The Secrets Behind Symbolism: Benito’s Will to Represent America

Some people hated it, others loved it. When talking about the halftime show for Super Bowl LX, performed by Bad Bunny (Benito Ocasio), there was a divided opinion. Some argue that the show did not represent ‘true’ American culture, while others contend that it was a political message to represent the people with whom the US government has involved itself. All of this is happening in one of the biggest American sports ever, similar to the classic match of football, such as FC Barcelona VS Real Madrid, or a showdown match between the Lakers and the Celtics in the NBA. The Super Bowl is one of the biggest symbols of American patriotism, but in the midst of the many divides in our country, in the midst of this halftime performance, you find a quiet crowd at a funeral while Bunny is giving the show for its people.  

A popular commentary show under Tomi Lahren claimed that Bunny was not American, ignoring that, in fact, Puerto Rico is part of the US territory, as we refer to in one of the episodes of her podcast. As background history, this is not the first time a non-American has done the Super Bowl halftime show. For Super Bowl 2023, we had Rihanna (Barbados) perform, The Weekend (Canada) 2021, Shakira (Colombia), and J Balvin (Colombia) 2020. But also, Bunny is not the first to use symbolism as a tool to tell a piece of history, place a message, or call out an issue inconspicuously to the public. 

In 2025, Kendrick Lamar performed the Super Bowl halftime show. Lamar, who has been known for his deep words and identity as an artist and, most importantly, his critics to American society, police brutality, and discrimination towards the African American community, the history of injustices and moral fights that they have faced before. During his half-time show he displayed a symbolic and political performance that showed a divided America made up by dancers who represent the colors highlighting the political and racial polarization, the systematic oppression and black resilience by the stage controller; or the most impacting of this movement, the figure of Samuel L. Jackson as the Uncle Sam the famous political figure used for propaganda by the government as the vivid interpretation of the historical ongoing of the black independence. The idea that not many get to appreciate. 

The 2026 show was organized by Jesse Collins and produced by DPS to bring to life the vision of Bunny to show off the complete Latin experience, and resulted in a record-setting 4.157 billion global views. An artistic celebration of Puerto Rican pride, the cultural resilience of the Latin community, and the resistance of PR calling against colonization. 

The setting of the show was built around sugar fields which represented the fight against colonization of Puerto Rico as US territory highlighting the struggle for independence and resistance against exploitation, the same struggle to keep the culture, his undercover commentary against the gentrification addressing the concerns of the country and the possible loss cultural identity represented by his song “ Lo Que Paso En Hawaii” with Ricky Martin. The chaotic neighborhood life showed off local vendors like nail salons and barbershops around the town, examples of micro-enterprises that support local revenue. 

The show also illustrated solutions that tried to fight and issue presented in many sectors of the economy in countries that the Latin community represent (Caribe, Central and Southern America) “The lack of opportunities” to growth economically, the bondage of a system that does not secure or even gives you a future, another reason people migrate to the US were many try to find the so called ‘American Dream’. Bunny's message was to unite as a community, not only referring to immigration policies, but also to the issues Puerto Rico has faced throughout this time.  

“Together, We are America,” the final message brought to remember that we as individuals are together in this obstacle, and we as members of a society could find a solution, not to regret our roots nor to allow a foreign power to impose its actions against the people. As a group, “The only thing more powerful than hate is LOVE.”