SAN JUAN – For many residents of San Juan and beyond, the Super Bowl excitement fizzled out after just 13 minutes.
Throughout the first half of the game, the focus shifted from the field to the lively atmosphere, with conversations, music, and a feast of food taking center stage. However, as soon as the halftime show began, a hush swept across the island.
This halftime show was more than just entertainment for Puerto Rico; it was a moment of pride. It featured an artist who has risen from bagging groceries to becoming Spotify’s most-streamed performer last year. Bad Bunny has seized the global stage to champion immigrant rights, celebrate Puerto Rican culture, and call out U.S. immigration policies.
“He emerged at a pivotal time in Latin American history,” remarked Marielys Rojas, 39, a Venezuelan native who has called Puerto Rico home for the past 22 years.
Rojas was among the hundreds who gathered on a grassy knoll by the beach in Puerto Rico’s capital, eager to catch the halftime performance on a large screen. The setting was picturesque, with waves crashing in the background and the distinct calls of the native coquí frogs filling the air.
Amarilys Reyes, 55, joined the seaside celebration with her 22-year-old daughter, eager to be part of the island-wide event.
She had never watched a Super Bowl and didn’t know who was playing, but it didn’t matter. Like many others, she was only there for Bad Bunny.
“It’s the biggest show of his life,” Reyes said.
Energy, nerves and excitement had been building across Puerto Rico ever since the NFL, Apple Music and Roc Nation announced that Benito Antonio Ocasio Martínez would headline the Super Bowl XL Halftime Show.
Watch parties were quickly organized across the U.S. mainland and the island. Some dubbed it “Super Bori Sunday,” a shortened nod to “Boricua,” which refers to someone with Puerto Rican ancestry, while others referred to it “The Benito Bowl: Morcilla, Sancocho, Mofongo, Reggaetón and a little bit of Football.”
One woman wrote on social media that she would watch the halftime show with her 87-year-old mother in Puerto Rico so they could dance together, while another person posted that they had prepared a PowerPoint presentation for their American friends dubbed “Bad Bunny 101.”
Creativity flowed as Feb. 8 approached: One bar in Puerto Rico posted a promo featuring the quarterbacks from the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots sitting on the iconic white plastic lawn chairs that grace the cover of Bad Bunny’s newest album.
Even the Teletubbies got in on the excitement, shaking their colorful rumps to Bad Bunny ’s “Baile Inolvidable” a day before the show.
Wonder Woman also lent her support, with Lynda Carter noting on social media that she was a “huge fan” of Bad Bunny, whom she noted was an American citizen: “Make no mistake.”
But criticism of the first all-Spanish NFL halftime show spiked as the first half ended.
Jake Paul, a YouTuber-turned-boxer who has property in Puerto Rico and has posted about life on the island, wrote on X: “Turn off this halftime. A fake American citizen performing who publicly hates America. I cannot support that.”
Puerto Ricans quickly responded.
“Don’t you live where he’s from?” wrote one person while many others noted that Puerto Ricans are U.S. citizens.
Luke Lavanway, a 35-year-old who lives in New York but was vacationing in Puerto Rico to escape the ongoing cold snap, said he had no problem with a halftime show in Spanish.
“That’s part of us,” he said. “That’s what makes us great, and we should just enjoy it.”
The crowd that had gathered for the halftime show began streaming out of the watch party as soon as the second half started, smiling as they reflected on what they had just witnessed.
“I thought it was phenomenal that Bad Bunny brought all Latinos together in one place and represented them all equally,” said Carlos Ayala, 36, of San Juan. “It’s an important moment for Latino culture.”
He also thought it fantastic that Ricky Martin sang Bad Bunny’s, “Lo que le pasó a Hawaii,” which laments gentrification in Puerto Rico, a worsening issue for many on an island with a more than 40% poverty rate.
“Transmitting that message is extremely important in these times,” he said, adding that he also appreciated the light posts and exploding transformers featured during the show, a nod to Puerto Rico’s chronic outages “so the world can see what we live through.”
Among those beaming after the show was Juliana Santiago, 35, who said her heart swelled with pride on Sunday night.
She said Bad Bunny proved that “you can accomplish things, that the American dream truly is real.”
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