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Puerto Rico stops for 13 minutes to applaud history and bask in Bad Bunny's spotlight
| USA | world

Puerto Rico stops for 13 minutes to applaud history and bask in Bad Bunny's spotlight

#Bad Bunny #Super Bowl XL #Puerto Rico #San Juan #Halftime Show #Latin Music #Boricua #Gentrification

📌 Key Takeaways

  • Bad Bunny headlined the first all-Spanish Super Bowl halftime show on February 8, 2026.
  • The performance served as a platform to highlight gentrification, power outages, and Puerto Rican identity.
  • The historical event polarized audiences, sparking debates about language and US citizenship.
  • Puerto Ricans celebrated the 'Benito Bowl' as a major win for Latino culture and global representation.

📖 Full Retelling

Music superstar Bad Bunny made history in San Juan and across the globe on Sunday, February 8, 2026, by headlining the first all-Spanish Super Bowl XL halftime show to celebrate Puerto Rican identity and highlight the island's ongoing socioeconomic struggles. The performance at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara served as a monumental cultural milestone for the Caribbean territory, prompting residents to pause their daily activities and ignore the football game itself to witness a fellow "Boricua" take the world's largest stage. In Puerto Rico, the 13-minute set transformed local gatherings into massive celebrations of national pride, as fans of all ages united to support the artist who rose from being a local grocery bagger to the world’s most-streamed musician. The performance was more than just a musical medley; it was a deeply political and symbolic showcase of Puerto Rican life. Bad Bunny, born Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, incorporated elements that criticized U.S. immigration policies and brought attention to domestic issues such as gentrification and the island's failing power grid. Notably, the set featured appearances by fellow Puerto Rican icon Ricky Martin and included visual cues like exploding transformers and light posts, which served as a direct nod to the chronic electricity outages that plague the island. These artistic choices resonated with a population currently facing a poverty rate of over 40%. While the show was met with overwhelming acclaim in Puerto Rico, it also sparked a polarized debate on social media. Critics, including public figures like Jake Paul, questioned the appropriateness of an all-Spanish performance during a quintessentially American sporting event. However, supporters and fans quickly countered these sentiments by emphasizing that Puerto Ricans are U.S. citizens and that Latin culture is an integral part of the American fabric. For the residents of San Juan, the "Benito Bowl" was a successful validation of their culture, proving that their language and struggles could command global attention without compromise.

🏷️ Themes

Cultural Identity, Social Activism, Music

📚 Related People & Topics

San Juan

Topics referred to by the same term

San Juan, Spanish for Saint John, most commonly refers to:

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Super Bowl XL

Super Bowl XL

2006 National Football League championship game

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Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico

U.S. territory in the Caribbean

Puerto Rico (abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a self-governing Caribbean archipelago and island organized as an unincorporated territory of the United States under the designation of commonwealth. It is located about 1,000 miles (1,600 km) southeast of Miami, Florida, ...

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Bad Bunny

Bad Bunny

Puerto Rican rapper (born 1994)

# Bad Bunny **Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio** (born March 10, 1994), known professionally as **Bad Bunny**, is a globally renowned Puerto Rican rapper, singer, and record producer. ### Professional Identity and Impact Widely dubbed the **"King of Latin Trap,"** Bad Bunny is a central figure in t...

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🔗 Entity Intersection Graph

Connections for San Juan:

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📄 Original Source Content
By — Dánica Coto, Associated Press Dánica Coto, Associated Press Leave your feedback Share Copy URL Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Puerto Rico stops for 13 minutes to applaud history and bask in Bad Bunny's spotlight Arts Feb 9, 2026 11:14 AM EST SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — The Super Bowl lasted all of 13 minutes for many Puerto Ricans in San Juan and beyond. People turned their backs to TV screens as food, music and chatter filled the first half of the game until a hush fell across the island. The halftime show was starting. READ MORE: That wedding during Bad Bunny's Super Bowl halftime show? It was real This was Puerto Rico's moment, a spotlight on a collective son who quit bagging groceries a decade ago and became the world's most streamed artist on Spotify last year. Since then, Bad Bunny has used his platform to applaud immigrants, sing about Puerto Rico's identity and turmoil and denounce U.S. immigration policies. "He appeared at the right moment in the history of Latin America," said Marielys Rojas, 39, who is originally from Venezuela but has lived the last 22 years in Puerto Rico. She was among the hundreds who gathered by a grassy knoll near a beach in Puerto Rico's capital to watch the halftime show on a huge screen as waves crashed behind them and the sounds of coquís, an endemic frog, filled the salty air. Amarilys Reyes, 55, arrived at the seaside watch party with her 22-year-old daughter. She had never watched a Super Bowl and didn't know who was playing, but it didn't matter. Like many others, she was only there for Bad Bunny. "It's the biggest show of his life," Reyes said. Fans in San Juan, Puerto Rico, watch Bad Bunny's performance on television during the halftime show of the NFL Super Bowl 60 football game Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. Photo by Alejandro Granadillo/ AP Energy, nerves and excitement had been building across Puerto Rico ever since the NFL, Apple Music and Roc Nation announced that Benito A...

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