"in which he declared, "", and then he disappeared-and no one really seemed to mind. The year was 2020, and Bad Bunny was appearing as a special guest of Shakira, who was one of the halftime show's two headliners. (The other was Jennifer Lopez.) Back then, he was neither a national obsession nor the subject of fierce political debate; when he declared, " Viva la raza!", he was saluting the Texas-born professional wrestler Eddie Guerrero, who had adopted that phrase as his rallying cry."
"(He has more than fifty million followers on Instagram, which is about a hundred times as many as Sam Darnold, the Seattle Seahawks' quarterback.) Bad Bunny is a Puerto Rican star who performs almost entirely in Spanish, who endorsed Kamala Harris in 2024, and who has been critical of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. And yet the news that he would be this year's Super Bowl headliner transformed him into something he had never really been before: a divisive figure."
Bad Bunny first appeared at the Super Bowl in 2020 as a special guest for Shakira, delivering a brief incendiary verse and shouting Viva la raza in tribute to wrestler Eddie Guerrero. He returned as the halftime headliner and became the event's main newsmaker, often overshadowing players. He performs almost entirely in Spanish, has over fifty million Instagram followers, endorsed Kamala Harris in 2024, and has criticized Immigration and Customs Enforcement. President Donald Trump called the booking "absolutely ridiculous," and Turning Point USA proposed a rival All-American Halftime Show. Bad Bunny built a decade-long, highly influential musical and performative presence.
Read at The New Yorker
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