In a world that is seeing an increase in lies, backlash, racism, violence, hate, unnecessary arrests, and political turmoil, the National Football League (NFL), chose Puerto Rican artist Benito Antonio Martinez Ocasio, better known as Bad Bunny to headline the Apple Music Halftime Show at Super Bowl 60 held at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California. This decision faced major backlash from many people and political leaders, including the president. At the beginning of the month, Ocasio won three Grammys, two for “Debi Tirar Mas FOTos” as prestigious Album of the Year and Best Música Urbana Album and Best Global Music Performance for his song “EoO”.

The 13 minute production was the first show in mostly Spanish that brought in the largest viewership of 135+ million views. If you have not seen the performance, it is available on YouTube by searching NFL halftime show. He invited artists Lady Gaga, Ricky Martin, Pedro Pascal, Karol G, Cardi B, Lincoln Fox, and many others to share the message of Unity while paying respect to his Puerto Rican roots, while also challenging oppression. 

Benito honored his late Uncle by wearing a custom Zara shirt with the name Ocasio on it.  He always wanted to take his uncle to a Super Bowl game. Bad Bunny started his performance by introducing himself and saying the reason he is at Super Bowl 60 is because “ I never stopped believing in myself. You should believe in yourself, too. You are worth more than you think, believe me”, all while standing in a sugar cane field, a representation of colonial history. The message is that we are worth more than we give ourselves credit for, and we can accomplish things only if we have a strong belief in ourselves. 

After the opening, Bad Bunny highlighted people from all different backgrounds playing games, hanging out, and a couple even getting married. To me, this represents the ability to have the freedom to do what we want, when we want without restrictions. We also saw Bad Bunny give his Grammy to a young boy watching his Grammy acceptance speech. This moment represents the possibilities someone can achieve by working hard even when political leaders would like to end these privileges for countless individuals. People who are born in Puerto Rico are US citizens. 

“El Apagón” meaning the Blackout caused by Hurricane Maria, highlights the need for a calm tomorrow. This event may have destroyed infrastructure, may have caused Government corruption, and may have caused people to be displaced from their land, all things that we often take for granted here in America that we don’t realize until it’s gone. 

At the end of his performance, Bad Bunny showed and named the flags of many countries, including the United States of America. The billboard behind him showed the message: ” The only thing more powerful than hate is love. The football he held said, “together, we are America.” The United States is built from immigrants. Many groups of people from all different sorts of cultural backgrounds and languages live here. 

So whether you listen to Bad Bunny or not, whether you speak Spanish or not, the message is simple. As Bad Bunny puts it, enjoy the performance through dance, emotion, and energy rather than focusing on the lyrics. We may not currently see the vision that is being described, but as I and many others see it, we all have more in common than what divides us. We may not speak the same language, look the same, or be from the same place, but we all have the same belief in banding together, belonging, and celebrating a future that is better than the past. America is that place. So let’s not let politicians destroy the vision of walking hand in hand with someone different from us.