It didn’t matter that Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl halftime show was mostly in Spanish: Johnny Sanchez said the message was clear regardless of what language you speak.
“It wasn’t about hate America. It was about stop the hate. Let’s get into more love,” Sanchez said.
Sanchez, a Vietnam veteran, is Puerto Rican and the owner of John’s Rock ‘N’ Ride on Main Street in Daytona Beach.
Bad Bunny made Super Bowl halftime show history
Bad Bunny was not the first Latin artist to perform in a Super Bowl halftime show. But he was the first predominantly Spanish-language artist to headline the show while performing his set entirely in Spanish, according to a USA Today story.
Sanchez said there’s been some good halftime shows in the past but Bad Bunny’s was among the best.
“I thought it was one of the greatest halftime shows I’ve ever seen in my life,” Sanchez said.
He said those who claimed the performance was anti-America had it all wrong; Bad Bunny focused on inclusion.
Throughout the show, the artist incorporated people from his life as well as other superstars, like Lady Gaga and Ricky Martin, said Sanchez. He also pointed out that when Bad Bunny gave his Album of the Year Grammy, which he won the previous week, to a child in the performance, the child became part of the historic program as well.
Deltona commissioner: ‘So proud to be Puerto Rican’
Deltona District 2 Commissioner Emma Santiago, who was born in New York to Puerto Rican parents, watched the show with her family.
“I thought it was amazing. I was so proud to be Puerto Rican,” Santiago said. “I loved seeing Benito Bad Bunny’s performance.”
She said it was also a great statement of unity for the country.
“The energy, the creativity, the pride on a big stage; I just think it was a great celebration of our culture and unity. It was powerful.”
Some Latinos declined to talk about Bad Bunny
But some Latinos reached by The News-Journal said they didn’t watch it or declined comment. That includes a person who answered the phone at the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Central Florida in Deltona. He said he did not have any members available to speak about Bad Bunny’s Superbowl halftime performance. He also declined to comment. And when asked his name he said he did not want to continue the conversation.
And not all people with Puerto Rican backgrounds liked the show.
Fernando Melendez, a Palm Coast resident who was born in New York and whose parents are from Puerto Rico, panned it. Melendez is a former member of the Republican Executive Committee in Flagler County and has served on some government boards in Flagler County.
Melendez said it was wrong for most of the halftime show to be in Spanish.
“I felt that it was a disgrace that he did not show the respect to the overall community here in the United States,” Melendez said. “Show your respect by having them understand a little bit of your show.”
According to the 2020 U.S. Census, of the 331.5 million people in the United States, 62 million are of Hispanic or Latino heritage.
According to the U.S. Census 2024 Community Survey, 77% of those people speak English at home while 13.9% speak Spanish at home.
Melendez, who speaks Spanish and has family in Puerto Rico, said Bad Bunny’s show was creative but a “one-sided” performance during the biggest sporting event of the year.
“Why make it a one-sided show?” Melendez said. “You are alienating the American community as a whole.”
‘Positive reactions’ to Bad Bunny
Deltona Vice Mayor Maritza Avila-Vazquez, who is a District 3 commissioner, said she did not watch Bad Bunny’s performance because she was not feeling well. But she plans to watch a rerun today.
“I saw a lot of positive reactions,” Avila-Vazquez said. “It’s good to see something different.”
She said she was born in Puerto Rico and grew up in New York.
She said Bad Bunny is not of her generation but she’s read good things about him.
“I’ve read a lot of positive things about him,” she said. “He’s the pride of Puerto Rico.”
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: ‘Pride of Puerto Rico.’ Bad Bunny Superbowl show special for Latinos
Reporting by Frank Fernandez, Daytona Beach News-Journal / The Daytona Beach News-Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
