The Super Bowl is one of America’s most cherished traditions. The promise of pigskin, beer, bets and music brings Americans an unmatched sense of joy. Many companies take advantage of such high viewership on the network, paying millions of dollars to air commercials. This year, however, the commercials were absolutely awful. Commercials that were once filled with humor, diligence and starpower were now replaced by lackluster ads created by AI promoting political agendas, weight loss supplements, sports betting apps and cryptocurrency. Each ad was significantly worse than the other, with Mike Tyson’s MAHA ad being my personal favorite for its absurdity and lack of creative direction. I will say that the constant pan to those specific advertisements during the game made me hyper-aware of the media’s eerie role in influencing our everyday lives, especially with the rise of artificial intelligence, Ozempic-esque drugs and cryptocurrency.
For those of you who care more for the beer and music, like myself, the Half Time show tends to be the main event of the Super Bowl. This year, there were two shows. One, dubbed the “All-American Halftime show,” presented by conservative non-profit, Turning Point USA, was anything but All-American, ironically. Created out of spite in an attempt to push forward the MAGA agenda of white supremacy, I can proudly say that this All-American did not tune in. Instead, I watched on in awe as Bad Bunny fought hate with love and waved a different kind of American patriotism. A patriotism last seen in the pre-Trump world.
His performance began with a striking scene depicting sugar cane fields, a direct invitation into the colonial history of the Caribbean and Latin America, specifically Puerto Rico, where he’s from. From the fields, he transitions to a modern-day block in the Bronx where children, elders and in-betweens gather in community through dancing, eating, music and most importantly, language. Bad Bunny’s performance was the first-ever non-English act at the Super Bowl, which angered many Americans, hence the less-popular Turning Point USA show. However, as an English-speaker who does not know Spanish, the language barrier did not hinder me from feeling the music and enjoying myself. The scenes of the tropics of Puerto Rico and the busy streets of the Bronx reminded me of my own childhood, having grown up with a Caribbean upbringing. His music, albeit in another language, stretched across cultures and brought together viewers all in the name of love.
Scenes such as the wedding, which I thought to be an homage to telenovelas, were especially endearing after learning that the couple on stage was actually being wed. Thomas “Tommy” Wolter and Eleisa “Elli” Apparico joined Bad Bunny on the big stage as they were wed by Antonio Reyes, a pastor from Project Church in Sacramento, in front of millions. Lady Gaga even made a guest appearance singing a salsa-rendition of her award-winning “Die With a Smile.” There were other familiar faces such as Cardi B, who, to my disappointment, did not sing her hit “I Like It”; Pedro Pascal; Karol G; Jessica Alba and even Ricky Martin, who performed “Lo Que Le Pasó a Hawaii.”
The most beautiful part of the halftime show was the message about love and its power when embraced in its highest form. Through acts of love differing from communal practices of making food, sharing music, dancing or actual ceremonies such as weddings, Bad Bunny highlights the many ways love brings people together. He highlights the humanity of immigrants across all skin tones and races, even shouting out a series of Caribbean countries, including my roots in Guyana.
Bad Bunny is known for his outspoken critique of Donald Trump and Trump’s anti-immigration policies, including the sweeping wave of domestic terrorism incited by ICE. Whether you view it as so or not, Bad Bunny’s performance, similar to Kendrick Lamar’s, was filled with important commentary on the state of humanity today. There is a beautiful scene of a little boy and his family watching Bad Bunny win Album of the Year at the 68th Grammys for his “DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS” album, making it the first award to be given in this category to a Spanish-language album. Bad Bunny hands his Grammy to the little boy who beams a smile towards the crowd, showing the way that love transcends generations, but more importantly, the importance of loving where you’ve come from and loving where you are. Hailing from Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory, Bad Bunny is an American and has been one of the few to show the true traits of an All-American. Many have also speculated online that the little boy is Liam Conejo Ramos, a 5-year-old who was recently detained during an ICE raid in Minnesota; however, to be clear, the boy is actually Lincoln Fox, a child actor and model.
Nonetheless, despite the criticism and outcries rooted in racism, I will speak for us real All-Americans and say that Bad Bunny’s performance was not one to miss. Filled with theatricals and nostalgia, it was a cultural explosion bringing together nations far and wide.
In the words of JLO, “Mi gente latino.”