All Songs Considered

Alt.Latino: Puerto Rico takes the field at the Bad Bunny Super Bowl

February 11, 2026

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  • Bad Bunny's Super Bowl halftime performance was interpreted as a powerful, time-traveling cultural statement that visually recreated Puerto Rico and reclaimed Latin American identity for a global audience. 
  • The performance powerfully juxtaposed symbols of Puerto Rican beauty and cultural resilience (like plena and family gatherings) with symbols of ongoing struggle, specifically referencing the island's broken electrical infrastructure (Luma Energy poles) during the 'El Apagón' moment. 
  • The inclusion of guests like Lady Gaga and Ricky Martin, and the explicit naming of all American countries, signaled Bad Bunny's shift toward assuming the role of a pan-Latin American leader, redefining 'American-ness' on a major U.S. stage. 

Segments

San Juan Buzz and Watch Parties
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(00:01:42)
  • Key Takeaway: San Juan experienced intense excitement and community gathering for Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl performance, with widespread public displays of support.
  • Summary: The island of Puerto Rico was buzzing with excitement throughout the Super Bowl weekend, with residents wearing Bad Bunny merchandise and gathering at local hubs like El Gandul in Santurce. People crowded bars to watch the performance, prioritizing Benito’s set over the football game itself. The atmosphere involved collective celebration, including dancing, singing, and hugging among attendees.
Visual Symbolism and Time Travel
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(00:04:03)
  • Key Takeaway: The performance utilized layered Puerto Rican imagery, starting with historical references to colonization and labor, then transitioning through diaspora and modern life.
  • Summary: Bad Bunny recreated Puerto Rico on the football field, beginning with imagery referencing sugarcane fields and the colonization era, reclaiming the historically derogatory term ‘jiuaro.’ The set then time-traveled through various periods, including scenes of domino playing and vendors selling ice water, acknowledging both the island’s history and the diaspora via a social club reference.
Pan-Latino and Universal Connection
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(00:06:25)
  • Key Takeaway: The wedding sequence successfully translated specific Puerto Rican visuals into universally relatable Latino and human experiences.
  • Summary: The wedding scene resonated broadly across Latin America, featuring quintessential Latino images like a child falling asleep on chairs. This segment demonstrated Bad Bunny’s ability to take specific Puerto Rican visuals and make them pan-Latino and universally human. The performance also grounded the music in its roots by shouting out the origins of reggaeton music from the caseríos (housing projects).
Political Statement on Infrastructure
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(00:07:48)
  • Key Takeaway: Climbing the Luma Energy light pole during ‘El Apagón’ was a direct, politically charged statement against Puerto Rico’s broken infrastructure.
  • Summary: The ‘El Apagón’ moment featured Bad Bunny climbing light poles referencing the island’s electrical company, Luma Energy, which controls the power grid. From this position, he proclaimed that while the world wants to be Latino, they lack ‘sazón’ (seasoning/flavor). This act used a symbol of broken infrastructure to proclaim the magnificence of Latin American identity.
Redefining American Identity
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(00:12:01)
  • Key Takeaway: Bad Bunny explicitly redefined ‘America’ by naming every country in the Americas, challenging the U.S.-centric definition of the continent.
  • Summary: Following his proclamation about Latinos, Bad Bunny named every country in the Americas, displaying their flags, including non-Spanish speaking nations like Jamaica and Guyana. This was seen as a powerful political statement expanding the definition of ‘American-ness’ on a platform where America is often equated solely with the United States. This act has historical precedent in Latin music but was unprecedented in scale on the Super Bowl stage.
Guest Choices and Queer Subtext
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(00:24:15)
  • Key Takeaway: The surprise guests, Lady Gaga and Ricky Martin, carried significant queer subtext and represented different facets of crossing over and authenticity.
  • Summary: Lady Gaga’s appearance was interpreted as a nod to queer communities, referencing her history of gender interrogation and her 2017 ‘Born This Way’ performance. Her song was effectively recontextualized into salsa, fitting Bad Bunny’s thesis of improving upon existing forms. Ricky Martin, viewed as the face of a colonized pop star forced to cross over, performed an anti-colonial anthem in Spanish, reclaiming his narrative.
Plena and Local Resistance Globalized
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(00:30:14)
  • Key Takeaway: The inclusion of 30 local pleneros served as a vehicle to globalize Puerto Rican resistance and redefine American unity.
  • Summary: Bad Bunny employed 30 pleneros (musicians of the traditional Puerto Rican genre, plena) who are typically the voice of resistance in his live shows. By using this hyper-local, political genre during the segment emphasizing American flags and unity, he brilliantly connected Puerto Rican resistance to broader American resistance and his redefinition of America. Plena workshops on the island are noted to attract young women and queer people, reflecting changing social norms.