Bad Bunny took centre stage as the headliner of the 2026 Super Bowl LX halftime show on Sunday, making pop as well as political history.
The Puerto Rican superstar made history as the first artist to perform the show entirely in Spanish. The only English phrase he delivered was “God bless America,” before listing countries across North and South America as performers entered, carrying national flags.
(Photo: Mike Blake)
(Photo: Mike Blake)
The star-studded production featured appearances from Lady Gaga, Ricky Martin, Pedro Pascal, Cardi B, Jessica Alba, Karol G and more. Some performed alongside him, while others emerged from a small onstage “casita,” a house set he previously featured on his world tours.
(Photo: Jeenah Moon)
(Photo: Jeenah Moon)
Bad Bunny opened the performance in towering sugarcane fields — a striking nod to Puerto Rico’s colonial past and the brutal labour that once sustained its economy. The imagery grounded the spectacle in working-class history before expanding into broader cultural symbolism.
Food became a recurring motif throughout the set. A piragua stand, selling shaved ice with brightly coloured syrups, symbolised community and everyday Puerto Rican life. Flags of Colombia, Spain, Puerto Rico and Mexico were placed on the bottles, visually blending identities as the syrups were poured together — a metaphor for Latino unity.
Bad Bunny’s show also referenced Puerto Rican culture symbols: the concho (a native toad caricature of Bad Bunny) and jíbaro straw hats worn by rural workers. These icons evoke conversations are ‘endangered’ cultures of Puerto Rico. Concho is based off the sapo concho, a crested toad endemic to Puerto Rico that is now critically endangered due to invasive species and the rapid development that is destroying its habitat.
(Photo: Carlos Barria)
(Photo: Carlos Barria)
Although Bad Bunny did not directly address the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) during the show, an ICE advertisement reportedly aired immediately afterward the Puerto Rican singer’s performance sparking online controversy. Recent ICE raids and tougher enforcement have sparked large detentions, protests and legal challenges, while reports of deaths and poor conditions in expanded detention centres — plus a major doxxing of staff — have intensified oversight and scrutiny.
Colour symbolism further deepened the message. The azul clarito (light blue) seen on the Puerto Rican flag and in costume design is associated with the island’s original flag and the pro-independence movement. The shade stood out most prominently in Lady Gaga’s flowing light-blue “Salsa” dress.
(Photo: Jeenah Moon)
(Photo: Jeenah Moon)
A partial replica of Castillo San Felipe del Morro — the 16th-century Spanish fort in Old San Juan and a Unesco World Heritage Site — served as a stage prop. The historic fortress, long a symbol of Puerto Rican resilience, reinforced the performance’s historical undertones.
Though only 14 minutes long, the halftime show unfolded like a cultural history lesson, with symbolism embedded in nearly every prop and visual.
(Photo: Jeenah Moon)
(Photo: Jeenah Moon)
Not everyone welcomed the message. US President Donald Trump criticised the performance on Truth Social, calling it “absolutely terrible, one of the worst, EVER!” and “an affront to the Greatness of America,” adding that “nobody understands a word this guy is saying.”
Despite the criticism, Bad Bunny remains one of the most influential artists in the world, ranking as Spotify’s most-played artist in 2025 — a testament to the global reach of the culture he brought to the Super Bowl stage.