You don’t have to speak Spanish to understand that Bad Bunny’s blockbuster Super Bowl halftime show was a powerful one: rooted in place, history, politics, and most importantly, joy.
But if you’re not intimately familiar with the oeuvre or the island, there are a lot of smaller details you might have missed — from all of the very Puerto Rican activities in the intro to Bad Bunny’s light blue Puerto Rican flag.
As Vox’s biggest Bad Bunny enthusiast — his full name is Benito Antonio MartĂnez Ocasio — I collected some of the most striking details from his history-making performance: the first Super Bowl halftime show to be performed entirely in Spanish, building on Shakira and Jennifer Lopez’s joint performance in 2020.
Here are the eight can’t-miss moments from Benito’s show:
1. Why Bad Bunny’s jersey has the number 64
Benito’s jersey, emblazoned with one of his last names, also features the initial number of reported deaths in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria in 2017 — likely a gross undercount. That number, 64, became the center of debate, as rural parts of the archipelago suffered from immense infrastructural damage and lack of electricity and clean water. The number was also used to minimize the severity of the storm. In the months following the devastation, the governor revised the toll to 2,975 deaths. Some studies put excess deaths even higher at 4,645.
2. The casita
A fixture of his latest era, the casita is a pink, traditionally Puerto Rican-style concrete house. You’ll find these literally anywhere on the island, but they’re most popular in rural areas. Debà Tirar Más Fotos chronicles the challenges of forced gentrification caused by the island’s colonial status. While the beaches and fancy apartments in San Juan may be swooped up by wealthy tourists and short-term rental hosts, what remains are the old homes in the mountains — many of which have been abandoned because of unclear wills, inability to afford maintenance, and emigration for better opportunities. (This is the case for my own family, sadly.)
Bad Bunny’s celebration of the casita as a party destination, full of celebrities from Pedro Pascal and Cardi B to Alix Earle and Young Miko, cements the fight to stay on the island. It’s also a fun continuation of his residency last summer on the island, where anyone who’s anyone had an invite.
Another fun fact about the casita: When Bad Bunny falls through the roof into that blue room, it’s a callback to the music video visualizers for his 2020 album, YHLQMDLG. He didn’t get to tour that album, so this is an Easter egg for some of his real OGs.
3. “Nuevayol” with Toñita
Debà Tirar Más Fotos is a love letter to the diaspora as much as it is to those on the island. New York has the highest density of Puerto Ricans outside of Puerto Rico, living in neighborhoods like Washington Heights and Alphabet City. One of Bad Bunny’s most special “if you know, you know” guests is Toñita, the owner of the Caribbean Social Club in Williamsburg, who has a shoutout in the song. High-key, it’s one of my favorite places to hang, dance, and play dominoes — a home away from home.
4. The kid with the Grammy
One of the most powerful moments of tonight’s performance was when Bad Bunny leaves the party scene in New York and passes his Grammy for best album to a child who looks uncannily similar to Liam Ramos, the 5-year-old boy who was taken by Immigration and Customs Enforcement as bait. Benito’s speech against ICE plays in the background, but I think this is more of a symbolic gesture of passing on the mantle to the next generation. In either case, it speaks to faith and hope for the future.
For Izzie's full list, you can read her story on the Vox site here.
