The official halftime show of Super Bowl LX featured Puerto Rican rapper, Bad Bunny as the headline performer, making him the first Latino, and Spanish-speaking artist to headline a halftime show.
This choice was controversial for a number of reasons, the primary one being that Bad Bunny’s involvement in the halftime show was politically charged. The artist said he hoped to use the opportunity as a platform to redefine the words “America” and “American” as a continental identity rather than one for the United States alone. He primarily performed in Spanish, and one of the songs he performed was “Lo Que Le Pasó a Hawaii,” a song criticizing the United States’ treatment of Hawaii and Puerto Rico.
Chimdinma Leo-Nze, the president of UMBC’s College Republicans, speculated “is it intentional that they booked Bad Bunny when the country is facing such turmoil, you know, with the deportations and everything they’re fighting about, with, you know, immigration and whatnot?” wondering if the intent was to drum up publicity via dissent.
In response to the NFL, the conservative nonprofit organization Turning Point USA held its own unofficial halftime show as an alternative event for people to watch. Headlined by musician Kid Rock, this event was called the “All-American Halftime Show,” presumably as a jab at Bad Bunny and what he wanted to communicate through this halftime show. During this event, songs themed around the United States and patriotism such as “Real American” were performed.
Connor White, the president of UMBC’s College Democrats, called Turning Point’s reaction “a typical conservative, Republican playbook,” and said it was both interesting and concerning “that this is part of their agenda instead of working on the economic promises that they promised in 2024 that they’re currently failing at,” speculating that this was meant to be a distraction from issues affecting Americans.
White said that he watched the Bad Bunny halftime show as a fan of Bad Bunny, and described the event as well done, saying that “it was a huge joy to see Puerto Rico represented and put in front of the American cultural zeitgeist,” and “other people who don’t speak Spanish have the opportunity to fall in love with this type of music.”
Leo-Nze similarly sang the praises of Bad Bunny’s performance, saying “I actually think it was really good.” He particularly enjoyed the theatrics of the halftime show, saying that while he would have liked English subtitles, “the performance incorporated so many things that even if you didn’t speak Spanish you can see what the person is talking about.”
In contrast, Leo-Nze said that neither he nor anyone he knows watched the “All-American Halftime Show,” but that “I do garner that the reactions from people who watched it were good, although I would say it’s a mixed bag in the sense that if you go to the YouTube comments, it’s kind of like, people are, you know, seeing it differently.”
White didn’t watch the “All-American Halftime Show” live because “I didn’t want to support Turning Point USA,” and “I don’t want to watch a halftime show where they complain about ‘woke stuff,’” but instead wanted to see “a beautiful artistic vision.”
While White doesn’t know anyone who saw it live, he and people he knows have seen clips from the event on social media. From what he has seen, White felt that Turning Point’s halftime show came across more like one of their political rallies.
Leo-Nze expressed his belief that “I don’t think this is going to happen next year simply because I don’t think the political climate would be as tense, especially on this issue, when next year comes around.” White, meanwhile, said he didn’t think the mentality of counterprogramming in events like this would change any time soon. Only time will tell if more “All-American Halftime Shows” will be performed in response to divisive events.
Bobby Smith is a senior English major and Economics minor, and a news writer for The Retriever.
Contact Bobby at rsmith24@umbc.edu