¡Acho, el Benito Bowl es otra cosa! On Sunday night, Puerto Rican reggaeton sensation Bad Bunny took the stage at the Apple Music Super Bowl LX halftime show with class and rhythm, showing you do not need to know Spanish to party with Latinos.
Just one week after taking the Album of the Year award at the 2026 Grammys for “DeBÍ TiRAR MàS FOToS,” Bad Bunny headlined the Super Bowl as the first halftime show artist to perform almost entirely in Spanish.
The initial announcement of Bad Bunny’s performance came with extreme criticism from the Trump administration and high expectations from Latin Americans and U.S. Latinos, who were ecstatic to see their culture represented onscreen. By bringing perreo to the national stage, Bad Bunny delivered.
For 13 minutes and 41 seconds, I forgot about the Evanston cold and was transported to the streets of Puerto Rico. The performance was a fierce fusion of dance and spirit filled with cultural symbolism.
Bad Bunny spotlighted various professional industries influenced by the Latino community, highlighting field workers, nail technicians and construction workers, among other professions. Most notable, though, was the fact that every one of these people, despite their career, gender or race, found their groove within the music.
I had to watch it at least five times over because I was too busy dancing during my first watch.
The show opened within a set of Dominican Republic sugar cane fields before it brought us to the notorious pink “casita” from the “DeBÍ TiRAR MàS FOToS” world tour. Bad Bunny filled the house with what can only be referred to as the Latino Avengers: Chilean American actor Pedro Pascal, Puerto Rican reggaeton artist Young Miko, Mexican American actress Jessica Alba, Colombian singer Karol G, Dominican and Trinidadian American rapper Cardi B … and Alix Earle.
Earle’s presence as a social media influencer was mildly confusing when compared to big Latino names of the television and music industries. It ultimately added nothing. I would have preferred to see Lin-Manuel Miranda with a piragua cart.
Many fans speculated if Latino artists would join Bad Bunny on the field. I was praying Cardi B would grab a microphone, yet it was Lady Gaga who took to the stage, singing a salsa version of her 2024 hit single “Die With a Smile.”
While she initially came as an odd surprise, Gaga gagged me. Though the song choice was jarring at first, the single was also incredibly fitting as a declaration of love when hope is at its lowest.
I doubted her rhythm, but she was able to keep up with Bad Bunny during a short salsa break to “BAILE INoLVIDABLE.”
However, the most memorable surprise was the reveal of Puerto Rican icon Ricky Martin in the two white plastic chairs of the “DeBÍ TiRAR MàS FOToS” album cover. Martin delivered a stunningly emotional performance of “LO QUE LE PASÓ A HAWAii” that likely drew tears from tías around the world.
As the “King of Latin Pop,” revered for his hit single “Livin’ la Vida Loca,” Martin reminded viewers of how far the Latin music industry has come while singing a track centered on the threat of gentrification in his home, Puerto Rico.
From the set of a classic Washington Heights bodega during “NUEVAYoL” to the kid sleeping on a set of chairs at the never-ending family function, any Nuyorican watching could feel right at home.
In addition to tracks from his latest album, Bad Bunny also brought us some of his Latin trap and reggaeton throwbacks. He may have held back on a particular sexually suggestive line of “Safaera,” but the dancers certainly did not.
Choreographed by Charm La’Donna, the routines combined hip hop, perreo, reggaeton and salsa with a flair of musical theatre reflected in the intricate formations. It felt like a scene straight from the Broadway production “In the Heights.”
The main themes pushed by Bad Bunny and his team were those of unity, pride and love. The message was clear with a real wedding, the most obvious symbol of love, taking place during the show.
He ended his performance with the billboard behind him reading, “THE ONLY THING MORE POWERFUL THAN HATE IS LOVE,” as dancers joined together donning the flags of the North and South American continents to sing the final verse of “DtMF” as one.
Let’s just say, the Benito Bowl was a breath of fresh air and my “BAILE INoLVIDABLE.”
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