Puerto Rican star Bad Bunny's Super Bowl halftime performance has ignited a conversation about the meaning of 'American' identity, challenging colonial narratives and celebrating Puerto Rico's place in the Americas. The set featured the cuatro puertorriqueño, a traditional stringed instrument, played by cuatrista José Eduardo Santana, highlighting the island's cultural pride.
Bad Bunny, an advocate for Puerto Rican independence, used the platform to redefine American identity beyond US borders. He concluded the performance by saying 'God Bless América' while listing countries from across the hemisphere, including the US on equal footing, and leading a parade of flags. This act questioned the US monopoly on the term 'American', which technically applies to all nations in the Americas.
The performance also referenced Puerto Rican intellectual Eugenio María de Hostos, known as 'El Gran Ciudadano de las Américas', who dreamed of unity for the Antilles. Bad Bunny's song 'La Mudanza' mentions Hostos, expressing a wish for his music to play when Hostos' remains are finally laid to rest in an independent Puerto Rico, adorned with the sky blue flag associated with the independence movement.
Critics on the right objected to Bad Bunny being labeled an 'American artist', while liberals defended him by noting Puerto Rico's US territorial status. However, journalist Alana Casanova-Burgess argues that such responses still frame Puerto Rico within a colonial context. She suggests that Bad Bunny's performance joyfully invited the US to a party where it was not the center of the universe, challenging the empire to embrace a broader, more inclusive American identity.
