I watched the Super Bowl halftime show on Sunday featuring Bad Bunny, and I found it authentic, cinematic, and meaningful. I also think it is a milestone in American culture.
A Puerto Rican artist, Bad Bunny is one of the most successful musicians in the world. Because he is a Spanish-language rapper, I had not heard of him and his music until now…that is, until the controversy. The political and cultural right in the U.S. decried the NFL’s choice of Bad Bunny for this show, one of the most watched events in our culture. They said it was “un-American” to have someone singing in Spanish at the Super Bowl, and tried to promote an alternative show with MAGA-friendly artists. That effort failed spectacularly with an embarrassingly low viewership.
In today’s ultra-divided America, I have noticed that people on the left and the right can see the exact same thing and come away with different conclusions. In the case of the Bad Bunny show, the reactions that people have seems to reflect the cultural and political divide.
The performance was 100% in Spanish—no translations, no subtitles. The 13-minute show was much more narrative and culturally substantive than any Super Bowl halftime I can remember. It featured quintessential elements of Latin culture and references to recent Puerto Rican history, most of which I could grasp visually even though I don’t speak Spanish. A fierce cultural and linguistic pride came through the performance, and a sense of community, diversity, and joy. As I analyze this as a moment in American culture, I could be wrong because I am very liberal. I know that the left generally celebrates this performance and the right generally denounces it. I have a feeling, however, that the center is generally accepting and curious about this performance—more positive than negative. This is because the MAGA halftime show bombed in terms of viewership and because their criticism of Bad Bunny is so racist and nonsensical.
I am an optimist, and I don’t want to overstate this. There have been moments in recent years when the cultural (and political) shift towards diversity, inclusion and pluralism seemed to be strong…only to have a racist backlash follow. In this moment, however, it feels like we have a racist administration whose treatment of brown immigrants is very unpopular—and the shift in public sentiment is back towards the center-left. This was my first time seeing or hearing Bad Bunny. He was charismatic, energetic, and unapologetically Latino. He had me moving to the music though I didn’t know the words. I think that much of the nation, and millions of viewers around the world, also enjoyed the performance—and either embraced the political significance of the first-ever Spanish halftime show, or accepted it as part of the diversity of this country with its 68 million Latin residents. Bad Bunny reminded us in his finale that “America” includes many countries, most of which are Spanish-speaking. And he demonstrated that cultural diversity is alive and well here.
PRAYER:
God, I am still a little mad that you ignored my prayer for the Patriots to win the Super Bowl. Maybe the Seattle Seahawks fans prayed louder.
I am grateful, however, for the mind-opening and diversity-affirming entertainment of a courageous and talented American from Puerto Rico.
May every language and every culture be celebrated. May every people’s music and history be lifted up.
May mercy and wisdom come to those who denounce and belittle people based on ethnicity.
May the day soon arrive when all nations, races, and cultures are shared and celebrated joyfully.
Amen.
Rev. Drew Frantz
February 10, 2026
A Puerto Rican artist, Bad Bunny is one of the most successful musicians in the world. Because he is a Spanish-language rapper, I had not heard of him and his music until now…that is, until the controversy. The political and cultural right in the U.S. decried the NFL’s choice of Bad Bunny for this show, one of the most watched events in our culture. They said it was “un-American” to have someone singing in Spanish at the Super Bowl, and tried to promote an alternative show with MAGA-friendly artists. That effort failed spectacularly with an embarrassingly low viewership.
In today’s ultra-divided America, I have noticed that people on the left and the right can see the exact same thing and come away with different conclusions. In the case of the Bad Bunny show, the reactions that people have seems to reflect the cultural and political divide.
The performance was 100% in Spanish—no translations, no subtitles. The 13-minute show was much more narrative and culturally substantive than any Super Bowl halftime I can remember. It featured quintessential elements of Latin culture and references to recent Puerto Rican history, most of which I could grasp visually even though I don’t speak Spanish. A fierce cultural and linguistic pride came through the performance, and a sense of community, diversity, and joy. As I analyze this as a moment in American culture, I could be wrong because I am very liberal. I know that the left generally celebrates this performance and the right generally denounces it. I have a feeling, however, that the center is generally accepting and curious about this performance—more positive than negative. This is because the MAGA halftime show bombed in terms of viewership and because their criticism of Bad Bunny is so racist and nonsensical.
I am an optimist, and I don’t want to overstate this. There have been moments in recent years when the cultural (and political) shift towards diversity, inclusion and pluralism seemed to be strong…only to have a racist backlash follow. In this moment, however, it feels like we have a racist administration whose treatment of brown immigrants is very unpopular—and the shift in public sentiment is back towards the center-left. This was my first time seeing or hearing Bad Bunny. He was charismatic, energetic, and unapologetically Latino. He had me moving to the music though I didn’t know the words. I think that much of the nation, and millions of viewers around the world, also enjoyed the performance—and either embraced the political significance of the first-ever Spanish halftime show, or accepted it as part of the diversity of this country with its 68 million Latin residents. Bad Bunny reminded us in his finale that “America” includes many countries, most of which are Spanish-speaking. And he demonstrated that cultural diversity is alive and well here.
PRAYER:
God, I am still a little mad that you ignored my prayer for the Patriots to win the Super Bowl. Maybe the Seattle Seahawks fans prayed louder.
I am grateful, however, for the mind-opening and diversity-affirming entertainment of a courageous and talented American from Puerto Rico.
May every language and every culture be celebrated. May every people’s music and history be lifted up.
May mercy and wisdom come to those who denounce and belittle people based on ethnicity.
May the day soon arrive when all nations, races, and cultures are shared and celebrated joyfully.
Amen.
Rev. Drew Frantz
February 10, 2026
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