The debate over the halftime show reflects decades of Latino artists being treated with doubt, suspicion and even outrage
When the NFL, Roc Nation and Apple Music announced that Bad Bunny would be the artist of the halftime show Super Bowl 2026, the noise started almost immediately. On the one hand, celebrations and excitement: their fans recognized the historic nature of the performance, which will go down in the books as the first halftime show of the Super Bowl entirely in Spanish. The announcement came at the end of another gigantic year for Bad Bunny — after a triumphant 31-date residency in Puerto Rico, a broadcast of the show on Amazon which broke records and the resounding success of his chart-topping album Debí Take More Photos (2024).
On the other side, there was so much commotion, but these conversations were almost hysterical — and much uglier. Conservatives blasted the choice of NFLcontesting virtually every facet of Latin music’s most visible star. Your music? Unbearable. Your policy? Unacceptable. Your lyrics in Spanish? Anti-American.
Bad Bunny has been such a beloved figure on the global music scene precisely because she has remained authentic, embracing fashion and aesthetic choices that subvert gender norms and refusing to make palatable commercial pop in English. He has not been afraid to express his opinions in his music, often addressing difficulties in Puerto Rico such as gentrification, economic problems, and the long-term impacts of colonization. And although he is not a controversial artist who has long criticized the administration, he has taken a stand on issues that matter to him, such as the rights of immigrants amid the government’s cruel deportation policies. In an interview with the magazine iDhe shared that part of the reason he chose not to tour the United States was because he didn’t want the ICE terrorize his largely Latino fan base outside his shows.
That makes him a target for conservatives. The presenter of Newsmax, Greg Kellycalled for a boycott of NFLinsisting that Bad Bunny “hates America, hates the president Trumphates ICEhates the English language! He’s just a terrible person.” Even the highest levels of government got involved. Kristi Noemsecretary of Homeland Security, threatened that immigration agents would be “everywhere” at the event. Trump then went to Newsmax to criticize the artist: “I’ve never heard of him. I don’t know who he is. I don’t know why they’re doing this, it’s crazy, and then they blame some promoter they hired to choose the entertainment. I think that’s absolutely ridiculous.”
THE Turning Point USAthe youth-focused conservative group founded by Charlie Kirkdecided to organize a “counterprogramming” during the presentation of Bad Bunnycalling her The All-American Halftime Show to celebrate “faith, family and freedom”. A contact form on the site gives followers the chance to request songs and artists, including gospel music, country music and “anything in English.” Supporters MAGA they wrote absurd petitions to replace his presentation and even called for his deportation — despite Puerto Rico being a US territory and he being a US citizen.
As maddening and disproportionate as the backlash may seem, it is part of a narrow-minded tradition of marginalizing and excluding Latino artists in the United States, even though these musicians are often North American and represent large swaths of the population. These moments are callous and drenched in xenophobia, and go back decades. In 1968, the Puerto Rican artist Jose Feliciano sang “The Star-Spangled Banner” in World Series — except he did it in a stripped-down style influenced by Latin music on his acoustic guitar. The performance became a point of controversy. Many people interpreted it as some kind of countercultural protest and were confused by her long hair and sunglasses. Feliciano (which he wore because he was born blind). They raged at radio stations and sent hate mail, with some even calling for their deportation — even though Felicianolike Bad Bunnywas born in Puerto Rico and is a US citizen. History and ignorance repeat themselves, and in this case, it had terrible consequences on the career of Feliciano for a few years.
“I was a little depressed, to tell you the truth,” he said. Feliciano later. “And then they stopped touching me. Like I had the plague or something.” Years later, in 2018, he reflected on the incident and shared that his version was actually his way of honoring his country from a deeply felt place. “When I did the anthem, I did it with the understanding in my heart and mind that I did it because I am a patriot,” he said. Feliciano. “I was trying to be a grateful patriot. I was expressing my feelings for America when I did the anthem my way instead of just singing it with an orchestra.” (Perhaps not coincidentally, Bad Bunny honored Feliciano as a pioneer and trailblazer, bringing it to the stage during its 2023 headline performance.)
Other examples of bringing Latino artists to mainstream stages came with an unnecessary amount of controversy, even decades later. See the Grammy 1999: at that time, Ricky Martin was a rising star, having successfully carved out a children’s boy band career Menudo the prominent solo artist. He had already become a household name in Latin music, and his album Vuelve (1998) was nominated for the Grammy of Best Latin Pop. The head of your record label, Tommy Mottolabegan to pressure so that Martin featured one of the tracks — the famous anthem of FIFA “Cup of Life” what Martin had written for the 1998 World Cup — as the opening number of the Grammy. Despite the stage presence and the appeal of Martinthe awards show’s producers disapproved of the idea, convinced that a Latino act singing primarily in Spanish would not work for the show.
Mottola later recalled how intense the resistance was. “There was tremendous resistance from Grammy“, Mottola told billboard. “They didn’t want an ‘unknown’ to come forward, but we had already sold ten million copies of Vuelve (1998) around the world. For me, this was absolutely unacceptable. We had huge influence at that time with almost all the big stars on our label. We strongly expressed our ‘opinion and influence’ and said: ‘Ricky need to make a presentation at Grammy!’ No, it wasn’t an option.”
It was necessary Mottola fight for that moment to make it happen — and a standing ovation and thousands of records sold later eventually proved that the myopic prejudices of Grammy they had no basis. It seems even more ridiculous today, now that Latin music continues to generate over a billion dollars in revenue. Bad Bunny later occupied this same space in the Grammy — and although he apparently faced no opposition from the show’s bosses, he went viral when subtitles appeared on the show’s broadcast. CBSdescribing his lyrics as “singing in non-English.”
The excessively frequent xenophobic and knee-jerk reaction to Latino acts is often triggered by language alone. In June this year, the singer Nezzaof Colombian and Dominican descent, was invited to sing the national anthem at a football game Dodger. She had prepared to do “El Pendón Estrellado”a Spanish version written in 1945 by Clotilde Arias after the State Department’s Division of Cultural Cooperation requested translated versions of the “Star Spangled Banner”. (These were requested as part of the President’s “Good Neighbor Policy” Franklin D. Roosevelt in relation to Latin America.) According to some reports, officials of the Dodger She was told at the last minute that she couldn’t perform in Spanish — but she did so anyway, angering conservatives and sparking outrage and insults online.
Nezza explained his decision at the time in a statement to Rolling Stonesaying that “representation matters”. She added: “For those who are being scandalized, it is important to know: in 1945, the president himself Franklin D. Roosevelt commissioned an official Spanish version of ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ to honor and include Latin Americans. This version — ‘El Pendón Estrellado’ — tells exactly the same story, word for word in meaning, and uses exactly the same melody. The heart of the hymn does not change with the language. So why was I told I couldn’t sing it? Make it make sense.”
Long-standing prejudices have meant that Latin artists have been viewed with suspicion, doubt and even outrage throughout music history, but these attitudes have morphed into something much more intense and sinister as a result of the current administration. The presentation of Bad Bunny node Super Bowl It comes at a time when the government has antagonized Latino communities, spread anti-Latino rhetoric, and treated immigrants with abject cruelty, senselessly celebrating images of forced, often violent, arrests and brutal detentions. Even speaking Spanish is cast as “other” by conservatives and painted as anti-American. As soon as Trump took office, he passed an executive order to make English the official language of the United States, while the White House removed Spanish translations from its official websites. On social media, viral videos showed right-wingers confronting people who speak Spanish and associating the language with those who don’t “belong” here, ignoring the fact that 18% of the population is bilingual.
But despite the rhetoric rooted in such an ugly history, Bad Bunny will still take the stage in February and perform his songs in the language in which he wrote them. This moment will represent millions of people in this country, including many of the Latinos who make up 20% of the population. What he chooses to say or do will ultimately be his decision, but the simple act of him stepping into that spotlight will be a political statement — one that will speak to his roots, his lineage and the history of the Latin artists who helped bring him here. No matter what happens, it will be a moment of self-expression — and a deeply American one at that.
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Source: Rollingstone

Rose James is a Gossipify movie and series reviewer known for her in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the latest releases. With a background in film studies, she provides engaging and informative reviews, and keeps readers up to date with industry trends and emerging talents.