A show in which Spanish was spoken and English was transformed to the rhythm of salsa. After months of rejection of President Donald Trump's ultranationalist MAGA movement, Puerto Rican singer Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, known as Bad Bunny, finally starred in the Super Bowl halftime show. With a party in all its splendor, the Puerto Rican stressed that America is a continent and not just a country. Accompanied by artists such as Lady Gaga and Ricky Martín, he highlighted Latin culture at a time when the Trump Administration increases violent arrests against the immigrant population.

First modification: 02/09/2026 - 14:03 Last modification: 02/09/2026 - 14:56

Bad Bunny transformed Levi's Stadium in California into a vibrant tribute to Puerto Rico, Hispanicism and Latin American culture.

The sun was beginning to set when Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, known as Bud Bunny, appeared recreating the fields of Puerto Rico, with men and women dressed as peasants and traditional straw hats. With the beats of 'Titi asked me', one of his biggest hits, the artist set the beginning of the halftime show in the NFL's American football grand finale, which was lived to the rhythm of salsa, reggaeton and, above all, full of joy.

Then he crashed into the roof of “la casita” and the song ‘Gasolina’ by Daddy Yankee played for a moment, along with some musical fragments by Tego Calderón, clearly a recognition and celebration of the Puerto Rican artists who paved the way for his career to go global.

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"My name is Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio. And if I am here today at Super Bowl 60, it is because I never, never stopped believing in myself and you should also believe in yourself, you are worth more than you think," the singer stressed to the crowd in Spanish.

Read alsoBad Bunny at the Super Bowl: 13 minutes and a show in Spanish that challenges MAGA and anti-immigration rhetoric

America is a continent

It was a performance full of messages and, without a doubt, a historic moment for Americans in its strictest meaning. From Alaska and Canada, passing through the United States, the Caribbean, Central and South America, the singer named each of the countries that make up the continent. He thus underlined what it means to be an American, at a time when President Donald Trump's “America First” has been used to justify the violent detentions of foreigners by immigration agents, even of people with proper documentation to live in the United States.

“God bless America, be it Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Haiti, the Antilles, United States, Canada, and my motherland, my homeland, Puerto Rico,” the artist shouted to the sound of the drums.

He did so just after touring the scenery on the playing field that included the well-known "casita", from where dozens of dancers joined the party, including the American actress, Jessica Alba, who has Mexican roots on her father's side.

Read alsoThe Super Bowl sings and plays in Spanish: from Bad Bunny to Andy Borregales, the Latin shake

English is infected with salsa in Lady Gaga's voice

When the Latin rhythms were already filling the party atmosphere, the moment came that no one expected: the New York artist and one of the most recognized globally, Lady Gaga, transformed her song 'Die with smile' into a salsa version.

A continuous tribute with which he joined the halftime show and made the spectators dance. Dressed in blue and with a red flower in her hair, Lady Gaga surprised not only with her vocal talent, but also with her show to the sound of maracas and congos.

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Ricky Martín, one of Puerto Rico's most important crossover artists, also joined in by performing in Spanish 'What happened to Hawaii', by Bad Bunny, a rallying cry for Puerto Rico's cultural autonomy in an era of neocolonialization.

Martín appeared on a plastic chair in front of a banana; a scene that evoked the cover of Bad Bunny's 2025 album, 'Debí Tirar Más Fotos', which recently led him to win best album of the year, the highest category at the Grammy Awards.

Read alsoThe Seahawks crush the Patriots and win their second Super Bowl

A real wedding at the halftime show

Five minutes into the 13-minute show, the last part of a wedding ceremony was shown. A smiling officiant pronounced the couple married. The husband and wife, both dressed in white, kissed as dancers and musicians surrounded them and smiled.

The pair split to reveal Lady Gaga and 'Los Sobrinos,' a Puerto Rican salsa band that played on Bad Bunny's most recent album and at his Puerto Rican residency. After the show, her representative confirmed that it was a real wedding. The couple, whose names have not been revealed, had invited Bad Bunny to their ceremony, but he proposed to them to get married at his halftime show.

The party that angered Donald Trump

The president of the United States exploded with anger after the Latino party – which represents the largest minority population in the United States – with 64 million people counted until 2024 – took over the halftime show of the most important sporting event in the United States.

"The Super Bowl halftime show is absolutely terrible, one of the worst in history! It makes no sense, it is an affront to the greatness of the United States and does not represent our standards of success, creativity or excellence. Nobody understands a word this guy says and the dance is disgusting, especially for the little children who watch it from all over the United States and the world," said the president named hundreds of times in the files of the late pedophile Jeffery Epstein, who for the White House are not mentions compromising, despite the descriptions of sexual abuse by complainants in those documents in which the Republican is explicitly named.

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"This 'show' is a slap in the face to our country, which sets new standards and records every day, including the best stock market and best retirement plans in history! There is nothing inspiring about this disaster of a halftime show; it will get rave reviews from the fake media, because they have no idea what is happening in the real world. And by the way, the NFL should immediately replace its ridiculous new starting rule. LET'S MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!" added the president.

But Bad Bunny's 2026 halftime performance represents the icing on the cake in a big moment for the 31-year-old global superstar. All while discourses of xenophobia and racism escalate in the United States, a country made up of territories that, as history shows, were territories of Mexico, such as Texas or California, the scene of this year's Super Bowl.

Read also: Bad Bunny out of the Superbowl? Trump intensifies his crusade against the musical star

With Reuters, AP and local media

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