Last October, when the American National Football League (NFL) and producer and rapper Jay-Z (Roc Nation) revealed the identity of the artist invited to host the Super Bowl LX halftime show, the American right went to the barricades. However, Bad Bunny, one of the pop stars the most popular on the planet, will not be the first musician of Latin American origin to perform on the most important platform that America-spectacle has to offer. What is Bad Bunny, featured on Sunday at the Grammy Awards before his expected February 8 concert at the Super Bowl, the symbol of?
Donald Trump confirmed to New York Post earlier this week that he would not attend in person the game between the Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots, played in San Francisco on Sunday, February 8: “it’s too far” from Mar-a-Lago. And about the headliner of the half-time concert, and the one presented before the match by the authors of the success American IdiotGreen Day, he added that he was “against them” (“ anti-them “): “I think it’s a terrible choice. All this does is sow hatred. »
The comment appears more absurd after weeks of violence in Minneapolis, where US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents are violently tracking down nationals. Consequently, the concert of the Puerto Rican star, who promised to only sing his repertoire in Spanish, is already seen as a symbol of resistance.
“First, Bad Bunny has become an essential figure in world pop,” observes Ons Barnat, ethnomusicologist and professor in the Department of Music at UQAM. A figure who completely affirms the aspect of identity, of his music as of his person, thus sending a very fresh message in comparison to all the Latino stars before him. »
By warning the audience that his performance will be delivered entirely in Spanish, “he emphasizes that this language is no longer that of a minority, but of many Americans and North Americans,” says Ons Barnat. Additionally, I read an article today reporting the rumor that he would wear a skirt” in support of the LGBTQ+ community. “He is shaking up the codes, he is becoming a new example for the young Latin American generation. »
Montrealer Cruzito, artist and musical director of the record company Joy Ride Latino, also expects Bad Bunny to assert his Latin American pride during his performance, at odds with the values defended by the MAGA movement – when the halftime concert was announced, representatives of Turning Point USA, the ultraconservative organization founded by Charlie Kirk and today led by his widow, said they wanted to counter-program Bad Bunny’s concert with an “All American Halftime Show » ; ten days before the Super Bowl, no headliner has yet been revealed.
The Puerto Rican soul
“I love Puerto Rico; the citizens are Latino, but imbued with American culture,” describes Cruzito, who lived there for more than a year. “They remind me of the Latinos of New York,” imbued with the same liveliness and a similar taste for partying. “Puerto Rico is very vibrant, it’s the country that gave us salsa and reggaeton. »
And among the most important reggaeton stars, Daddy Yankee, Ivy Queen, Tego Calderon, pioneers of the 1990s and 2000s, up to Bad Bunny, who shattered all listening records (replacing Taylor Swift last year as the most listened to artist on Spotify) and album sales for a Latin artist. His star shines today to such an extent that he has now appeared on screen, invited to host or perform (or both) at Saturday Night Live (three times in the last two years) and to play roles in the cinema (Caught Stealing/Trappedby Darren Aronofsky, last summer).
He went from pop star as the standard bearer of Latin American pride with the release last year of his sixth album, I SHOULD TAKE MORE PHOTOSon which he pays homage to Puerto Rican musical roots, salsa, bomba, plena and even peasant music fuck you. In a biographical essay entitled P FKN R: How Bad Bunny Became the Global Voice of Puerto Rican Resistance (Duke University Press), published a few days ago, academics Vanessa Díaz and Petra R. Rivera-Rideau, co-authors, affirm that the album I SHOULD TAKE MORE PHOTOS “is perhaps his most politicized work”.
“The album celebrates Puerto Rican resilience and joie de vivre while offering a sharp political critique of American colonialism in Puerto Rico,” we analyze. “ I SHOULD TAKE MORE PHOTOS is as much a musical masterpiece as it is a political rallying cry, deeply rooted in Puerto Rican culture, concerns and traditions. […] The album draws on the long history of Puerto Rican music as a form of resistance, particularly against American colonialism, and the use of art and dance to tell stories of everyday Puerto Rican joys and struggles. »
Last spring, Bad Bunny lifted the veil on his new tour: from July 11 to September 20, 2025, the artist gave 31 concerts at the Coliseo José Miguel Agrelot, in the Puerto Rican capital, San Juan. Until the end of February, he will tour Latin America (including Brazil) before heading to Europe, during which he will perform ten times at the home of Real Madrid, the Estadio Metropolitano, with a capacity of more than 60,000 seats. Bad Bunny refuses to give concerts in the United States: “The problem is that the fucking ICE could stand outside” theaters to arrest spectators, “and that’s something that worried us a lot,” he confided to the magazine i-D last September.
All Puerto Rican
Bad Bunny will therefore avoid USA…except for the Super Bowl. This is a demonstration of force, decodes Ons Barnat: “It has become so important in the world of pop music, to find yourself in this stadium singing to Americans who may have prejudices about Latinos, forcing them to listen to music in Spanish, there is really a political posture, especially in the current context, which is truly explosive. He must be looking forward to the impact his performance could have, which will undoubtedly make history. »
Bad Bunny’s anti-colonialist message carries even further after the American attack on Venezuela, President Trump’s threats against Greenland and the caricature made of “Governor” Mark Carney. Canadians, Venezuelans, Greenlanders, all Puerto Ricans facing the Trumpist threat? “In any case, even putting politics aside, I believe that all Latinos admire him because he represents us, he speaks for us, he makes the music with which we identify,” believes Cruzito.
“I think people are surprised that I’m popular and mainstreambut I never hesitate to speak up, replied Bad Bunny to Rolling Stone in January 2025. This is what makes me human. I think people are used to artists who become famous and mainstream do not express themselves on these subjects, or with extreme caution. But I speak — and those who don’t like it don’t have to listen to me. […] politicians take advantage of situations to divide people, and that has never been my goal. I’ve never been afraid to express myself, because that’s who I am. »
Bad Bunny will star in the Super Bowl LX halftime show, which takes place on February 8 and will be broadcast here on RDS and CTV. The artist is nominated in six Grammy categories, the awards of which will be presented on 1is February during the 68e gala edition. The test P FKN R: How Bad Bunny Became the Global Voice of Puerto Rican Resistanceby Vanessa Díaz and Petra R. Rivera-Rideau, was published on January 27 by Duke University Press.
