Fans and critics expected Bad Bunny to make a major political statement at the Super Bowl halftime show. With a pan-American parade of flags, he met those expectations.

Just a week after his “Debí Tirar Más Fotos” became the first Spanish-language album to win Album of the Year at the Grammys, Bad Bunny made history again by performing the first Spanish-language Super Bowl halftime show. The halftime show has been a powder keg for political discourse for months as many anticipated the Puerto Rican superstar, whose full name is Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, would make some kind of statement in support of Latino immigrants. In Latino-centric Miami, where you can’t throw a stone without hitting a Benito fan, Bad Bunny’s performance has been the talk of the town.

The elaborate performance, which featured stars like Lady Gaga, Ricky Martin and Cardi B (who didn’t perform but made a cameo), turned the football field into a Puerto Rican sugarcane field where aspects of Puerto Rican life were around every corner. At the very end of the 13-minute performance, dancers ran through the field carrying flags of countries from North, Central and South America.

Though the United States of America is colloquially referred to as just “America,” Bad Bunny reminded the audience — and perhaps some U.S. politicians — that America is the entire western hemisphere.

“God bless America,” Bad Bunny said, holding a football that read “TOGETHER, WE ARE AMERICA.”

The halftime show was a sweeping celebration of Puerto Rican culture. Latino celebrities like Cardi B, Karol G and Pedro Pascal danced on the patio of La Casita (the little house), the famous set from Bad Bunny’s concerts. There was a traditional Puerto Rican wedding, where Lady Gaga performed a salsa rendition of “Die With a Smile” as a wedding singer while a little boy took a nap on some chairs. (You know how there’s always a little kid sleeping on some chairs?) And there was a set that resembled a New York City neighborhood, complete with a barbershop.

Bad Bunny carried the pro-Independence Puerto Rican flag at the halftime show as he performed “El Apagon,” a house music banger about the Puerto Rico’s electricity crisis and constant power outages. During that number, dancers swung from power lines.

Fellow Boricua Ricky Martin also performed, singing the chorus of “Lo que le pasó a Hawaii,” or “What happened to Hawaii,” an overtly political song that laments what happens when an island nation becomes a state.

Bad Bunny’s headlining performance caused a stir online from the moment it was announced months ago. For Puerto Ricans and Latinos, the NFL’s choice of a reggaeton star was seen as both a point of pride and a political statement, given the Trump administration’s anti-immigration agenda and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s targeting of Latino communities. The NFL’s decision to pick Bad Bunny, one the biggest music superstars in the world and Puerto Rico’s unofficial cultural ambassador, to headline the halftime show is part of the league’s efforts to reach an international fan base.

Unlike his Latino pop star predecessors, like fellow Super Bowl halftime performer Shakira, Bad Bunny is notably not a “crossover” artist. All of his music is in his native Spanish, not English. (In 2020, co-headliners Shakira and Jennifer Lopez performed their Super Bowl halftime show in English and Spanish. Bad Bunny appeared as a guest star that year to perform alongside Shakira.)

During his Saturday Night Live monologue in October, after he gave a shoutout to the Latino community in Spanish, Bad Bunny cracked this joke: “If you didn’t understand what I just said, you have four months to learn.”

Four months later, many conservatives were still not happy with the headliner. A recent poll showed that just 40% of registered Republican voters in Florida planned to watch Bad Bunny’s show, compared to 89% of Democrat voters, the Sun Sentinel reported. President Donald Trump disapproved of Bad Bunny as the headliner, calling it a “terrible choice.” The feeling is mutual, as Bad Bunny is not a fan of Trump.

Far-right group Turning Point USA announced its own alternative halftime show featuring Kid Rock to rival the NFL’s, branding it as the “All-American Halftime Show.” Ironically, the NFL’s halftime show was certainly all-American, too. Puerto Rico is a territory of the United States, which means Puerto Ricans born there (including Bad Bunny) are American citizens.

But Bad Bunny is not one to shy away from politics. As he accepted the Grammy for best música urbana album, he started his speech by saying, “Before I say thanks to God, I’m gonna say: ICE out.” He decided to skip performing in the mainland U.S. for his ongoing world tour, instead opting for a months-long residency in Puerto Rico. Why not come to cities like New York and Miami? He didn’t want ICE agents to show up.

“Debí Tirar Más Fotos,” an album dedicated to Puerto Rican life, culture, history and music genres, is rife with political statements. He advocates for Puerto Rican sovereignty in his songs and music videos, like in “La Mudanza,” where he carries the azul celeste Puerto Rican flag, which features a light blue triangle instead of the official dark blue triangle. The azul celeste flag, which Bad Bunny carried at the halftime show, is associated with Puerto Rican independence.

Bad Bunny’s foray into salsa music, with “La Mudanza” and “Baile Inolvidable,” inspired Gen Z Latinos to embrace the genre they grew up on. In Miami, Super Bowl Sunday was less about the football and more about the “Benito Bowl.”

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