God Bless America: Bad Bunny Showcases ‘DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS’ at the NFL Super Bowl
The Puerto Rican rapper brought his latest album to the halftime show, with an array of familiar faces.
Photo: Eric Rojas
Puerto Rican rapper and singer Bad Bunny continues to redefine global music and culture, as seen through his NFL Super Bowl halftime show. The artist, who is touring a sold-out UK tour at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, gave a performance to remember.
Bad Bunny showcased music from his latest album DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS, which was awarded album of the year at this year’s Grammys. The set also drew from earlier projects, including X 100PRE (2018) and Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va a Pasar Mañana (2023). DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS showcases genres including salsa, dembow, house, pop, rap, jíbaro and reggaeton, blending heritage with innovation.
The artists’ NFL performance used music to shed light on political, historical, and ongoing issues impacting Latino and Caribbean communities, making it as much a statement as a performance. It opened with a beautiful visual of the green sugar cane fields, featuring a worker and farmers chopping the fields, immediately connecting to Puerto Rico’s history, labour, and landscape. We then see Latin American icons including Karol G, Cardi B and Young Miko vibing together, highlighting how deeply Latin and Caribbean culture has influenced global popular culture.
As the performance evolves, Bad Bunny dives into the historical context of colonialism in the Caribbean, the history of slavery, and the exploitation of Caribbean land, reminding audiences that these legacies are ongoing and continue to shape Caribbean and Latin American communities today. Music and performances like this remain powerful because they spotlight societal and historical issues still present, as seen through recent events in America. You don’t need to know the language of a genre to feel its significance or appreciate the music.
Bad Bunny is seen passing through a local Puerto Rican community, moving through cultural staples — men playing dominoes (a traditional Latin American/Caribbean game), a nail salon, and street vendors selling alcohol. He then heads to New York City, highlighting the Puerto Rican community’s migration to the US. Here, he purchases a drink from a Puerto Rican woman in Brixton who owns the ‘Caribbean Social Club’, a venue that has faced many battles with authorities.
A snippet of the legendary Daddy Yankee’s Gasolina plays before a dramatic build-up leading into Bad Bunny’s song Monaco, taken from his 2023 Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va a Pasar Mañana album. Pop sensation Lady Gaga also performed a salsa rendition of her song Die With A Smile, originally featuring Bruno Mars, blending mainstream pop with Latin and Caribbean rhythms. This seamlessly transitions into Bad Bunny showcasing Latin American and Caribbean instruments — hand drums, maracas, and guiro — with authentic salsa sounds, as heard in BAILE INoLVIDABLE.
Bad Bunny then performed his hit song NUEVAYoL. During this segment, the legendary Ricky Martin sang Lo Que LE Pasó a Hawaii, one of Bad Bunny’s songs, which highlights the many issues and mistreatments Puerto Ricans continue to face, making the performance politically and culturally resonant.
Towards the end of the performance, Bad Bunny proudly holds the Puerto Rican flag high, a powerful moment as the flag was once banned between 1948 and 1957. He then says “God Bless America” before listing Caribbean and Latin American countries. During this moment, we also see many Latin American and Caribbean flags held high by those marching alongside him.
The flag bearers then joined Bad Bunny in singing DtMF. This celebratory and unifying moment showcased pride, culture, and resilience as being pivotal not just for American Latino and Caribbean diasporas but also for British and Canadian Latino and Caribbean diasporas.
The show ended with a powerful message in the background reading “the only thing more powerful than hate is love”, reinforcing the emotional and political statement of the performance.
Bad Bunny’s London shows will form part of the DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS World Tour, with Tottenham Hotspur Stadium as the only UK venue.
