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The big day is almost here. Super Bowl Sunday is upon us and reggaetón superstar Bad Bunny will headline the halftime show, much to the elation of millions of listeners worldwide—and to the chagrin of haters as well, starting with that orange dude in the White House.
I’ve written about Bad Bunny here in 2023, in 2024, and twice in 2025—here, and here.
Despite his widespread popularity, there are people who haven’t got a clue who Bad Bunny is, and why he is a global superstar. So let’s start with his beginnings.
Zara Irshasd at the San Francisco Chronicle wrote “Everything to know about Bad Bunny ahead of Super Bowl 2026”:
Who is Bad Bunny?
Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio was born in Bayamón, Puerto Rico and has built a career as a rapper, singer and producer. The 31-year-old is credited with helping to bring Spanish rap music to the mainstream, often regarded as the “King of Latin Trap.” Amassing a fervent global following, he was named Spotify’s most-streamed artist of 2025 and his 2022 record “Un Verano Sin Ti” remains the platform’s most listened to albums of all time, exceeding 20 billion streams.
While many of his detractors have argued Bad Bunny is not American, he was born in Puerto Rico, which is a U.S. Territory, making him a citizen of the country.
Why is he such a big deal?
Bad Bunny launched his music career on SoundCloud in 2016. That same year, he secured a deal with independent Puerto Rican record label Hear This Music and released a series of singles before switching to Rimas Entertainment for his debut album, “X100pre,” in 2018. It was then that he began breaking into the mainstream, with collaborations such as “I Like It” with Afro-Caribbean rapper Cardi B and “MIA” with Canadian singer/rapper Drake.
In 2020, he joined Shakira and Jennifer Lopez’s co-headling Super Bowl LIV Halftime Show in Miami, a milestone itself as it marked the first to feature two Latinas as headliners.
Shortly after, he released his second studio album “YHLQMDLG,” which debuted at No. 2 on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart, becoming the highest-charting all-Spanish album at the time.
This year, he made Grammy history as the first artist to win album of the year with a Spanish-language album for his “DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS.”
This mini-documentary tells his story:
Bad Bunny made headlines again for his anti-ICE comments while accepting his recent Grammy award:
PBS News aired this feature:
My Super Bowl watch party is going to consist of just my hubby and I and two big bowls of popcorn.
But We Are Mitú reported that “Bad Bunny’s Halftime Show Is Almost Here: Free Super Bowl Watch Parties Are Popping Up Nationwide”:
If the internet has taught us anything, it is that people will argue about literally anything, including a halftime show that has not even happened yet. So now, fans are doing what they always do when the vibes get weird: creating their own space.
According to a press release shared with the media, the Working Families Party is hosting Bad Bunny Bowl, a series of free Super Bowl halftime show watch parties in multiple cities, so people can watch Bad Bunny’s performance together with music, drag performers, and food and drink. The show has become a target in the culture war, so fans want a place that feels celebratory instead of hostile.
So, what are the watch parties about?
The organizers describe the “Bad Bunny Bowl” Halftime show watch parties as “a series of free, nationwide watch parties dedicated to Bad Bunny’s upcoming historic Super Bowl Halftime Show performance,” according to the press release. The events include DJs, drag performers, free food and drink, and “limited edition merch giveaways.”
The watch parties are scheduled for February 8 in Los Angeles, Atlanta, Jersey City, Columbus, and Philadelphia.
Why Bad Bunny’s Halftime Show turned into a political issue
The press release frames the events as a response to what it calls “immense weaponization from the American right” tied to Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl performance.
It specifically points to three things:
- Critics are calling on Secretary of State Marco Rubio to block Bad Bunny’s visa.
- DHS Secretary Kristi Noem announced that ICE will be present at the Super Bowl.
- Turning Point USA is announcing a competing broadcast halftime show.
Therefore, this is less about a typical Super Bowl hangout and more about creating a controlled environment where fans can enjoy the moment however they want.
Daily Kos Staff Writer Lisa Needham wrote about how “Bad Bunny lives rent-free in conservatives’ minds”:
Good lord, right-wingers, get a grip. It’s unhealthy to expend this much energy being sad about a Super Bowl halftime performer.
Yes, they’re still freaking out about Bad Bunny. So much so that they’ve done the most hilariously impotent lib-coded thing imaginable: created a Change.org petition.
“The Super Bowl halftime show should unite our country, honor American culture, and remain family-friendly, not be turned into a political stunt. Bad Bunny represents none of these values; his drag performances and style are the opposite of what families expect on football’s biggest stage,” the petition reads.
Anticipation for the halftime extravaganza built steadily since Bad Bunny’s performance was first announced in September, and reached a crescendo when Apple Music released an official trailer on Jan. 16.
It started with a tease — and the internet immediately started dancing. Friday, Bad Bunny casually dropped what was anything but casual: The first official teaser for his Super Bowl LX Halftime Show, set for Feb. 8, 2026, at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California.
The video posted on Bad Bunny’s Instagram shows the Puerto Rican superstar dancing with people of all ages while his song “BAILE INoLVIDABLE” plays in the background, topped off with a simple Spanish caption: “el mundo bailará.” Translation? Warm up your hips. “The world will dance.”
Here’s the trailer:
Editorial cartoonists have weighed in too:
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ICE ICE Bunny
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Will ICE be stalking Bad Bunny at the Super Bowl?
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Cartoon by Clay Jones | ClayToonz
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On January 20, Liam Conejo Ramos of Minneapolis was detained by ICE and sent to a Federal facility in Texas. The thing is, Liam is only five years old.
[image or embed]
— Thomas Benner (@thomasbenner.bsky.social) February 2, 2026 at 11:54 PM
Then there’s the MAGA-friendly “alternative” halftime show:
Are you planning to watch on Sunday?
Join me in the comments section below for more, and for the weekly Caribbean News roundup.
