On Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026, the Seattle Seahawks defeated the New England Patriots 29-13 at the 60th National Football League Super Bowl at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, CA. With an estimated 125 million viewers, Latin trap artist Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, known as Bad Bunny, made history as the first artist to perform on the Super Bowl stage almost entirely in Spanish.
The performance was just over 13 minutes, yet the statement it made created a much larger impact. The show featured a real wedding, with Bad Bunny as the signed witness, appearances by Lady Gaga and Ricky Martin, and an overall ode to Latin American culture. During a time of political unrest in the United States, this halftime show served as a clear statement in favor of unity and inclusivity in America.
SMU student Amy Sanchez Ramirez felt the halftime show represented the Latin community and gave a voice to those who are often silenced.
“As a Latina/Hispanic student at a predominantly white institution, moments like that hit differently. Seeing someone who looks like us, speaks like us, and represents our culture so unapologetically on one of the biggest stages in the world is powerful. It felt like visibility, like celebration, like home,” Sanchez Ramirez said in a LinkedIn post.
Hosted by Apple Music, the show began with a guitarist dressed in traditional Puerto Rican farmers’ clothing and a Parva hat declaring “Qué rico se ser latino” or “How wonderful is it to be Latino.” The screen then featured dozens of similarly dressed individuals on a set designed to look like the Puerto Rican countryside, before cutting to Bad Bunny opening the show with his song “Tití Me Preguntó.”
Through elements like a domino game, a barbershop and a taco stand, Bad Bunny paid tribute to the Latino working class. He created a celebration of his home community and subsequently an act of resistance against the ongoing mass deportation of immigrants in the U.S. From dancers dressed as shopkeepers to light poles representing the energy collapse in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria, there was a sense of nostalgia created to honor the Latin American community.
“It reminded me how far our community has come, and how far we’re still going. Being here at SMU, in spaces that weren’t always designed with us in mind, isn’t always easy. But moments like this remind me that we belong everywhere we show up,” said Sanchez Ramirez.
Lady Gaga joined the stage to sing a few verses from her song “Die with a Smile,” along with Ricky Martin, who sang a version of Bad Bunny’s “Lo Que Le Pasó a Hawaii.” There were other celebrity appearances, including Pedro Pascal, Cardi B, Karol G, Jessica Alba and Alix Earle. There was also an appearance by Maria Antonia Cay, known as Toñita, the owner of the Caribbean Social Club on Grant Street in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
The show featured elaborate dance sequences across several sets, including a Puerto Rican farm, a casita, and a vintage living room where Bad Bunny handed his recently earned Grammy to his “younger self.” The show included a real wedding between a Latina and an American, symbolizing and giving the stage to an intercultural union.
“It felt like a hug to the Latina culture,” SMU student Dianna Carranza said. “It was a different kind of halftime show. There’s always value in being exposed to new cultures and perspectives…the representation meant a lot.”
President Trump outwardly criticized Bad Bunny’s halftime show, writing on Truth Social, “Nobody understands a word this guy is saying, and the dancing is disgusting, especially for young children that are watching from throughout the U.S.A., and all over the World.”
Turning Point USA, an American nonprofit organization founded by the late Charlie Kirk, hosted the “All-American Halftime Show,” intended to attract audiences that were opposed to Bad Bunny. The show was streamed on YouTube and received about 6 million viewers. The event was headlined by musical artist Kid Rock and featured appearances from Brantley Gilbert, Gabby Barrett and Lee Brice. It ended with a digital tribute to Charlie Kirk and his wife Erica.
In contrast, the Super Bowl Halftime Show concluded with Bad Bunny stating, “God bless America,” and leading a parade of flags held by dancers while naming off dozens of countries across the Americas, ending with Puerto Rico. He then held out a football, inscribed with “Together, We Are America,” and spiked it to the ground. The show ended with a lively chorus of the title track from his Grammy award-winning album “Debí Tirar Más Fotos” sung by everyone on the field.
A billboard reading “The only thing more powerful than hate is love” sums up the purpose of this performance. Bad Bunny and all those who joined him on the field were creating a space that encouraged diversity, celebrated community and embraced America as the home of the immigrants who built it.
“Being Latina/Hispanic is something I carry with so much love and seeing it celebrated so boldly made my heart so full,” Sanchez Ramirez said.
