For some American Super Bowl fans, Bad Bunny might seem like an unorthodox pick for the Super Bowl halftime show. President Donald Trump certainly thinks so, “‘I think it’s absolutely ridiculous,’ Trump said on Newsmax Greg Kelly Reports.”
He was reacting to news that the Puerto Rican star Bad Bunny was performing in the Super Bowl halftime show. In previous years, the Super Bowl performances were filled with artists like Kendrick Lamar, Rihanna, Maroon 5 and other household names in America, making the Super Bowl and halftime show synonymous with American pride and culture.
Yet it goes beyond the halftime show. Football is part of America. It’s the only place in the world where it’s played, and Americans take pride in that. And with this the Super Bowl is also one of the biggest sporting events in the world, right next to the World Cup. Therefore, the picking of Bad Bunny to perform in the halftime show, not anyone else, is a statement for Latinos in the current mess of a political state that is the U.S.
In Bad Bunny’s bit on Saturday Night Live (SNL), he addresses, in Spanish, how Latinos have opened doors to give him this opportunity.
During the bit, he says “Especially all the Latinos and Latinas in the whole world, and here in the United States, all the people who have worked to open doors. It’s more than an achievement for me, it’s a milestone for all of us, demonstrating that our footprints and our contribution in this country, no one can ever remove nor erase.”
As he continues to support his Latino heritage through his voice as one of the biggest artists in the world, Bad Bunny comically refers to his English-speaking fans who have yet to learn Spanish.
“If you didn’t understand what I just said, you have four months to learn,” Bad Bunny said, which ends his bit on SNL.
Bad Bunny’s voice not only gives representation to American Puerto Ricans, but also Latinos, and Latinas in America and across the globe. It’s these voices that show us the importance of representation, especially in contrast to how Mexican Latinos and Latinas are being treated in America through the current Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids.
In an interview with i-D magazine, Bad Bunny was outspoken on ICE. “There was the issue of like, f***ing ICE could be outside my concert,” Bad Bunny said.
Bad Bunny also mentioned that this was the reason why he took the U.S. off of his tour out of concern of the deportation of Latinos.
Despite the controversy and ICE’s current rampage, he will continue to do the Super Bowl halftime show. Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl performance is certain to make waves, and it might just be what America needs in Latino representation.