Football, Grass, Politics — is there anything more American?
Bad Bunny’s celebration of Puerto Rican Life stands in the midst of America’s political climate. 1 month later, we're still not over it.
By: Ana Laura Citalán
Dressed in white, Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio — known as Bad Bunny — stood in the middle of a sugarcane field, on a carpet that mimicked the earth. Dressed in a monochromatic outfit, his shoes, pants, and gloves matched his jersey embroidered with the number 64. In stadium seats and on household sofas alike, people gathered all over the world to watch his performance. In bars near their homes, on living room couches, or from their bedrooms, all eyes seemed to be on Bad Bunny and his grassy stage.
Before we dissect Bad Bunny’s performance, his grassy stage deserves its own spotlight as well. Scattered across the stage as literal living patches of grass, dozens of performers created a textured, immersive landscape. The performers were recruited through an open call for extras for the halftime show, to which members of the public could apply and be selected. Most were young dancers, their movements synchronized to mimic the swaying of fields, while others acted as small, animated vignettes of everyday life. The group was racially diverse, performers included Afro-Latinos, mestizos, and light-skinned Latinos. In total, there were around 30 to 40 individuals filling the field.
The Super Bowl is one of the most anticipated sporting events in the world, with Super Bowl LX setting a record for highest viewership in NBC history. The halftime show, in turn, has become a spectacle in itself, and in recent years has sparked a lot of discussion in the political sphere.
For four hours, no one has anything better to do. Their eyes remain fixed on the football field, and their hands seem unable to let go of their Pepsi or beer. This green expanse has been the stage for major matchups, celebrities singing the national anthem, and halftime shows that have called for political change. At its peak, the Super Bowl is the event that defines North America: as American as breakfast pancakes, orange juice, oversized portions, or ranch dressing. At its peak, the Super Bowl felt like the most American event of them all.
The Super Bowl has existed since 1967, and although its date and location have changed over the years, it has always featured a halftime show. In its early years, university marching bands would perform. But in 1993, Michael Jackson took on the field, and began the cultural phenomenon of what American audiences now know as the half time show.
Fast forward to 2026: everyone was waiting for the 13 minutes of the halftime show. Bad Bunny took the stage amid expectations that he would once again reference the social and political pressures affecting Puerto Rico, though no one knew exactly how. Just a week earlier, on Feb. 1, he referenced ICE raids in his two-minute speech at the Grammys, saying “ICE out,” followed by a brief greeting alongside fellow Latino artists Rauw Alejandro and Karol G. He also added, “If we fight, we have to do it with love.”
“I think people want a spectacle, but they don’t want to have to think too hard, especially because there’s so many eyeballs on the Super Bowl,” said Laine Higgins, a sports reporter for the Wall Street Journal. “Anything that forces you to think, ‘Oh, wait a second, maybe I don’t like the way this is’, or maybe ‘This is putting this issue in my face when I just wanted to be eating my wings and eating my pizza and watching football’... I think that can make some people uncomfortable.”
Moving through a sugarcane field, Bad Bunny walked past scenes representing Puerto Rican — and broader Latin — daily life: a cold coconut stand, older men playing dominoes, a mobile nail station, boxers training, taco and aguas frescas vendors, gold sellers, and dancers gathered around a small casita. The sequence blended celebration with historical memory, evoking colonial labor, community resilience, and the cultural textures of the Caribbean diaspora. The performance unfolded like a symbolic journey through identity, migration, and survival, capturing both the economic hardships these families face in their daily lives and the enduring pursuit of a better future — the promise of the “American Dream.”
While Bad Bunny recreated vivid depictions of Puerto Rican life, he refrained from making overt political declarations. “There were some political undertones to it, but I think people kind of whitewashed it a little bit for the Super Bowl, because they know it’s such a huge audience and you are trying for mass appeal,” said Higgins. “It’s like when you’re trying to get a dog to take a pill and you put it in peanut butter and then the dog licks it. The halftime show is the peanut butter and they’re slipping the politics in, but it’s not the main point.”
How have politics been implicated in previous halftime shows? Before Bad Bunny, Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl (2022) LIX halftime performance was framed as a layered narrative connecting Black American history, structural racism, and hip-hop culture through the metaphor of a video game, complete with symbolic “levels”. The show also featured an Uncle Sam figure, portrayed by Samuel L. Jackson. Jackson wore a white hat adorned with twelve stars on a bold blue stripe, a navy suit, a white shirt, a red vest, a blue bow tie, and looked directly at the audience.
Uncle Sam, an old white man, with white hair crowning his head, bushy eyebrows faded in the same way, and a full beard framing his jaw, became an American symbol during the War of 1812 and was used in advertising to recruit young people into the military. For his figure to appear in the middle of the Super Bowl halftime show, introducing Kendrick Lamar, an African American artist, was an intentional statement. Kendrick’s performance criticized social division, cultural control, and historical promises that have long gone unfulfilled — including promises of equality, justice, and opportunity that have repeatedly failed marginalized communities.
In addition to Uncle Sam’s feature, Eminem delivered one of the night’s most talked-about moments. Part of a lineup celebrating hip-hop alongside Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige, Kendrick Lamar, and 50 Cent, he energized the stadium with “Lose Yourself” before kneeling onstage. The gesture was widely interpreted as a nod to Colin Kaepernick, a former quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers, who famously took a knee during the national anthem in 2016 to protest police brutality and racial discrimination.
Kaepernick’s peaceful demonstration sparked nationwide debate, with some praising his courage and others criticizing him as unpatriotic. After becoming a free agent in 2017, he was effectively blackballed from the NFL, later filing a grievance alleging collusion, which was settled in 2019.
Much has changed about America’s political climate since 2016. Higgins expressed that players may be afraid to speak out on political situations after Kaepernick. “There’s no way to exist in the world right now without being somewhat political. It’s just a matter of knowing when to express these things and how to express them and what’s gonna be the most effective.” she said.
In the weeks leading up to the 2026 halftime show, rumors about possible immigration raids and heightened political tensions circulated online. Audiences waited eagerly for Bad Bunny’s performance, unsure of what to expect. Once Bad Bunny’s aired, TikTok was filled with rapid-response edits, symbolic breakdowns, emotional reactions, and debates. Clips highlighting Puerto Rican imagery, moments of unity, and perceived political undertones spread within minutes, creating parallel narratives that ranged from celebration to criticism.
People enjoyed the music despite the language barrier, with some saying things like, “I might not speak Spanish, but my body does,” and “my hips are telling the truth.” Others seemed especially excited during the final segment of the show, when Bad Bunny referenced countries across the Americas — a moment many interpreted as a gesture of pan-Latin unity.
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Some viewers also circulated a popular joke about the scene in which Bad Bunny throws a group of people after a wedding celebration onto the rooftop above a barbershop — a reference to the now-iconic Bronx block that includes Toñita’s Caribbean Social Club. Fans described the moment as having a strong “aura,” using the term to signal charisma, dominance, or cultural power.
At the same time, there were viewers who expressed frustration that the halftime show was performed primarily in Spanish and did not include subtitles. Their reactions reopened a familiar debate about language, and who the Super Bowl halftime show is for. Supporters argued that Spanish — the second most spoken language in the United States — required no translation in a country shaped by Latin American migration and culture.
“I think it’s that feeling of not having power that reminds you of it the most,” said Higgins. “Maybe this time, the people [that] had the spotlight on them in Bad Bunny’s show are ones that have usually been in the background, but they have a chance to flip it this time.”
At the end of his show, Bad Bunny echoed his earlier sentiments, focusing on unity and togetherness. The following words appeared on the screens across the stadium and to an audience of millions across the nation and globe: “The only thing more powerful than hate is love.”
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