By centering the “sugarcane and struggle” of Puerto Rico, the artist forced a global reckoning with the island’s colonial status.
Bad Bunny’s halftime show at Levi’s Stadium on Sunday was more than a musical revue; it was a curated exhibition of Puerto Rican resilience. Performing entirely in Spanish to 125 million viewers, Benito Martínez Ocasio utilized his set to broadcast the complex reality of a U.S. territory that lacks voting power in national elections.
The performance wove together the island’s musical DNA—salsa, reggaeton, and plena—with visual storytelling that moved from rural sugarcane fields to the historic El Morro fort. This narrative arc served to highlight both the beauty and the hardship of life in Puerto Rico, touching on themes of economic collapse and the resilience of the working class.
A Universal Connection
For many Puerto Ricans, the artist’s trajectory mirrors their own. Like many islanders, Bad Bunny grew up in a small town with limited English proficiency and worked in a supermarket before finding fame. His unpolished, authentic accent—often criticized by detractors—has become a point of pride for a diaspora that often feels marginalized.
Producer MAG, a frequent collaborator, described the reaction to the artist’s recent work as a “cultural movement,” noting that the world is finally embracing Puerto Rico on its own terms. With this performance, Bad Bunny has arguably opened the door for Latin culture wider than any artist before him.
SOURCES: BBC Mundo, P FKN R (Book), The New York Times.
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