Essay: Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl halftime show will be a history lesson for the ages

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Bad Bunny continues to achieve incredible milestones. He recently made history by winning Album of the Year at the Grammys for his 2025 album, “Debí Tirar Más Fotos” – the first album entirely in Spanish to ever win that award. And soon, he’ll be the main performer at the Super Bowl halftime show on February 8th.

As a film and music lover, I’ve been really struck by Bad Bunny’s new album. It’s more than just amazing music; it’s a powerful look at Puerto Rico and the struggles its people are facing right now – things like people leaving the island, being forced from their homes, and the crumbling infrastructure. Especially at a time when schools and education are being challenged everywhere, including Puerto Rico, it feels incredibly important that he’s using his platform to educate the world about what’s happening there. Honestly, in the current political climate, that kind of visibility is huge.

As a huge film and music fan, I got a really exciting project last December. Bad Bunny’s team reached out and asked me to create about 17 pages of content detailing Puerto Rican history. They wanted it to accompany the visualizers for his song “DTMF” on YouTube. It’s amazing to see that those videos have now been viewed over 775 million times!

I created a presentation of around 40 slides filled with interesting historical and cultural information about Puerto Rico. It was shown during all 31 shows of Bad Bunny’s concert series in San Juan, covering topics like the fight for women’s voting rights and the origins of the pioneering Puerto Rican punk band, La Experiencia de Toñito Cabanillas.

The album, released on January 5th, celebrates the vibrant musical traditions of the island, including plena and salsa, and explores its often-overlooked history.

I wasn’t shocked when conservatives – including several Fox News personalities, podcasters, and even former President Trump – reacted negatively to the announcement that Bad Bunny would headline the Super Bowl halftime show. Trump himself questioned the decision, saying he didn’t know who Bad Bunny was and called the choice “crazy.”

When Bad Bunny performed, many people of color celebrated online. However, some questioned why a Spanish-speaking artist—even one as popular as he is—was selected for the performance. They also wondered why an artist who is American-born and speaks English wasn’t chosen instead.

Although clearly fueled by prejudice against foreigners, these questions reveal a deep lack of understanding about Puerto Rico – the home of Bad Bunny – and its complex relationship with the United States.

From 1493 to 1898, Puerto Rico was a Spanish colony. The United States took control in 1898 during the Spanish-American War, and in 1917, Puerto Ricans were granted U.S. citizenship with the passage of the Jones Law. We later adopted a constitution and became a Commonwealth of the United States in 1952. However, it’s important to remember that history is always more complex than a single story.

Despite these established facts, it’s important to remember that Puerto Ricans can’t vote in presidential elections and don’t have the full protections of the U.S. Bill of Rights. The U.S. Supreme Court, in a series of decisions from the early 1900s known as the Insular Cases, determined that Puerto Rico belongs to the United States, but isn’t considered a fully integrated part of it.

Put simply: We are a colony of the United States in the 21st century.

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While creating the historical background for his album “DTMF,” Bad Bunny realized many Puerto Ricans aren’t familiar with their own history. He wanted to make this history accessible to everyone, especially those who haven’t had the opportunity to go to college. He asked me to write these stories honestly, for people living in the working-class neighborhoods and public housing projects of Puerto Rico – the same places where I grew up.

The positive reception to “DTMF” brought Puerto Rico’s history to a wider audience. I’ve spoken with many journalists internationally who were surprised by how little they knew about Puerto Rico and its connection to the United States. I believe this lack of knowledge is at the heart of discussions about language and who can identify as American.

Despite Bad Bunny being a U.S. citizen, some conservatives are holding their own halftime show as a protest. This highlights how ideas about who is ‘truly American’ are often based on language and race, and it’s rooted in a deliberate refusal to understand the facts.

Puerto Rico’s story is deeply connected to the histories of Latin America, the Caribbean, the United States, and Latinx communities. I hope Bad Bunny’s performance will help people appreciate the richness and complexity of our shared background, even if it challenges some perspectives. The fact that he’s performing entirely in Spanish is especially significant right now, considering the recent arrests and questioning of Latinx people in the U.S. simply for speaking Spanish or having an accent – it’s a powerful statement.

Artists can’t solve problems like racism and prejudice on their own – I realized that during my time with the punk scene. Real change doesn’t happen just because someone famous speaks out; it requires collective action and people working together to reform systems.

Bad Bunny is incredibly popular – his new album recently topped the charts on Apple Music in China – and that gives him a significant influence on culture. The Grammys showed he’s not the only artist speaking out against violence towards immigrants, and this collective action is also important and timely.

While conservatives are planning a rather tame alternative to the Super Bowl halftime show, featuring Kid Rock, Bad Bunny will be delivering a far more meaningful performance, showcasing the vibrant flavors of Latin music, rhythm, and reggaeton.

Jorell Meléndez-Badillo wrote “Puerto Rico: A National History” and currently teaches Latin American and Caribbean History as an associate professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

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2026-02-06 00:01