When Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, better known to the world as Bad Bunny stepped onto the Super Bowl 60 halftime stage in Santa Clara on February 8, 2026, he wasn’t just delivering a performance. He was making a statement. Under the glare of the world’s most-watched live broadcast, the Puerto Rican superstar transformed the NFL’s centerpiece spectacle into a vibrant act of cultural and political resistance.
From the opening moments, it was clear this was not a conventional halftime show. The staging fused Caribbean street festival energy with sharp, symbolic imagery: dancers in reflective foil capes evoking emergency blankets used by migrants, projected visuals of Puerto Rican coastlines battered by storms, and rhythmic transitions that moved from celebratory reggaetón to urgent, percussive beats.
Bad Bunny’s setlist, while avoiding explicit political slogans, carried the weight of his career-long advocacy. His music has often been a vessel for Puerto Rican identity, queer visibility, and critiques of colonial neglect. The halftime show distilled those themes into a condensed, high-voltage performance that reached hundreds of millions worldwide.
Resistance in the Spotlight:
The “resistance” in Bad Bunny’s show was multilayered.
Cultural Resistance: By centering Spanish-language lyrics and Afro-Caribbean rhythms on an American football stage, he challenged the dominance of English-language pop in U.S. mass media.
Political Resistance: Visual cues referenced Puerto Rico’s ongoing struggles, from post-hurricane recovery to debates over its political status, without resorting to overt slogans that might have been censored.
Social Resistance: His inclusive casting of dancers and musicians reflected his commitment to LGBTQ+ representation and body diversity, pushing back against narrow entertainment industry norms.
As TIME noted in its analysis, the performance “was an act of resistance” not because it shouted demands, but because it refused to dilute identity for mainstream comfort.
A Legacy of Artist-Led Protest:
Bad Bunny’s halftime show joins a lineage of artist-led protest moments on the Super Bowl stage, from Beyoncé’s Black Panther-inspired 2016 set to Shakira and Jennifer Lopez’s 2020 nods to Latinx pride and immigrant rights. Bad Bunny’s approach was distinct: rather than a single provocative gesture, he wove resistance into every aesthetic choice, making it inseparable from the entertainment itself.
This aligns with his broader career arc. Whether calling out political corruption in Puerto Rico, speaking against gender violence, or wearing skirts on magazine covers to challenge machismo, Bad Bunny has consistently blurred the line between pop stardom and activism.
The Cultural Impact:
In the days following the performance, social media lit up with praise, debate, and analysis. For many Puerto Ricans and Latin Americans, it was a moment of pride, a reminder that their languages, rhythms, and struggles could command the world’s attention without compromise. For others, it was a lesson in how resistance can be joyful, celebratory, and deeply rooted in culture.
By the time the stadium lights dimmed, Bad Bunny had done more than entertain. He had used the NFL’s biggest stage to assert that identity is not negotiable, and that resistance can dance, sing, and shine under the brightest lights.