Bad Bunny used his Super Bowl LX halftime performance on Feb. 8 to transform one of the world’s biggest stages into a tribute to Puerto Rico, layering the 13-minute show with imagery tied to the island’s history, culture and political identity.
The performance opened in sugarcane fields, a visual reference to Puerto Rico’s agricultural past. Sugarcane fueled the island’s economy for generations and was closely tied to colonial exploitation and forced labor under Spanish rule and later U.S. corporate control. Performers dressed as jíbaros, or rural Puerto Rican farmers, wore white clothing and straw pava hats while cutting cane with machetes, evoking a longstanding symbol of island life.
As Bad Bunny moved through the set performing “Tití Me Preguntó,” the scene shifted to that of everyday Puerto Rican community life. Older men played dominoes, vendors sold piraguas, a shaved ice treat common on the island and throughout the diaspora, and white plastic chairs, which also appear on the cover of his album “Debí Tirar Más Fotos,” could be seen on the set, recalling backyard gatherings and neighborhood parties familiar to many Puerto Ricans.
At the center of the production stood a pink casita, modeled after mid-20th century cement homes built across Puerto Rico to withstand hurricanes. The casita has become a recurring visual in Bad Bunny’s recent work, including the short film tied to his Grammy-winning album. During the halftime show, it functioned as a gathering space, reinforcing themes of community and shared space.
The performance also highlighted the Puerto Rican diaspora. Maria Antonia “Toñita” Cay, owner of Brooklyn’s Caribbean Social Club, appeared during “NUEVAYoL,” a song that references Puerto Rican life in New York. Her presence acknowledged migration and the generations who built lives off the island while maintaining deep cultural ties.
An animated sapo concho, or Puerto Rican crested toad, could be seen during the show on a jumbotron. The endangered species, which is native to the island, has featured prominently in Bad Bunny’s recent projects and is widely interpreted as a symbol of environmental fragility and cultural preservation.
The set incorporated architectural elements resembling El Morro, the 16th century Spanish fort in San Juan that remains one of Puerto Rico’s most recognizable landmarks. Stone parapets and turret-like garitas evoked the island’s colonial past and its strategic importance in the Caribbean.
Political themes surfaced more directly during “El Apagón,” a song addressing Puerto Rico’s ongoing power grid crisis. Performers climbed utility poles that sparked and appeared to explode, referencing the blackouts that have plagued the island, particularly after Hurricane Maria in 2017. The imagery pointed to both infrastructure failures and community resilience.
Bad Bunny also carried a Puerto Rican flag featuring a light blue triangle rather than the darker shade commonly used today. The lighter blue predates U.S. control of the island and is associated with the independence movement. Displaying the Puerto Rican flag was once illegal under the 1948 Gag Law, which criminalized nationalist symbols and speech.
Traditional Puerto Rican instruments, including panderos used in plena music, the cuatro guitar and the güiro, were incorporated into the performance, reinforcing the show’s cultural foundation.
Ricky Martin joined Bad Bunny onstage, performing in Spanish. Martin, who gained international fame during the late 1990s Latin pop crossover, appeared in a role centered on Puerto Rican identity rather than English-language mainstream appeal.
The show concluded with Bad Bunny saying “God bless America” before naming countries across North, Central and South America. Performers waved flags from across the hemisphere as he held up a football bearing the words “Together We Are America.”
The performance stood out not only for its massive scale but for the way in which it was framed. The Super Bowl halftime show is consistently one of the most-watched television events annually in the United States drawing more than 100 million domestic viewers and a large global audience. By performing entirely in Spanish and prominently featuring Puerto Rican imagery, Bad Bunny brought elements of the island’s history and culture to a stage long associated with mainstream American spectacle.
The symbolism worked on multiple levels. For many Puerto Rican and Latino viewers, the references were very quickly recognizable. For others, they served as visual cues that invited curiosity.
Puerto Rico’s political status as a U.S. territory has been debated for decades. References to colonial history, migration and infrastructure struggles reflected issues familiar to residents of the island and its diaspora. Placing such images in front of a nationwide audience worked to further broaden their visibility.
Simultaneously, the performance emphasized celebration and community through music. In doing so, it also highlighted the growing influence of Spanish-language music and Latino artists in American culture.
Bad Bunny’s halftime performance lies not in taking one side or another, but in expanding representation on one of the country’s largest stages.
