Bad Bunny’s halftime show goes fully Spanish with a Puerto Rico tribute

Bad Bunny turned Super Bowl LX’s halftime stage into a full Spanish-language celebration of Puerto Rico on Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026, mixing reggaeton, salsa, and arena-scale spectacle into a tightly packed set that leaned hard into island imagery and pride. The performance, staged at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, featured surprise guest turns, neighborhood-inspired set pieces, and a fireworks finish that underscored the night’s central message: Puerto Rico at the center, not the margins.

The show is already being framed as a milestone for Spanish-language music on one of the biggest U.S. live broadcasts, with early audience estimates suggesting a record-sized halftime crowd, though finalized measurement has not been released publicly.

A fully Spanish set on the biggest stage

Bad Bunny’s set was performed entirely in Spanish, a rare decision for a halftime show historically dominated by English-language pop and rock. The choice was not subtle: the visuals and choreography were built to match the language, with repeated nods to Puerto Rican street life and cultural touchstones rather than generic “global pop” staging.

The opening section hit fast, moving from radio-ready reggaeton into a block-party energy that kept the camera in constant motion—dancers in coordinated looks, quick-cut transitions, and a sense of momentum designed for viewers who tune in specifically for halftime.

Puerto Rico imagery, from cane fields to casitas

The staging was a moving collage of Puerto Rico references. Early scenes evoked agricultural history with a sugar-cane-style backdrop, then pivoted into spaces that resembled a neighborhood market and community corners—domino tables, salon-style visuals, and vendor-like setups—before landing on a centerpiece “casita” structure that functioned as both a rooftop stage and a symbol of home.

The performance also included a pointed moment during “El Apagón,” when dancers climbed sparking poles and the lighting design echoed the theme of blackouts—an unmistakable reference to the island’s long-running power problems. Bad Bunny later carried a Puerto Rican flag across his back during part of the set, keeping the political and cultural framing present without stopping the show’s party tempo.

Surprise guests and a genre-spanning pivot

Two high-profile surprise guests shifted the sound and pacing mid-set. Lady Gaga joined Bad Bunny for a salsa-flavored segment built around a dance-forward staging, while Ricky Martin appeared for a later moment that leaned into legacy Latin pop power and crowd-recognition.

On-field celebrity cameos—briefly captured dancing and reacting—added to the “event” feel, but the main headline remained the music and the staging: this was not a cameo-driven halftime, it was a concept-driven halftime.

Fireworks finish and a unity message

The closing stretch leaned into spectacle. Fireworks erupted as the show wrapped, and Bad Bunny ended with a message that blended patriotism with pan-American solidarity, name-checking Puerto Rico alongside other countries in the region. A large billboard-style message also appeared during the performance: “The only thing more powerful than hate is love.”

The combination—fireworks, flags, and a direct line about love versus hate—gave the show a clear final beat that was easy to quote and replay, especially in a year when the halftime slot drew heightened scrutiny from groups promoting an alternative concert.

Early audience estimates surge, with final numbers pending

In the hours after the game, early estimates circulated that placed the U.S. halftime audience at roughly 135 million viewers, which would rank as the largest ever if confirmed. Those figures are still being treated as preliminary, with full cross-platform accounting and auditing typically arriving later.

The headline comparison is already being drawn to the rival “All-American Halftime Show” promoted by Turning Point USA, which reported a peak live audience in the single-digit millions. Even using generous replay counts for the alternative stream, the official halftime remained the mass-audience centerpiece.

Key moments that defined the set

• A fully Spanish performance that never shifted into an English “crossover” medley

• Puerto Rico-forward staging: cane-field visuals, market scenes, and a “casita” centerpiece

• “El Apagón” imagery tied to the island’s power-outage reality

• Surprise guest appearances by Lady Gaga and Ricky Martin

• A fireworks finish paired with a unity message centered on love over hate

Sources consulted: Reuters, Associated Press, ABC News, Los Angeles Times