Fresno State professor says Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl LX show is the ‘perfect invitation’

FRESNO, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) – As Bad Bunny is set to take over the Super Bowl LX Halftime Show, one Fresno State professor hopes it inspires not only Latinos but every American viewer.

“The Super Bowl Halftime Shows have always had a tradition of gathering either the most culturally significant artists, those that are able to generate a crowd, as well as those that are able to generate conversations,” said Associate Professor of Chicano Latin American Studies at Fresno State, Luis Fernando Macías.

The multi-award-winning artist also makes history as the first Latino headliner whose entire discography is in Spanish.

“Bad Bunny is somebody that, in the last few years, has really come into his own in terms of culture and politics, as well as identity within his music. Unapologetically Puerto Rican, unapologetic about his politics, and it’s going to be interesting to see how he then takes that into the biggest stage, arguably, in the United States— if not the world,” Macías said.

Following Kendrick Lamar’s show in 2025 at Super Bowl LIX, Macías believes Bad Bunny’s halftime show this year will have an overarching cultural message behind it, citing his most recent album “DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS.”

“In a time right now where Latino identity is seen as a threat. Latino identity is something that many folks are kind of downplaying, shying away from, because of the threats that come with that. He’s turning it to 11,” Macías said. “He talks about issues of gentrification, he talks about issues of liberation, he talks about all of the things that make a political album what it is.”

Macías hopes that if there is a message, it’s not lost in translation.

“It would not surprise me if Bad Bunny incorporates issues of Puerto Rican liberation, of criticizing ICE raids, of criticizing the Trump Administration in a way that toes the line perfectly between understanding what that message was about, but not crossing it to the point where people will then turn off, shut down,” he explained.

Despite some controversy that the announcement has raised, Macías describes Bad Bunny’s performance as the “perfect invitation” to open the eyes and ears of communities to a new perspective.

“First, let your body move, let your body feel [the music], and then, that’s the invitation to learn more about the language. And with that, you’ll find a lot more about the people who made the music, the culture behind that music, and why many are applauding this as significant,” Macías expressed.

Overall, Macías believes Bad Bunny’s halftime performance will ignite pride among Latinos in the US.

“For him to accentuate his Latino identity, for him to be proudly Boricua— proudly Puerto Rican, gives us all that are living through this time of threat, of hazard, gives us hope that we can be our authentic selves. Even when it’s the most perilous,” he said.

Super Bowl LX will take place on Feb. 8, 2026, at Levi’s Stadium in San Francisco.