By Staff Writer: Grace Anders
A field of sugar cane planted in the middle of Levi Stadium set the stage for hardworking, humble beginnings as Bad Bunny stepped out into the national spotlight in an all-white suit. A heavy reggaeton beat dropped, and Bad Bunny began his highly anticipated and contentious Super Bowl Half-time performance with “Tití me preguntó,” a song that exemplifies his iconic monotone rap style.
Bad Bunny has always been a polarizing artist. People tend to love or hate his daring artistic style that fuses classical Latin music genres like salsa and bachata with modern genres like trap and reggaeton while lyricizing controversial contemporary issues. In line with his entire career, the choice of Bad Bunny as the half time show performer received a polarized view from Super Bowl spectators. While some viewers eagerly anticipated seeing Puerto Rican representation on this monumental platform, others did not feel rap music in Spanish fit the Super Bowl’s patriotic themes. The half time show reminded us that there are other ways to communicate beyond spoken words. Music, theatrics, dance and imagery are all universal forms of communication that transcend language. Bad Bunny’s performance had all these elements combined to tell a cultural story about his Puerto Rican heritage open for interpretation by any viewer.
As the energy of the show escalated, the camera panned to a pastel pink, yellow trimmed casita where artists like Karol G, Cardi B and Pedro Pascal can be seen in the crowd of people dancing on the porch. Bad Bunny performs on the roof as though standing on the proverbial shoulders of his fellow Latino artists, his community, and his roots. Suddenly, he drops through the roof and crashes into the dinner table of a family who stares at him in shock. Bad Bunny kicks through the front door and continues a show packed with symbology, hype, and his iconic fusion of musical styles.
Nearing the end of the show, the camera zooms in on another domestic scene: a family watches Bad Bunny receive the Grammy award for Album of the Year on a small box television. The real-life Bad Bunny hands the award to the young boy watching him on TV, a young boy who just saw representation of his Latino culture in one of the most esteemed music awards in the U.S.
In the final minutes of an epic performance, Bad Bunny exclaims “God Bless America” and continues to shout the name of every country across South, Central and North America and the Caribbean. He walks towards the camera followed by an entourage carrying each country’s flag trailing behind them as he verbally recites the map from South to North. No matter what language you speak, the message is clear: despite borders, division, and polarized views, we all come from the same beautifully diverse planet.