Image credits: RawPixel

I stayed up until 3:30 in the morning to watch the entirety of Super Bowl LX. Before you judge me, I am a big fan of the NFL, so I have sufficient justification for my five hours of sleep! You must also be aware that the following opinions of Bad Bunny’s performance come from an avid student of Spanish, who has an entire playlist of Bad Bunny’s reggaeton and Latinx greatest hits. 

There was an obvious political message behind Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio’s (Bad Bunny) all-Spanish performance at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California. It was a defiant celebration of Latin American culture at the height of right-wing MAGA Americanism. The reedy fields of Bad Bunny’s native Puerto Rico evoked the sense of the freedom and rebellion among the Southern American countries who remain under a serious geopolitical threat from the dominant USA. 

Or did it? I must admit that when watching it live, my initial impression of the performance was not a political one. I was too busy dancing the perreo to be smilingly knowingly at the in-your-face political point-scoring which has been retrospectively (and somewhat erroneously) applied to the halftime show. It is difficult to argue that it was completely apolitical and devoid of an underlying message; perhaps the nuanced critique of American society was lost on me at 1 a.m.

I am frustrated at the reaction to the performance of both sides of the political spectrum. Those on the left who champion the performance as a vanguard of resistance to right-wing populism have missed the simple joy that can be taken from the driving carnaval beat of Latinxmusic. 

The right-wing reaction was embodied by Trump’s claim that the performance was ‘a slap in the face’ for the country and an ‘affront to the Greatness of America’. Despite having a solid understanding of right-wing discourse, I find this slightly confusing. Trump’s comments seem to suggest that to fit his ideal notion of America, all Americans must exclusively engage with American popular culture. 

And yet these days, the Super Bowl is an international event. This year, it attracted 125 million viewers worldwide. Bad Bunny’s performance will have been a significant factor in the enormity of that figure. In the upcoming 2026 NFL season, a record nine games will be played outside the US. America’s sporting prestige is one of the few positive forces left in the country. 

So it seems Donald Trump could have his cake and eat it, but has chosen not to do so. Maintaining the NFL’s international appeal ensures the continued cultural hegemony the USA holds around the world – which is surely music to Trump’s bright-orange ears. The USA will also host both the 2026 FIFA World Cup, and the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, California.

There will be no shortage of opportunities to pedal this right-wing line of American superiority on the international stage in the upcoming years. Nevertheless, his attack on Bad Bunny risks alienating his own supporters by telling him they can’t enjoy foreign music (as if that would make them any more or less racist than they already are!). 

Having watched Kendrick Lamar’s performance at Super Bowl LIX, I am further inclined to admit that there was a stronger political message behind his performance than that of Bad Bunny. Lamaar’s diss-track on Drake included subtle references to George Floyd, the evils of hate and discrimination, and the appearance of notable African American celebrities such as Serena Williams and Samuel L. Jackson. 

On the contrary, Bad Bunny’s performance was an inspiring call for continental unity, more than it was a sizzling rebuttal of jingoistic American values. It included the display of all national flags from both American continents. It featured Lady Gaga’s performance of ‘Die With a Smile’ in English. He even began the performance with that famous line ‘God Bless America’. 

Ultimately, the foundation of my critique is that Trump and his supporters have given a particularly poor showing of themselves. They can find more important things to rip to pieces than an uplifting halftime performance at a sporting event that was enjoyed by millions around the world. In my Spanish class, Bad Bunny’s songs have become the latest cool trend. Much to our lecturer’s chagrin, we are now spontaneously shouting ‘Nueva Yolllll!’ in our best Latin-American accents at regular intervals throughout the class. 

Even as someone whose politics is diametrically opposed to that of those MAGA-cap-wearing racists, I feel the country as a whole has let itself down. As a primary school teacher might say, there is a small minority in this class who are spoiling it for the rest of you. If worldwide sporting events like the Super Bowl can’t escape political standard-bearing, we truly are in dire straits. 

¡Si tú quieres divertir, solo tienes que vivir!