Bad Bunny's Halftime Performance

 Ok I am going to gush for a minute (well, more than a minute) over Bad Bunny's halftime show ("Benito Bowl")... The whole performance had me out of my chair.  Just pure happiness.

 It went by so quickly that I didn’t have a chance at the time to recognize or digest the symbolism.  I've been reading and listening to reviews and gaining insight behind each different spot during the 13 minutes Bad Bunny (Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio) showcased Puerto Rican life.

One of my friends said today (the day after the super bowl), “The symbolism was pretty self- explanatory.”  I don’t think so.  There was just so much of it packed into such a short performance.  

 Every element of this performance was deliberate.  It is a masterpiece of choreography.  I’ll break down the cultural references from various sources.  I have learned so much about Puerto Rico just researching these! (and there are more that I haven’t included):

 He started by honoring his family, in a jersey embroidered with the number “64,” a nod to the uncle he was named after who had played football in a No. 64 jersey.

·         The domino game:  “Whether you're in Brooklyn, Miami, San Juan, or Rincón, a domino table anchored by "viejitos," or “little old men”, is what turns a street into a hangout spot; a bar into a place you can stay a while. Some people call the game the Danza de los Viejitos (the “dance of the old men”)” (Conde Nast Traveler).

·         Sugar Cane Fields:  A nod to the economic and colonial history.  The grass bundles were actually humans in costume.  What a creative logistics idea to quickly move them on and off the field.  

·         “…during the performance of “Titi Me Preguntó”, Bad Bunny passes celebrity nail tech and LA nail stylist Johana Castillo of @masterweenay—spotlighting the Latina-led beauty industry. On the island (and in many Puerto Rican communities elsewhere), your go-to salon is another neighborhood gathering spot, the place to chismear (gossip).” (Conde Nast Traveler)

·         Bad Bunny uses a typical PR casita as a prop at all his concerts and it was the center piece at the halftime show.  It was a  front yard house party  (“marquesina”) full of celebrities including Karol G, Cardi B, Pedro Pascal, Young Miko, Jessica Alba, Alix Earle, Daddy Yankee and others.

 ·         The stands represent several actual businesses.

  “Toñita:  Bad Bunny takes a shot from 85-year-old Maria Antonia “Toñita” Cay, Brooklyn's Puerto Rican Icon,  owner of Brooklyn’s Caribbean Social Club, one of the last surviving Puerto Rican social clubs in New York City, appeared on stage serving Bad Bunny a drink from a set piece resembling a shop.  Bad Bunny immortalized her in his song "NUEVAYOL" (New York in Puerto Rican slang), which addresses the Puerto Rican diaspora and migration experience.”  (Forbes) New York has the highest density of Puerto Ricans outside of Puerto Rico.

 

The Coco Frio stand:  “During “Tití Me Preguntó”, Bad Bunny quickly stops at a Coco Frio cart—a quintessential fresh coconut water street stand common across Puerto Rico, from which actual chilled coconuts are sold. The Coco Frio stands are usually at street corners close to the beach or in front colorful shops on beaches like Luquillo, in Old San Juan, and along roadsides like Route 3.” (Conde Nast Traveler)

 

The piraguas stand:  “Bad Bunny stops at a wooden piragua stand, common on the island for serving shaved ice topped with tropical-fruit-flavored syrup. (If you looked closely at the glass syrup bottles on the cart, they were labeled with flags from places like Puerto Rico, Mexico, and Colombia.) You'll find piragua at the beach and in town plazas across Puerto Rico.” (Conde Nast Traveler)

The Villas Tacos Stand:  “It's not only Puerto Rico getting the spotlight: All Latino excellence, the entire barrio, is on display. The taco stand in the show is an homage to an actual taqueria in Los Angeles’s Highland Park, named Villas Tacos, with owner Victor himself actually at the grill as Benito walks past.” (Conde Nast Traveler)

 

·         Little boy:  NPR said in their review, “At one point, the camera showed a family sitting tightly together, watching a TV whose screen showed an image of Bad Bunny from one week earlier, accepting his Grammy for album of the year. Then, the real life Bad Bunny stepped into the frame, and handed the family's smallest member, a little boy, his Grammy. Perhaps the scene was meant to represent what he imagined Puerto Rico felt as he won. Or maybe he was speaking to his internal little self. “  I thought the little boy could have been Liam Conejo Ramos, the 5-year-old boy detained (kidnapped!) by ICE Minneapolis. Maybe it is open to interpretation?  BB rubbed the boy's head and said, "Cree siempre en ti," which means "always believe in yourself."

·         During his song "El Apagón," which means "The Blackout," Bad Bunny performed on replicas of electrical poles, in a pointed reference to the problems Puerto Rico's electrical grid has struggled with.  Including the loss of power to the island for SIX MONTHS after hurricane Maria.

·          “As the show went on he let sweet moments breathe. He took us to a wedding party full of shared things that Latino life feels like. (Yes, that couple did actually get married on stage: They had invited Bad Bunny to attend their wedding before being invited to instead have the ceremony during the halftime show: No gamble either team took during the actual game paid off as well as this one did.) The intergenerational presence at the party spoke to the idea in Latin America that life can be unpredictable, so we find as many excuses as possible to gather. The images went by in a flash, like universally shared memories: the cutting of the cake, Bad Bunny's brief spin with a little girl, his attempt to wake a boy from a mid-party siesta.” (NPR)

 

·     El Morro:   during the halftime show coincided with the introduction of a new set: a replica of Castillo San Felipe del Morro, which is colloquially known as El Morro. The fortress, built by the Spanish in the 16th century, sits on the coast of San Juan. (Harpers Bazaar)

·         “As Bad Bunny performed “El Apagon”, which is already one of his most political songs, he held up a Puerto Rican flag in red, white and light blue. This was not the standard dark blue of the official Puerto Rican flag, but the light blue associated with the Puerto Rican independence movement.” (Forbes) 

·         Concho the Coquí  (little tree frog) considered a symbol of Puerto Rican identity.  The frog with its distinct chirp (the sound it makes, a repeated “co-quí”) is the voice of the island and has long been a national symbol.

·         Ricky Martin singing “Lo Que Paso a Hawaii” is a reclamation of his heritage. It’s a song dedicated to those who stay and those who are forced to leave and change. Ricky Martin himself is a symbol of Puerto Rico as one of the first crossover pop music stars from the island.   Ricky was sitting on a white plastic chair - a familiar sight across Puerto Rico, used at family gatherings, block parties and community events.

 

 Conde Nast Traveler has probably the most extensive breakdown here:  https://www.msn.com/en-us/entertainment/music/bad-bunny-s-halftime-show-had-a-wealth-of-cultural-references-from-real-bars-you-can-visit-to-traditional-music-to-listen-to/ar-AA1W04iQ?ocid=BingNewsSerp