Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl Halftime Show Was a Statement on Identity and What “America” Means
By Alexus Mosley
Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl halftime show was a high-energy performance and a highly anticipated political statement. During his 13-minute set, the Puerto Rican superstar used music, visuals, and carefully chosen symbolism to challenge narrow definitions of what it means to be “American.” The performance came after months of political criticism labeling him as “anti-American,” a narrative Bad Bunny appeared to directly confront on the world’s biggest stage.
Kicking off the show, Bad Bunny introduced himself by his real name, Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio. Over the course of his performance, he then listed more than 20 countries across North, Central, and South America as dancers carried various national flags behind him, with both the U.S. and Puerto Rican flags prominently visible. The moment reframed the word “America” not as one country, but as a shared identity across an entire continent.
That message was underscored when Bad Bunny spiked a football, reading “Together we are America” before launching into his nostalgic anthem “DtMF.” The visual made the point clear, and that’s his version of patriotism, which includes immigrants, diasporic communities, and Latin American identities that are often excluded from mainstream conversations about American identity.
One of the most emotional moments came during his performance of “NUEVAYoL,” a song widely seen as a tribute to immigrants and Puerto Rico’s diaspora in New York. In the segment, Bad Bunny handed a Grammy statuette to a young boy who had just watched the artist win on television. The child, played by actor Lincoln Fox Ramadan, was cast to resemble a young Bad Bunny. According to the child’s talent agency, the moment symbolized Bad Bunny passing the award to his younger self, a visual metaphor for how far he has come.
By the end of the performance, Bad Bunny positioned himself as an American patriot but on his own terms. His halftime show reframed patriotism as something expansive, multicultural, and deeply tied to immigrant identity and Latin American heritage. In a moment watched by millions, used the Super Bowl stage to tell a story about belonging, identity, and who gets to define what “America” really means.