While the Super Bowl has received a lot of criticism for this year’s choice – Bad Bunny – it is clear that he scored a touchdown with his performance.
On Sunday, February 8, Bad Bunny, otherwise known as “Benito”, took the stage and walked on wearing a jersey with “64” on the front and “Ocasio” on the back. His stage was colorful – composed of vegetation such as grass, palm trees, and sugar cane. In his performance, his stage referenced many aspects of Puerto Rican life and culture – from the piraguas stand, to people playing a game of dominoes, to the Coco Frio stand. Bad Bunny is big on representation and supporting the Latino community, which is made further evident by the fact that he chose to represent real businesses in his performance. Throughout the entirety of his performance, it felt like you were being immersed in the culture.
He began his performance with his 2022 hit song “Tití Me Preguntó”, which surpassed 1 billion views on YouTube and received multiple awards. He then transitions into his song “Yo Perreo Sola”, standing on top of the casita, where below, there are many celebrities – from Karol G, to Young Miko, and Jessica Alba.
At this point the stadium is lit up: flashing lights, flashing lyrics on a billboard, dozens of dancers on the floor. He continues with “Safaera”, “Party” (his song, with whom features Rauw Alejandro), and “Voy a Llevarte Pa’ PR”. In the distance, you can see on the screens a Concho frog, (a frog that is native to Puerto Rico and is currently endangered). Benito then “falls through” the stage and into the casita, where you can hear in the background songs such as, “Pa’ Que Retozen” by Tego Calderón, and “Gasolina” by Daddy Yankee. Throughout his set, he makes sure to include throwback songs. This leads him to transition into his song, “EoO”.
Following “EoO” comes his song “Monaco” which features a sample from “Hier Encore” by Charles Aznavour. It begins with classical violin, and then into classical Benito trap. In his performance of “Monaco”, however, instead of fully singing the song, he takes the time to inspire the audience saying: “Si hoy estoy aquí en el Super Bowl 60, es porque nunca, nunca dejé de creer en mí… Tú también deberías de creer en ti. Vales más de lo que piensas. Créame”, which translate to, “If I am here today at the Super Bowl 60, it’s because I never stopped believing in myself. You, too, should believe in yourself. You are worth more than you think. Believe me.”
From there, the camera pans to a wedding – and, yes, the wedding was also real! After the two kiss, Lady Gaga is revealed from behind them, and she sings her song “Die With A Smile” (which features Bruno Mars) – but with a Latin twist! Then begins Benito’s song, “BAILE INoLVIDABLE”, where he dances with Lady Gaga and others on stage. Everyone is dressed in wedding guest attire, the couple kisses again, and Bad Bunny “falls off” the edge onto the dancers who carry him – starting his next song, “NUEVAYoL”. And, once again, you can see real businesses in the background!
The music stops abruptly to show a family sitting on a couch watching Bad Bunny’s 2026 Grammy Acceptance on television, and then Bad Bunny goes to give the Grammy to the little boy who was watching. Then, Ricky Martin begins signing Benito’s song, “LO QUE LE PASÓ A HAWAii”. Bad Bunny then comes out with a Puerto Rican flag, singing “El Apagón”. When the song finishes, the stadium begins to explode with fireworks and flashing lights and he sings, “CAFé CON RON”.
The dancers are upbeat and jumping up and down, when they then start to bring out the flags of the Americas. Bad Bunny says, “God Bless America” and starts listing the countries within the Americas. When he finishes, he holds up a football that says, “Together we are America” and in the background there is a billboard titled “THE ONLY THING MORE POWERFUL THAN HATE IS LOVE”, referencing his Grammy’ speech, in which he condemns ICE. He ends his performance with his song “DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS”. The dancers are all happy, jumping and celebrating alongside Bad Bunny, the stadium is lit up in fireworks, and the show ends.
While there are many other aspects of his performance that I did not touch upon here, as there are countless of references and parts of the performance to mention – there is one thing that is clear about his performance: he meant to represent his culture and bring attention to widespread issues, represent Latino culture as a whole, and send a message that we are all stronger when we are united, rather than divided, and I believe he did that perfectly. We are the United States, after all.
