The moderator of the current events discussion group at my residence put out a request for someone to speak about Bad Bunny. I volunteered. The spouse put together a PowerPoint that had images from the Super Bowl halftime show but started with the opening segment (from YouTube) during which the Puerto Rican rapper  emerged from a sugar cane field and walked past scenes of everyday Puerto Rican life. This opening, watched by 128 million people live and many more on YouTube since, brought a smile to the spouse and me. We lived our fifty-four years in Brooklyn in neighborhoods where whites were a minority. Our first NYC neighbors were many Native Americans and Puerto Ricans. We, like Bad Bunny, regularly passed coconut water stands and shaved ice carts. A fixture at our corner bodega was middle-aged men sitting outside on milk crates playing dominoes with Puerto Rican music on the speakers. In those high crime days when we were alert to possible danger, we knew that the players, recognizing us, would come to our assistance if there was ever a problem.

I confess, however, I did not understand what Bad Bunny was singing. That’s not just because he used Spanish. I seldom understand rappers in any language–including English. Nevertheless, I could tell from the visuals and the music that he was not giving us the usual halftime show of the Las Vegas-style entertainment of a performer’s greatest hits. It was instead an ambitious, thematic presentation comprising an homage to Puerto Rico, Puerto Ricans, Latin America, love, family, and America. I have watched the show several times, and it is brilliant.

That sugar cane field set the tone for the rest of the thirteen minutes. Sugar is a crucial part of Puerto Rican history. When the United States took possession of Puerto Rico after the 1898 Spanish-American war, the sugar trust was one of the most powerful lobbies in this country. As part of the United States, Puerto Rico was not charged tariffs on its sugar, which allowed these American sugar companies, which everywhere exploited native workers, to expand on and dominate the island.

During the opening segment, Bad Bunny carried out of the sugar cane field an older version of a Puerto Rican flag, which some associate with the Puerto Rican independence movement. He went on to honor traditional love by giving an engagement ring to a man who immediately proposed to his girlfriend. A few moments later they got married at what was a real wedding. Apparently, the couple had asked Bad Bunny to attend their nuptials, and he responded by asking them to be married at the Super Bowl.

He also honored his own family. His mother’s name was on a jersey he wore, and his uncle’s number–when he played the game–was on the football Bad Bunny carried.

He made a personal reference when he gave a Grammy statue to a young boy. Bad Bunny recently won the most important Grammy award, given for Album of the Year, the only time an album in Spanish has won. (Its intriguing English title is “I Should Have Taken More Photos.”)

But he also referred to recent dark Puerto Rican periods when he climbed a utility pole and sang “The Blackout.” Two major hurricanes decimated the island in 2017, and power outages were widespread and lengthy. Major problems with the Puerto Rican grid continue.

Bad Bunny concluded with his only English by saying “God Bless America” and then listed every country in the Americas from Chile to Canada. A banner behind him said love could conquer hate and the football carried the message Together We Are America. (Earlier he addressed the camera—the camera work was superb throughout—and said that he was at the Super Bowl because he had believed in himself and encouraged us to believe in ourselves, too.)

There were some parts that might have seemed lewd to us old folks and other uptight people, especially in the gyrating dancing, but the choreography helped tie all the segments together. There are, however, lewder performances on TV all the time. In fact, while nothing was especially controversial in this halftime show, outrage, maybe some of it unforced, has spewed forth. Of course, our president and others have said that they could not understand him, as if they had wanted (or tried) to. These guys, unlike me, are indicating what I doubt: that on first hearing they understand rap songs in English.

Trump, while admitting that he failed to understand a word of it, reported that Bad Bunny’s halftime performance was “An affront to the greatness of the United States.” Surely a celebration of heterosexual love, marriage, family, and the culture of Puerto Rico, a part of America whose residents are American citizens, cannot be un-American. Instead, Trump (who never forgets a slight) may be remembering that Bad Bunny criticized him for the lack of humanitarian aid to the islands after the 2017 hurricanes. Moreover, Bad Bunny said he would not tour the U.S. last year because of a concern about ICE actions at his concerts. To make matters worse, Bad Bunny has been a strong supporter of LGBTQ+ rights, and a pride flag appeared in the halftime show.

Others have claimed that FCC action is necessary because of the sexually explicit lyrics, and many of Bad Bunny’s songs are, indeed, explicit. In this he is not different from other rappers who brag about their sexual prowess and encounters. (This is why I don’t rap . . . anymore.) But sources and Puerto Rican friends agree that Bad Bunny excised the sexually explicit from his songs or mumbled them so they could not be understood.

Bad Bunny has become a star not just because of sexual lyrics but also because of his musical social commentary that raises deep concerns about the problems of Puerto Rico. His guest artist, Ricky Martin, an openly gay Puerto Rican who had a number one hit at the turn of the century (“Livin’ La Vida Loca”), sang Bunny’s song titled in English “What Happened to Hawaii.” The song is a powerful, beautiful lament that cautions Puerto Rico not to become like the Pacific Island that has lost its Hawaiian culture. Part of the lyrics in English:

What Happened to Hawaii

This was a dream I had

[Verse 1]
She looks beautiful even when things sometimes go wrong.
In her eyes, a smile holds back her tears.
The foam of her shores looks like champagne.
It’s alcohol for her wounds, for dancing away the sadness.
It’s alcohol for her wounds, ’cause there’s so much to heal.
Deep in the green mountains, you can still breathe.
The clouds are closer, with God you can speak.
You hear the jíbaro crying, another one who’s left;
He didn’t want to leave to Orlando, but thе corrupt ones pushed him out.

[Pre-Chorus]
And no one knows for how long

[Chorus]
Thеy want to take my river and my beach too.
They want my neighborhood and my grandma to leave.
No, don’t let go of the flag nor forget the lelolai,
‘Cause I don’t want them to do to you what happened to Hawaii.

[Interlude]
Be careful, Luis, be careful

[Verse 2]
No one here wanted to leave, and those who left dream of returning.
If one day it’s my turn, it’s gonna hurt so much.
Another jíbara fighting, one who wouldn’t give up;
She didn’t want to leave either and on the island she stayed.

[Pre-Chorus]
And no one knows for how long

[Chorus]
They want to take my river and my beach too.
They want my neighborhood and your kids to leave.
No, don’t let go of the flag nor forget the lelolai.
‘Cause I don’t want them to do to you what happened to Hawaii.
No, don’t let go of the flag nor forget the lelolai.
‘Cause I don’t want them to do to you—

[Outro]
Lelolai, lelolai
Oh, lelolai, lelolai

Bad Bunny no doubt recognizes that while 3.2 million people live in Puerto Rico, that population has declined, and that more than 5 million people who were born on the islands, now live in one of the states.

The National Football League has also been criticized for bringing Bad Bunny to the Super Bowl. On the field, football may be a game, but for Roger Goodell, the head of the NFL, professional football is a business, and Bad Bunny was good for business.

The choice recognized the power and popularity of Benito Antonio Martinez Ocasio, Bad Bunny’s official name. He may be the most important musical artist today. After rising to prominence with his first record in 2016, he was the most streamed artist on Spotify, the music app, in 2020, 2021, and 2022. He was second and third in 2023 and 2024. He returned to number one last year with—wait for it–19.8 billion streams.

He was a good NFL choice because professional football wants to expand into Spanish-speaking countries, play games in Madrid and Rio de Janeiro, and, of course, make Spanish TV rights more valuable.

And the NFL recognizes the increasing importance of Spanish in this country. Forty-one million people in the United States speak Spanish as their first language and another twelve million speak it as their second language, which means one in six in this country are regular Spanish speakers.

The NFL made a sensible business decision with Bad Bunny. Bad Bunny responded with a brilliant show, a show maybe not for most of us old folks. But perhaps we can learn that there is more in life than choral music and American standards from previous generations, and there are younger people who know and appreciate things we do not.