Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl Halftime Show Celebrated Latino Culture and LGBTQ Visibility
Ricky Martin and Lady Gaga added queer sparkle to the celebration.
Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl LX halftime show was a celebration of Latino culture, Spanish-language music, and pop spectacle, anchored by high-profile appearances from Lady Gaga and Ricky Martin.
The night’s emphasis on representation began even before kickoff at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, when Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Brandi Carlile performed “America the Beautiful.” Carlile, who is openly queer, delivered a restrained and emotional rendition that set a reflective tone ahead of the game.
When halftime arrived, Bad Bunny took the stage with a high-energy set performed almost entirely in Spanish, underscoring the global reach and mainstream power of Latin music. Early in the performance, Lady Gaga appeared to serenade a newly married couple featured as part of the production, delivering a salsa-inflected version of her hit “Die With a Smile.” The moment blended pop theatrics with Latin musical influences, drawing a strong response from the crowd.
Later in the show, Ricky Martin appeared onstage, singing part of “Lo Que Le Pasó a Hawaii.” The song, which addresses themes of modern-day colonialism, added political and historical resonance to the performance. Martin, a global pop star and longtime gay icon, brought generational weight to the celebration of Latin identity and artistic expression.
The production featured vibrant choreography, bold costuming, and large-scale visuals inspired by Caribbean and Latin aesthetics. Dancers appeared in a variety of pairings, including same-sex and mixed-gender combinations, with queer expression integrated naturally into the movement rather than isolated as a single symbolic moment.
Bad Bunny has long incorporated themes of individuality and inclusion into his work, and those elements appeared alongside the halftime show’s dominant focus on Latino identity, language, and history. By centering Spanish-language music and collaborating with artists like Gaga and Martin, the performance highlighted both cultural pride and cross-genre collaboration.
Taken together, Carlile’s pregame performance and the halftime appearances by Bad Bunny, Gaga, and Martin shaped a Super Bowl broadcast in which representation appeared across multiple moments. Latino culture and LGBTQ visibility were presented as part of the celebration itself, occupying space on one of the world’s most-watched stages.
