Bad Bunny’s NFL Super Bowl halftime show began with a camera swooping over a sugarcane farm being harvested as credits rolled. Turning Point USA’s “All-American Halftime Show” was opened by a message from the “War Department,” represented by Secretary of War Pete Hegseth. The dueling halftime shows were not comparable in terms of authenticity, artistry, budget, or viewership, but they exemplify a deep cultural rift with implications for what is considered “American” art.
Bad Bunny is a 31-year-old Puerto Rican rapper, singer, and producer. He began his career releasing music on Soundcloud around 2016. In 2018, he was featured along with J Balvin on Cardi B’s hit song, “I Like It,” and released his first studio album later that same year. Ever since, he has been a fixture in popular music, especially appealing to young, Spanish-speaking audiences. He is already a legendary figure in Latin rap music and was the first artist to win the Grammy Award for Album of the Year with a Spanish-language album.
He is a vocal opponent of the Trump administration and ICE, calling for “ICE out” in his Grammy acceptance speech two weeks ago and receiving a standing ovation in response. Despite living in Hollywood, he maintains strong ties with his home in Puerto Rico, notably skipping the 50 states during his “Debí tirar más fotos” world tour to protect his fans from ICE. Instead, he performed a 30-show residency in San Juan, Puerto Rico, bringing millions of dollars in tourism to the island.
Bad Bunny’s NFL halftime show was an intimate yet socially charged look at his home of Puerto Rico. The U.S. territory has been contested since the arrival of Christopher Columbus. Facing disease, exploitation, and colonization, the island’s Indigenous people, the Taíno, and enslaved Africans harvested sugar cane under the Spanish Empire for centuries. After the Spanish-American war in 1898, the U.S. acquired Puerto Rico as a territory. Since then, the island has been fighting its politically disenfranchised status, first gaining citizenship, then a constitution, and now vying for statehood. The blend of Taíno, African, Hispanic, and American cultures in Puerto Rico has given rise to unique musical and artistic traditions, spanning genres like bomba, salsa, and reggaetón.
The performance opened with a Dominican singer, Alexander Mercedes, dressed as a Puerto Rican farmer saying, “How wonderful it is to be Latino” in Spanish. The dense and seemingly interminable sugarcane field invoked the legacy of extractive agricultural industry and the importance of the crop to the island, reflecting the similar histories of neighboring Caribbean islands and the American mainland. The mercado, dominoes, Coco Frío cart, and other cultural images deepened the viewer’s immersion into Bad Bunny’s imagined Puerto Rico. The dancers hanging from power lines referenced the widespread blackouts the island experienced as a result of Hurricane Maria in 2017 and Hurricane Fiona in 2022. Hispanic celebrities like Pedro Pascal, Cardi B, and Jessica Alba danced in the background of his performance.
At the end, Bad Bunny announced, “God Bless America,” and walked toward the camera with a procession of flags, listing all of the countries in the Americas, ending with Puerto Rico. Holding up a football that said “Together, we are America,” he said “Seguimos aquí,” or, “We’re still here.” In all, the halftime show used complex symbolism and imagery to create a visually and intellectually stimulating experience for the viewer. The message of unity and strength was articulated through masses of dancing people, and the small moment where Bad Bunny gave his Grammy award to a young boy was rife with meaning and emotion. Furthermore, the rapper fulfilled his promise of creating an atmosphere of a “huge party;” the joy on screen was real and tangible, tied to cultural identity and pride.
Where Bad Bunny’s halftime show was thoughtful, exciting, powerful, and heartfelt, TPUSA’s “All-American” halftime show was confusing, boring, and artificial at every turn. Turning Point USA is a nonprofit founded by Charlie Kirk in 2012 that seeks to promote conservatism in education. After the announcement that Bad Bunny would perform at the halftime show, the group, like many conservatives, expressed outrage over the decision. President Trump called the choice “terrible” and “ridiculous.”
Obviously, TPUSA’s show was highly ideological. In labeling their reactionary performance as “All-American,” TPUSA predictably implied that Bad Bunny, an American citizen, and his music are somehow “un-American.” And while TPUSA is not emblematic of all conservative perspectives, the result of this endeavor was pathetic.
The show took place on an anonymous stage lit in red and blue, with projection screens displaying dramatic American flags, and pyrotechnics going off in odd intervals. The audience was awkwardly separated from the stage and completely in shadows, giving the production an empty and disjointed feeling.
It began with a rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner” on electric guitar, so beautifully generic it could be your conservative grandpa’s ringtone. As more band members emerged, questions began to surface about what rock and roll means to a conservative audience. Rock and roll, rebellious at its core and African-American and anti-establishment in its origins, feels empty here, as a xenophobic, patriotic affirmation. Just because there is an electric guitar does not mean it is rock.
The performers did still attempt to convince the viewer that there was anything but pure vindictiveness behind their performances. One guitarist did a duckwalk, the legendary dance popularized by Black rock-and-roll icon Chuck Berry, which felt completely out of place during country rock artist Brantley Gilbert’s song titled “Real American.” At other times, performers made a “guitar face,” squinting their eyes and opening their mouths as though overcome with emotion. It looked almost pasted on as solos lasted only ten seconds and the song moved into another chorus about American flags, the national anthem, and American manufacturing.
After more country acts by Gabby Barrett and Lee Brice, Kid Rock emerged, sporting jean shorts and a fur coat. He lip-synched his 1999 hit “Bawitdaba” quite badly and then performed a ballad called “Til You Can’t,” which ended by imploring the audience to “give your life to Jesus.”
Everything about the “All-American” halftime show reeks of insincerity and astonishing emptiness. It was so bad that even Trump did not watch it, as images of him watching Bad Bunny’s performance live at Mar-a-Lago were leaked. In the United States’ terrifying political climate, art is especially revealing as to the priorities of both sides. Whereas Bad Bunny’s halftime show was beautiful, interesting, and represented a rich culture and people, TPUSA’s performance relied on hackneyed patriotic tropes and symbols to conjure a truly boring and meaningless experience for everyone involved. The stakes of the ever-escalating culture war in America are not only between life and death, but entertainment and boredom, art and propaganda, and good music or country music.
