Months after the controversy surrounding the announcement of the Super Bowl LX halftime show headliner, Bad Bunny finally took the stage on Sunday in Santa Clara, California, delivering high energy, familiar faces, and a unifying message that has resonated beyond the field with USC students and faculty.
Famously known as Bad Bunny, Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio is a rapper and singer born and raised in Puerto Rico, and he proudly brought this identity to the stage on Feb. 8, waving the island’s flag alongside those of over 20 other nations across North, Central and South America in front of the message “The only thing more powerful than hate is love.”
Despite criticism regarding a near-fully Spanish-language show, Bad Bunny’s 13-minute halftime performance broke the record as the most-watched in Super Bowl history, according to CBS News.
“It didn’t seem to marginalize viewers in that sense,” said Erin Graff Zivin, a professor of Spanish, Portuguese and comparative literature.
“I thought that was a really nice way to sort of denaturalize what we think of as what is properly American and what properly belongs to the United States,” she said.
Last week, Bad Bunny addressed the anti-immigration climate reigning in the country at a pre-show conference appearance.
“English is not my first language. But it’s okay, it’s not America’s first language either,” he said at the press conference.
This performance occurred just a week after the 2026 Grammy Awards, where Bad Bunny received three Grammys and became the first artist to win Album of the Year for a Spanish-language album with “DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS.”
The Puerto Rican singer faced criticism from President Donald Trump and other individuals who painted him as “anti-American.”
“There’s a lot of discourse right now about who belongs in the United States and who doesn’t belong,” Zivin said. “The strongest statement I think was unapologetically claiming a space in the United States for not just Puerto Ricans but also all inhabitants of the Americas.”
His performance included songs such as “NUEVAYoL” and “Tití Me Preguntó,” which showcase his Puerto Rican culture. He also featured guest performances with Lady Gaga for a Latin remix of “Die With a Smile” and Ricky Martin with “LO QUE LE PASÓ A HAWAii”.
Among a wedding celebration, people in sugar cane stalk costumes and a celebrity-filled La Casita stage, one particular Los Angeles local business made an appearance at the start of the performance – Villa’s Tacos, based in Highland Park.
Victor Villa, the owner of the business, took to Instagram to express his gratitude and pride.
“This one is for all the immigrants who paved the way before us to make this moment possible,” Villa wrote.
Sol Guerrero, a freshman studying media arts and practice, said he is a regular customer of Villa’s Tacos, and was excited to see them at the performance.
“I love those tacos and my family loves those tacos,” Guerrero said. “This represents not only all of the Latin countries but also the people here in LA.”
Before his final song, Bad Bunny gave an empowering shoutout to countries across the Americas, naming the countries before holding up a football inscribed with the message “Together, We Are America” up to the camera and spiking it, jumping into his final song “DtMF,” another homage to Latin culture.