On February 8, the 2026 Super Bowl commenced and Grammy award winning singer, Bad Bunny, made history by being the first fully Spanish-speaking artist to perform the halftime show. The Puerto Rican singer performed for more than 13 minutes and sang over 13 songs as well as utilizing excerpts from others’ songs. Bad Bunny opened the historical performance singing his song “Titi Me Preguntó”. According to USA Today, Bad Bunny opened by “walking against a backdrop that resembled the island’s sugar cane fields. A series of dancers, dressed in pava straw hats, flanked him…” While singing this song, he walked by stands and vendors such as a coco frio cart, which is a fresh coconut water stand commonly sold in Puerto Rico. He also walked by a “piraguas cart recreation” according to USA Today, which is a popular snow-cone like dessert found in Puerto Rico.
In the next part of Bad Bunny’s performance, he mixed lots of different Latin music. He mixed “Gasolina” by Daddy Yankee, “Yo Perro Sola,” and “Voy a Llevarte Pa’ PR”. During this mix, Bad Bunny spoke in Spanish stating, “You’re listening to music from Puerto Rico, from the barrios and the projects.”
Another memorable moment from the performance was Grammy award-winning singer, Lady Gaga, singing the hit single “Die with a Smile”. During her set, there was a wedding taking place on the field of Levi’s Stadium. According to CNN, “The couple invited him to their wedding and he invited them onto the Super Bowl stage instead.” This wedding took place on top of a La Marqueta market. According to NYC Public Markets, La Marqueta “was previously an informal East Harlem gathering place for pushcart vendors and other merchants. From the 1930s to the 1950s, the area became home to Puerto Rican, Dominican, Cuban, and Mexican immigrants, transforming East Harlem into the vibrant Spanish Harlem, or El Barrio—and the Market into “La Marqueta.”
Bad Bunny then went on to reference his recent win for Album of the Year at the Grammys. In this part of the show, a younger actor, Lincoln Fox, was watching Bad Bunny’s acceptance speech at the Grammys when Bad Bunny hands the young boy his grammy. According to ABC News, “The moment between Bad Bunny and the young boy at the Super Bowl was meant to symbolize that anyone can pursue their hopes and dreams.”
Bad Bunny then brought award-winning singer, Ricky Martin, known for songs such as, “Livin’ La Vida Loca”, onto the Super Bowl stage. Martin sang an instrumental version of Bad Bunny’s song “LO QUE LE PASÓ A HAWAii”
In the next part of the show, Bad Bunny held a Puerto Rican flag then climbed on top of exploding power poles while singing his song, “El Apagón”. According to AP News, the exploding powerpoles and the song were “in reference to Hurricane Maria, its aftermath and the continued anger and frustration over persistent, chronic power outages.”
Bad Bunny ended his show with flags representing countries across North and South America. He proceeded to say, “God bless America,” He then named every country in the Americas in Spanish: Mexico, Puerto Rico, Colombia, Venezuela, the Dominican Republic, Cuba, and more. He continued through Central and South America before ending with ‘USA,’ ‘Canada,’ and finally ‘Puerto Rico’ again.” The scoreboard screen in the stadium proceeded to light up with the message, “The only thing stronger than hate is love, “in English, referencing his speech at the Grammys. He finished the show with his song, “DtMF” and held a football that stated, “Together, we are America,” in English.
Millbrook sophomore, Leilani Noe, stated, “I loved the halftime show. It was amazing because Bad Bunny brought cultures together. He was able to portray a positive message to all of the viewers and overall he gave off an amazing energy that was accompanied by the storyline and dancing of the show. Bad Bunny put out a great message to the viewers and was able to get people to stand up and dance!”
Overall, Bad Bunny’s halftime show portrayed unity and love while displaying Hispanic and Puerto Rican culture to the U.S. The ending message of the Super Bowl displayed on the scoreboard screen encapsulates his performance perfectly, “The only thing stronger than hate is love.”
