INTRODUCTION
Once upon our time there was a place called LOVE.
It was built on a small patch of land for a short period of time in a city by the Pacific ocean, where the signpost read THE ONLY THING MORE POWERFUL THAN HATE IS LOVE. Around the world 128 million people viewed its hundreds of singers, dancers, musicians, and workers reveling, dancing, and singing in a storytelling adventure, led by a great voice of unity, while viewers wept with joy as they witnessed a glorious display of Puerto Rican culture.
This was, of course, the halftime show at the Benito Bowl.
BAD BUNNY FOR SUPERBOWL LX
The NFL’s September 2025 announcement that Bad Bunny would perform the Superbowl LX halftime show, in Spanish, came in the midst of national trauma and outrage about ICE’s brutal and lawless practices in US cities. Predominantly targeting Latinos, the current regime’s virulent anti-immigrant diatribes portray all immigrants as violent criminals, attempting to legitimize ICE’s flagrant violations of civil rights and established immigration policies.
ICE terrorized communities in Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York, kidnapping people from cars, smashing windows, beating bystanders, and breaking down front doors. ICE’s barbaric tactics led to over 30 deaths in ICE custody in 2025, and with the December invasion of Minneapolis ICE’s death toll mounted, with cold-blooded murders in broad daylight.
It’s no surprise that MAGA forces greeted the NFL announcement with racist umbrage and threats to the NFL demanding a reversal of its decision. Objections to the decision came from ICE’s Noem, Trump, and from MAGA rank and file. Noem pledged to send ICE forces to the event. Turning Point USA’s new CEO Erika Kirk quickly announced plans for a “family” and “American” alternative to the NFL event. The right’s main objections: Bad Bunny performing in Spanish was unacceptable because “nobody would understand” his performance, and secondly, Bad Bunny was not “American.”
The real reason they objected to Bad Bunny: he is a person of color, a Latino, and a critic of ICE. The truth is Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, Bad Bunny, is a US citizen. So are all Puerto Ricans born on the island after the Jones Act of 1917, which imposed US citizenship on Puerto Ricans, making them eligible for the draft in World War I, in one of many US laws designed to reinforce colonial control established with the US invasion in 1898.
Social media reactions were quick to say that Puerto Rico “is part of America” in defense of Bad Bunny’s selection. That, however, is not quite accurate. US courts have determined that Puerto Rico is “a territory belonging to but not part of America,” word salad to justify the island nation’s colonial status and US limitations on Puerto Ricans’ rights. Unfortunately, there was no mention of Puerto Rico’s status as a US colony in the debate about the NFL decision, a decision made fundamentally for economic reasons—to expand of the NFL’s commercial base.
The language complaint was always problematic. Bad Bunny, for his part, turned the language question into a challenge:
“You have four months to learn Spanish!”
GETTING READY
Many took that challenge, posting their Duolingo progress. They did so as Benito and his extraordinarily talented production team composed of producers, musicians, choreographers, set designers, costume and makeup professionals, pyrotechnics experts, sound engineers, and others did the extensive and complex work to create the brilliant story the halftime show would tell. The level of attention to detail and high production value reflect a deep understanding of Che Guevara’s comment on the importance of high standards: “Quality is respect for the people.”
Besides those taking a crash course in Puerto Rican Spanish, fans also posted videos singing along and dancing to the songs in Bad Bunny’s groundbreaking, award-winning album “Debí Tirar Más Fotos/I should have taken more photos” (DTMF), which was released in January 2025 along with a short film of the same name featuring film icon Jacobo Morales as an aged Bad Bunny living with the effects of gentrification.
DTMF’s songs touched a chord in people around the world. “Lo Que Le Pasó a Hawaii/What Happened to Hawaii” has become an anthem for people fighting conflict, displacement, and gentrification. In Puerto Rico, people hung banners with its lyrics from their balconies. In Palestine, people use the song to talk about conditions they’re living through, as do people in Cuba and Venezuela.
“Debí Tirar Más Fotos” was a resounding commercial success; it quickly rose to the top of the charts worldwide, and went on to win multiple awards, including the Grammys’ first-ever Spanish language Album of the Year—one of the world’s highest musical honors.
The album was the heart of Bad Bunny’s historic July to September residency in San Juan, titled “No Me Quiero Ir de Aquí.” (I don’t want to leave here), where sold-out audiences were thrilled with DTMF’s songs sung by Bad Bunny and a host of invited Puerto Rican musicians, on a set that included a mountain, a flamboyan tree, and a casita (little house).
The residency was a love letter to the island and to all Puerto Ricans, reflecting the global star’s consistent focus on honoring and showcasing Puerto Rico’s vibrant, beautiful, and multifaceted culture, and educating people about the nation’s history. The residency was an intense cultural and social phenomenon centering national pride, and was a huge financial boost for the country, bringing in $400 million to the island’s ailing economy.
Within weeks of the NFL announcement, “merch” appeared online for what was being called “The Benito Bowl.” DTMF merch was already flying off the shelves; now it was also Benito Bowl tee shirts and pavas (straw hats typically worn by jibaros, or countrypeople, and worn by Bad Bunny).
For Puerto Ricans on the island and in the diaspora, there was great excitement about the halftime performance. A joke was circulating: “Why are they having a football game at the Benito Bowl?” Puerto Rican families made preparations for the day’s celebration with typical foods—pastelillos, empanadas, quesitos, and sandwiches de mezcla. Watch parties were organized in community centers, bars, parks, and homes, including in Benito’s home town Vega Baja. The air of anticipation was like waiting for the start of the Christmas season.
“BENITO ANTONIO MARTÍNEZ OCASIO PRESENTA EL ESPECTÁCULO DEL MÉDIA TIEMPO DEL TAZÓN GRANDE LX.”
The Superbowl LX halftime show is 13 minutes of master storytelling characterized by a joyful party-like atmosphere of singing, dancing, and community.*
The halftime performance at the place called LOVE begins with a long view of one man in a pava holding a guitar among tall grasses, declaring “¡Qué rico ser latino!/”How great to be Latino!” and a panorama of workers in sugar cane fields. Out of the fields comes a group of jibaros wearing pavas, a reminder of people who toiled in the sugar plantations in the 19th and early 20th century.
Then, with Bad Bunny singing “Titi me preguntó/Auntie asked me” the scene becomes a tour of working-class Puerto Rican culture, complete with a piragua stand, a nail salon, women sitting atop rows of concrete blocks (the principal building material in Puerto Rico), a taco stand, two boxers sparring, a jewelry store, and domino players. Benito wears a white football shirt emblazoned with his mother’s maiden name, Ocasio, and his late uncle’s player number, 64.
In the background overhead we see the jumbotron sign, its message in bold letters in English: THE ONLY THING MORE POWERFUL THAN HATE IS LOVE. Benito looks directly at the camera, says his full given name, and states “I’m here because I never stopped believing in myself. You too should believe in yourself—you’re worth more than you think.” The bold affirmation is movingly reminiscent of Jesse Jackson’s famous declaration “I am somebody.”
Suddenly Benito’s on the roof of a classic casita in el campo, singing and dancing reggaeton with what seems like a hundred dancers in a raucous and rhythmic musical explosion. “You’re listening to music from Puerto Rico. From the neighborhoods. From the housing projects,” he tells us.
There’s a wedding—a real one—in an El Morro-like courtyard, and from among the guests appears Lady Gaga singing, dressed in celestial blue of the independence flag, wearing the red national flower. The scene shifts to the wedding guests dancing to Baile Inolvidable, with Benito urging “While you are alive, love as much as you can.”
His trust fall off the roof follows, with a scene of Benito giving his recently-won Grammy award to his younger self. The scene shifts to the diaspora and the effervescent scene of “Nueva Yol!”
If you wanna have fun
With charm and delight
You just have to live (Where?)
A summer in New York (New York!).
The scene is filled with all kinds of dancers, and shops that include Toñita’s, a famous Boricua social club in New York, with Toñita herself handing Benito a drink.
We hear and see a pava-wearing man playing the cuatro (Puerto Rico’s national instrument). We look up to hear an all-white-clad Ricky Martin powerfully singing the chorus of one of Benito’s most important songs—a warning about displacement and gentrification, “Lo Que le Pasó a Hawaii:”
Thеy want to take my river, and my beach too
They want my barrio, and for grandma to leave.
No, no, don’t let go of the flag, nor forget the lelolai,
‘Cause I don’t want them to do to you what happened to Hawaii.
From there we see Bad Bunny approach a series of electrical poles, carrying a huge Puerto Rican flag. He and others defy gravity, climbing and twirling from the poles, representing the daily struggles of Puerto Ricans for electricity post-Maria. The song “El Apagón/Blackout” criticizes utility company LUMA’s failure to address the island’s precarious power grid; LUMA regularly leaves the island in the dark without light, water, or respite from blistering heat.
With hundreds of dancers all around and everyone enthusiastically singing Café Con Ron, a throng of marchers led by Benito carrying the Puerto Rican flag approaches the front of the scene with a sea of flags representing the many countries of the Americas.
Benito says in English “God Bless America!” and forcefully delivers a message of unity that echoes the slogan on the football he carries—Together, We Are America—by naming all the countries of the Americas in Spanish: “Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Panamá, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Cuba, República Dominicana, Jamaica, Haití, las Antillas, United States, Canadá, and…mi patria, Puerto Rico. Seguimos aqui./We’re still here.”
The crowd breaks into joyful, bouncing–up–and–down dance, singing “Debí Tirar Más Fotos,” a song that reminds us to live in the moment and appreciate what we have in life:
I should’ve taken more pictures when I had you
I should’ve given you more kisses and hugs whenever I could
The Benito Bowl closes with skies lighting up in fireworks resembling the Puerto Rican flag.
So ends the 13-minute performance that changed the world.
THE BENITO EFFECT
Cheers and praise of the show were immediate and worldwide. This was something extraordinary, people commented, something very special. It was not just a question of brilliant musical performances or fantastic choreography or an ingenious multi-site set—which were all there—it was the creation of a place, a moment, a community. Jon Stewart called it “joyful and infectious,” with that word’s meaning–spreading widely and rapidly from person to person–utterly fitting.
The halftime show put Puerto Rico front and center on the global stage—which is something new, necessary and groundbreaking. Puerto Rico’s brilliance, creativity, resilience, and strength were all on view throughout the halftime show’s narrative.
The show also underlined the fact that America consists of many countries, from Chile to Canada, and the United States is just one among them. Benito’s decision to highlight all the nations by saying their names in Spanish, as their flags were held high, made the point both visually and verbally in a striking way. The inclusion of their homeland’s name and flag was a source of immense pride for viewers, as reflected in one Toronto woman’s comment: “I’m from Canadá!”
Superbowl LX’s viewership numbers for the Benito Bowl knocked it out of the park, confirming the acuity of the NFL decision. Impacts were felt within days. Bad Bunny’s already sky-high rankings grew, as he gained new top spots on global charts, along with additional awards. Tourist inquiries for travel to Puerto Rico increased 245%, and new Spanish learners on Duolingo grew 35%.
Of course there were haters, with bitter critiques from MAGA ranks. Detractors rushed to insist that the FFC check every word transmitted to try to catch a violation of FCC rules. But the FCC had to concede that Bad Bunny had broken no broadcast rules, putting the halftime show in the clear.
Detractors had apparently expected Bad Bunny to shout epithets at ICE and its supporters. But that was not what his halftime show was about. Eschewing comments blasting ICE like those he made at the Grammys, Benito focused on love instead, spotlighting his ever-present message “THE ONLY THING MORE POWERFUL THAN HATE IS LOVE.”
In the days following the Superbowl, the mainstream media, social media, and the internet were abuzz with commentary. Many on social media expressed joy-filled appreciation for having felt seen, respected, and included by the event. Viewers repeatedly called the event emotional and moving, and many cried with joy in celebration of feeling this is what our community looks like.
One Puerto Rican commented “…he has lifted up a cultural revolution with the values of this blessed land which is, as part of Latin America today, a beacon to illuminate the world. Thank you Benito.” A Peruvian remarked “I’m a Peruvian and I live in Japan—I’m 100 % proud to be LATINOOOO!” Black creative Flawless Nina noted “This wasn’t noise. This wasn’t begging. This was culture, memory, and love as resistance delivered calmly, confidently, and unapologetically. Sometimes the loudest statement isn’t anger. It’s joy. And that kind of power? Whew… it lingers.”
Viewers spent time talking about the “Easter Eggs” in the performance, many of which were historical. A favorite discovery was about the creation of sugar cane fields through the employment of 380 “grass people” in costumes. Not only was this a genius way to get around NFL rules protecting the playing turf, it created a powerful metaphor—the “grass people” represented generations of workers who have toiled in the sun throughout colonial rule.
¡PA’LANTE/ONWARD!
Bad Bunny’s halftime performance was a master class in cultural resistance. It was also a shining example of joy as resistance. His halftime show was an affirmation of the value, dignity, and creativity of Latinos everywhere.
Within three weeks of the Superbowl the NFL, Roc Nation, and Apple Music revealed that Bad Bunny’s performance garnered 4.157 billion worldwide views in 24 hours, making Benito’s performance the most watched Superbowl halftime show ever. The figures include global broadcast numbers and views on YouTube and social media platform, and indicate that nearly half of the people of the world heard and saw Benito’s message of love.
It was only 13 minutes, but those minutes created a moment in history that will never be forgotten. It was a moment of love, resistance, unity, and respect led by the Boricua troubadour. He built in those 13 minutes a place called LOVE that will remain in our collective memory.
Those who love the earth and its people know that place is a crucial concept in the fight for justice. It can take many physical forms: the land, homeland, communities. But place can also be emotional, social, and spiritual, where dreams are voiced and hope is an inhabitant. Place is where we go to find spiritual sustenance, and that often takes a cultural form.
Which is why we say that once upon our time, there was a place called LOVE—the Superbowl LX halftime show with Bad Bunny.
*Readers are urged to experience the halftime show themselves and to view the short film Debí Tirar Más Fotos, available at the links below.
NFL’s Superbowl LX Bad Bunny Halftime Show on YouTube
Debí Tirar Más Fotos Short Film on YouTube
