Despite the immense amount of controversy in the weeks and months prior, Bad Bunny’s halftime show performance turned out to be stellar. Considering how slow the first half of Super Bowl LX was (a 9–0 Seahawks lead from three field goals), the 135 million live viewers were anxious for some entertainment, and Benito Ocasio, known professionally as Bad Bunny, remarkably delivered. 

The performance began with an aerial shot of a sugarcane plantation in Puerto Rico, which quickly cuts to a replica of the plantation as Ocasio’s set where he opens the show by singing one of his most popular songs, Tití Me Preguntó. Ocasio proceeds to pass by cultural staples of Puerto Rico as he strides through the sugarcane stocks, including a coconut water stand and piragua stand, a nail technician, and four elderly gentlemen enjoying a game of dominos around a table. Ocasio next appears on top of a typical Puerto Rican suburban pink house (dubbed La Casita, a set piece in all of Ocasio’s 2025 tour shows as well), accompanied by numerous backup dancers both on the house next to him and in front of it. To top off the production, two Bad Bunny fans who invited Ocasio to their wedding were invited to hold their wedding during Ocasio’s performance, and they tied the knot just before Lady Gaga began a salsa rendition of her hit song “Die With A Smile.” With additional guest appearances from Ricky Martin, Pedro Pascal, Jessica Alba, Karol G, Ronald Acuña Jr., and child actor Liam Fox (whom Ocasio handed a Grammy award to), Ocasio gave America an all-time performance.

At the end of the setlist, Ocasio spreads love to the countries of the Americas as he exits the makeshift sugarcane field, being followed by flagholders each holding the flag of a different country. In the background, a powerful message is displayed on the jumbotron: “The only thing more powerful than hate is love.” Ocasio notably used this quote in his Grammy award-winning speech just a week prior, when his outstanding 2025 album, DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS, won Album of the Year. Ocasio held a football to the camera where we see the quote “Together we are America” is inscribed on the ball, a strong and necessary statement considering the significant amount of unfair backlash Ocasio received simply for being chosen to perform as a Spanish-speaking artist.

While President Trump became the first president to attend a Super Bowl last year, he was very obviously not in attendance this year due to his discontent with the performers chosen, despite using the travel distance as an excuse. The irony of the situation is blatant when, just days before the Super Bowl, Trump was quoted in the New York Post saying, “I’m anti-[Bad Bunny]. I think it’s a terrible choice. All it does is sow hatred. Terrible.” Trump proceeded to post a Truth Social rant after the performance about how much he seemingly hated it, but that’s not sowing hatred? The president stated the performance was “absolutely terrible,” and, “one of the worst ever.” He claimed that, “nobody understands a word,” blatantly disregarding the 600 million worldwide and 45 million American Spanish speakers. America is a country for immigrants, by immigrants. Trump’s most egregious take, in my opinion, is stating that the halftime show does not represent “American standards of success, creativity, or excellence,” when Ocasio, a Puerto Rico native, won the Album of the Year award at the Grammys just a week prior. If album of the year does not represent American excellence, what does? The fact of the matter is, Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio is just as American as Donald John Trump. Ocasio gave us a halftime performance for the ages and is the spitting image of a true American.