Bad Bunny Won The Super Bowl
Angel Alvarado | Feb. 17, 2026
Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio (Bad Bunny) holding a football at the end of his Sept. 28, 2026, halftime show for Super Bowl LX in Santa Clara, Calif. (José Escobar/Bein Sports)
On Sept. 28, 2025, NBC announced that the six-time Grammy-winning Puerto Rican rapper Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, better known as Bad Bunny, would be the headliner for the Super Bowl LX Halftime Show. This announcement sparked controversy online, but that is not what I will be highlighting in this review. I am here to share my favorite cameos, Easter eggs and messages!
Let's start with the lovely celebrity cameos that filled the show, apart from Lady Gaga’s salsa rendition of “Die with a Smile”, and Ricky Martin’s powerful delivery of “LO QUE LE PASÓ A HAWAii”. Within the show's physical set, ‘La Casita’, a pink house reminiscent of a traditional Puerto Rican home, was featured, seen in many of Bad Bunny’s previous concerts across albums. In ‘La Casita’, we could see some familiar faces like actors Pedro Pascal and Jessica Alba, singer Karol G from Colombia, rappers Cardi B and Young Miko from Puerto Rico and Venezuelan MLB player Ronald Acuña Jr.
Many iconic street vendors, products and actual stores were promoted and highlighted during the performance, such as stalls for the coco frío and piraguas, which are two traditional treats enjoyed across Puerto Rico and other Latin American countries. Also included was the Los Angeles-based taqueria, Villa’s Tacos, where Bad Bunny offered a piragua to the brand’s Chef Victor Villa. Additionally, the iconic Caribbean Social Club made an appearance with Toñita, the owner, offering Bad Bunny a drink. The Brooklyn-based bar is known as one of the last Puerto Rican social clubs surviving in NYC.
The whole show was an homage-galore for the history of many Latin things. The very start of the halftime show opens with people harvesting sugarcane, an homage to the history of sugar cane plantations and Latino labor and heritage (Sugar Cane's Bitter History). During a transitional moment, Bad Bunny honored some iconic songs known for their impact on the reggaeton genre. It featured songs such as Tego Calderon’s “Pa Que Se Lo Gozen”, Don Omar’s “Dale Don”, and Daddy Yankee’s “Gasolina”.
Coming up at the end of the show, we got to see Bad Bunny perform his song, “El Apagon” (The Black Out) from his 2022 album “Un Verano Sin Ti”, a love letter to the island of Puerto Rico and its culture, while also being a critique of the infrastructure failures and gentrification. It also highlighted the issues of the LUMA energy blackouts and irregular electricity supply, represented in the performance by dancers who climbed up lighting poles, soon joined by Bad Bunny, as the poles sparked and flickered.
Alex Valenzuela, a senior who enjoyed watching the show with friends, shared that their favorite moments were the “El Apagon” and “LO QUE LE PASÓ A HAWAii” performances and their messages.
“The show meant representation to me, especially in the time that we are in, where brown bodies are being attacked daily,” Valenzuela said. ”It is increasingly dangerous to be a person of color in America.”
At the end of the show, Bad Bunny closed his performance by bringing people together. Before listing many countries within the Americas, Bad Bunny declared “God bless America” as dancers with their countries’ flags ran out onto the field, singing along to Bad Bunny’s “DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS”. The final message was a football Bad Bunny spiked that read, “Together, We Are America”, followed by a message on the screen behind him, “The only thing more powerful than hate is love”, a phrase Bad Bunny had said during his Grammy acceptance speech.
Overall, Benito, hijo de Toñito, was the true winner of the Super Bowl with an astounding performance that knocked even my parents from their seats when we heard him name our country. I leave you with one last quote from the show, “Tú también deberías creer en ti. Vales más de lo que piensas,” or in English, “You should also believe in yourself; you are worth more than you think.” Now go and rewatch the Half Time show!