in Puerto Rico. Shortly after Spain colonized Puerto Rico, they established sugarcane plantations on the island, profiting off of the labor of kidnapped and enslaved Africans who cultivated and harvested the sugar. Slavery was brought to an end when it was outlawed in Puerto Rico in 1873.
Nevertheless, the control over the crop continued when the U.S. acquired Puerto Rico as a territory. This granted American corporations the authority to take over arable lands in Puerto Rico and transform them into sugar plantations. As a result, many Puerto Rican farmers were forced to move off their farms, leaving them unemployed. Additionally, due to the establishment of sugarcane plantations in Puerto Rico, which destroyed a lot of formerly arable lands, Puerto Rico became (and still remains) heavily dependent on agricultural imports from the U.S.
Supporting Latin American Businesses
While performing the first track of his SuperBowl set, Bad Bunny hands piragua to a man operating a taco stand with the name “Villa’s Tacos.” Shortly after Bad Bunny’s Halftime Show performance concluded, the founder of Villa’s Tacos, Victor Villa, confirmed that Villa’s Tacos is an authentic Latin American owned business which he operates. Villa’s business, which began in the front yard of his grandmother’s house, currently has three locations across Los Angeles. A day after Villa’s Tacos made an appearance in the Superbowl Halftime show, Villa’s business started to gain more traction, with a long line forming outside his location in Highland Park.
Later on in his performance, when he sings his song “Nueva Yol,” Bad Bunny highlights another real Latin-American business. As he sings a line that translates to “A shot of rum at Toñita’s house and PR feels so close,” he grabs a drink offered by a real Latin-American business owner named Toñita. Toñita is the owner of the Caribbean Social Club in Brooklyn, NY, which has been around since the 1970s. Amid gentrification efforts that have forced many Latin American businesses to shut down, Toñita’s Caribbean Social Club still remains, acting as a vibrant hub that preserves Puerto Rican and Latin American culture and community in the face of cultural erasure.
Ricky Martin’s Performance of “LO QUE LE PASÓ A HAWAII”
Singer-songwriter Ricky Martin made a special appearance to perform the chorus to Bad Bunny’s song, “LO QUE LE PASÓ A HAWAII,” while sitting in a set that looks nearly identical to the album cover of Bad Bunny’s most recent album.
The lyrics that Martin sings roughly translate to, “They want to take my river and my beach too / They want my neighborhood, and they want my grandma to leave / No, don’t let go of the flag nor forget the lelolai / I don’t want them to do to you what happened to Hawaii.” Fighting against the erasure of cultural identity, “LO QUE LE PASÓ A HAWAII” urges Puerto Ricans to push back against gentrification, warning that Puerto Rico may soon face similar issues like what has occurred in Hawaii.
After the U.S. annexed Hawaii in 1886, U.S. investors began transforming properties in Hawaii to develop luxury hotels and resorts. This is largely why the economy of Hawaii became tourism-dependent. The effects of this involuntary shift can still be felt today through hiking property values which have caused an ongoing housing crisis in Hawaii, leaving many Native Hawaiians no choice but to leave their homelands.
In the 1990s, Latin American artists were pressured by those within the music industry to sing in English, that is if they wanted to become mainstream. Martin succumbed to this pressure with his release of “Livin’ la Vida Loca.” This makes his appearance singing a song advocating for cultural retention all-the-more significant.
Power Outages in Puerto Rico
At the end of Martin’s performance, the camera pans slightly to the left, showing the background where viewers can see dancing linemen fall off makeshift power lines after sparks are released. Seconds later, Bad Bunny starts to perform his song “El Apagón,” which translates to “The Blackout.” “El Apagón” serves as a reminder of the ongoing power issues in Puerto Rico. In 2017, Hurricanes Irma and Maria damaged the vast majority of power lines on the island. Since then, Puerto Rico’s power grid has remained unstable with frequent power outages, due to the lack of government funding, aid, and long-term solutions that have been distributed to the island.
Reclaiming the Term “America”
At the end of his performance Bad Bunny looks at the camera and states, “God Bless America,” then continues to list various countries that comprise the Americas. One of the last countries he mentions is the United States, reminding Americans that “America” is the entire Western Hemisphere and not just the United States. After mentioning his homeland, Puerto Rico, Bad Bunny shows a message printed on the football that he’s carrying, which reads, “Together we are America.” Before leaving the field to his song “DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS,” he says, “Seguimos aquí” which means “We’re still here.”
The end of Bad Bunny’s halftime show fuses a multitude of cultural identities, taking the time to celebrate each one. It evokes a message of unity that stretches beyond cultural divides, presenting a reality where individuals of various cultural backgrounds can peacefully coexist despite cultural and linguistic differences.