To say Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl halftime performance was joyful is an understatement – a real-life couple got married on stage, after all.
The music was lively and upbeat.
It was also political. Though, not quite as political as some assumed.
Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, who performs as Bad Bunny, criticized Immigration and Customs Enforcement last week during an acceptance speech at the Grammys.
“Before I say thanks to God, I’m gonna say: ICE out. We’re not savage, we’re not animals, we’re not aliens. We are humans and we are Americans,” Ocasio said.
But a different portion of his Grammy’s speech lit up an LED screen inside Levi’s Stadium: “The only thing more powerful than hate is love.”
Some of the messages were subtle, like Ocasio’s decision to highlight the ordinary people who contribute to Puerto Rican society and culture: a nail technician, street food vendors and elderly men enjoying a game of dominoes.
Other messages were more overt, like the inclusion of “Lo Que Le Pasó a Hawaii,” (“What Happened to Hawaii”) and “El Apagón” (“The Blackout”) in the set list. The songs touch on issues like colonialism, power outages and poor governance.
The decision to select Bad Bunny, who performs almost exclusively in Spanish, as the halftime entertainment was criticized by some on the right.
Turning Point USA, the conservative organization founded by the late Charlie Kirk, scheduled its own “All-American Halftime Show” headlined by Kid Rock as counterprogramming.
It was broadcast on TBN and garnered around 6 million views on Youtube, according to The Athletic from The New York Times.
The official viewership from the NFL’s halftime show hasn’t been released yet, but USA Today reported that it’s likely to exceed 125 million.
President Trump is likely one of those viewers. He took to Truth Social to criticize Bad Bunny’s performance.
“The Super Bowl Halftime Show is absolutely terrible, one of the worst, EVER! It makes no sense, is an affront to the Greatness of America, and doesn’t represent our standards of Success, Creativity, or Excellence,” he wrote in part.
Ocasio’s music is part of an increasingly diverse pool of protest music that defies genres.
North Texas artists are adding their voices to that cannon. KERA will have a story about their protest tunes soon.
Got a tip? Email Marcheta Fornoff at mfornoff@kera.org.
KERA News is made possible through the generosity of our members. If you find this reporting valuable, consider making a tax-deductible gift today. Thank you.
